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Music & Culture

Sold Out Grateful Dead Chicago Concerts Attract High-End Scalpers

8:12am May 12, 2015

Some sellers are offering three-day packages for the Grateful Dead concerts for more than $100,000. Steve Inskeep talks to drummer Bill Kreutzmann, for his thoughts on the six-figure tickets.

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Music & Culture

Prince Releases 'Baltimore'; Holds Concert In Troubled City

3:11pm May 11, 2015

by Jasmine Garsd

Prince performed in Baltimore Sunday night. It was billed as a "Rally 4 Peace" — just weeks after violence erupted following the funeral of Freddie Gray. Police officers are charged in his death.

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Black Thought never met James Brown, but he did play Brown's saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis in the movie Get On Up last year.

Music & Culture

Black Thought Made You A James Brown Mixtape

8:21pm May 09, 2015

by NPR Staff

"Had it not been for all of the breaks, I wouldn't be here where I am today — nor would The Roots," Black Thought says.

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The Slants Frontman Fights Government To Register His Band's Name

10:38pm May 08, 2015

by Kat Chow

Simon Tam, the founder and bassist of The Slants, has spent six years trying to register his group's name. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office says the name disparages Asians.

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Musician and producer Adrian Utley in his studio in Bristol, U.K., in 2013.

Music & Culture

In Search Of Intensity, Musicians Turn To Adrian Utley

7:00pm May 06, 2015

by Paula Mejia

The Bristol, U.K.-based producer and member of Portishead has become a go-to collaborator for dark, uncompromising rock, with credits on recent albums by Torres, Marianne Faithfull and Perfume Genius.

Sina Shahbazmohamadi places a 3-D printed copy of a recorder foot joint into a measuring device in a lab at the University of Connecticut's Center for Clean Energy Engineering.

3-D Printers Bring Historic Instruments Back To The Future

10:26am May 02, 2015

by Tom Verde

You just can't stick a modern mouthpiece on an antique saxophone and get the right sound. The answer could be in the lab.

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Music & Culture

'Louie Louie': Indecipherable, Or Indecent? An FBI Investigation

10:26am May 02, 2015

by NPR Staff

The Kingsmen's 1963 version of the song was a huge hit — though no one could make out the words. Some fevered imaginations and misheard lines led to an FBI investigation into alleged obscenity.

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Ben E. King, Soul Singer Best Known For 'Stand By Me,' Dies

9:18pm May 01, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

Ben E. King, best known for the classic soul song "Stand By Me," has died at 76.

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Music & Culture

Singer Ben E. King, Best Known For 'Stand By Me,' Dies At 76

1:31pm May 01, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

Phil Brown, King's publicist, says the soul singer died of natural causes. King began his career with The Drifters, but it was "Stand by Me," released in 1961, that sealed his worldwide fame.

Could this cat be enjoying "Spook's Ditty"?

These Tunes Are Music To Your Cats' Furry Ears

10:42am May 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

Composer David Teie's most recent compositions are catered to our feline friends. His music mimics purring, and might be just the thing to perk your cat up.

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