Music Interviews

John Zorn's latest album is Dreamachines, which is inspired by Brion Gysin and William Burroughs' cut-up techniques.

Music & Culture

At 60, 'Challenges Are Opportunities' For John Zorn

1:25pm September 03, 2013

At 60, New York City composer John Zorn is wiser, sure, but no less prolific, thoughtful and antagonistic than before. He tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross that, at his age, "there are no more doubts."

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Jason Isbell was previously a member of Drive-By Truckers. His solo albums include Sirens of the Ditch and Here We Rest.

Music & Culture

Jason Isbell Locates His Musical Compass On 'Southeastern'

2:26pm September 02, 2013

The singer-songwriter earned a name for himself while playing with Drive-By Truckers and The 400 Unit, but on his new album — written after he got sober — Isbell finds a new level of emotional honesty. Here, he talks with Terry Gross about his life and plays songs from Southeastern.

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Kathleen Hanna (center) is the frontwoman of The Julie Ruin. The band's debut album is titled Run Fast.

Music & Culture

Kathleen Hanna On Working Through Illness And Focusing Anger

6:18pm September 01, 2013

by NPR Staff

The icon behind two pioneering bands, Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, has a new project called The Julie Ruin. It comes after years of being sidelined from sickness and some deep thought about her own long career.

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Typhoon, the Portland, Ore. band led by Kyle Morton, features a dozen musicians playing precise and complicated arrangements.

Music & Culture

Typhoon: Songs For A Lost Childhood

11:59am August 31, 2013

by NPR Staff

Kyle Morton, leader of the Portland, Ore. musical collective Typhoon, can trace the start of his songwriting career back to one life-altering bug bite.

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Over the Rhine is the married duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist. The pair's new double album, Meet Me at the Edge of the World, is its 15th studio release.

Music & Culture

'We Grow Songs': Over The Rhine On Making Untamed Music

10:29am August 30, 2013

by NPR Staff

Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist are approaching their 17th wedding anniversary, and they've been making music together even longer. Meet Me at the Edge of the World, their latest album as Over the Rhine, grows from the couple's deep and tangled roots in rural Ohio.

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Julia Holter's latest album is titled Loud City Song.

Music & Culture

Julia Holter's 'Loud City Song' Is A Story On Top Of A Story

5:08pm August 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

The lush vocals and minimal cabaret orchestration of Holter's music has graced albums dedicated to such high-minded concepts as Greek mythology and French New Wave films. Her latest is loosely based on the 1958 film musical Gigi.

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Franz Ferdinand's latest album is titled Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.

Music & Culture

Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos On The Importance Of Structure

11:17am August 25, 2013

"Too much jamming kills the band," the leader of the Glasgow quartet says. On the new Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, the band tries to lead with good concepts and let the music follow.

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Sly & The Family Stone in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., in 1968. Left to right: Sly Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, Jerry Martini, Larry Graham.

Music & Culture

'You're What I Wanted': Assembling The Family Stone

12:43pm August 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

Members Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini say that, when crafting the lineup of his pioneering funk and soul band, Sly Stone was a man on a mission.

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Vince Gill and Paul Franklin, two country legends, pay tribute to Merle Haggard and Buck Owens on a new album.

Music & Culture

Vince Gill And Paul Franklin Break Down The Bakersfield Sound

5:23pm August 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Last year, country superstar Vince Gill left his record label, MCA, after more than 20 years. But he's leaving with one last album — a love letter, really — dedicated to the classic country songs of his youth. Titled Bakersfield, it finds Gill working with pedal-steel master Paul Franklin.

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Irene Diaz's debut EP is titled I Love You Madly.

Music & Culture

Irene Diaz: Crafting Songs In Dreamy Black And White

9:50pm August 17, 2013

by NPR Staff

A standout performer at this year's Latin Alternative Music Conference, the 26-year-old singer discusses her noirish debut EP, I Love You Madly.

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