Twitters gone viral: album of endangered bird songs charts in Australia
Songs of Disappearance is an collection of bird calls from 53 threatened Australian species. And for a brief spell, it was a best-selling album.
Music
Daniel Bachman, 'Rappahannock River Rag'
Daniel Bachman retains the chunky chord progression and pass-the-whiskey spirit of the Jack Rose tune, but you can feel the strings rattle the wood of his guitar with rowdy reverberation.
David Bowie joins constellation of stars selling off back catalogs for galactic sums
David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Stevie Nicks and Shakira all recently sold off all or part of their back catalogs. Why forgo future royalties and creative control?
On 'Valentine,' Snail Mail returns to pin the heart's brass tacks
World Cafe gets up close and personal with Snail Mail's Lindsey Jordan in this mini-concert from upstate New York, performing songs from her latest album Valentine.
A preview of 2 albums debuting in 2022
What new music is coming out in 2022 that's worth looking into? It turns out there is plenty of great new music coming out this year. Here's a preview of two albums.
Composer creates a musical piece with the sounds of drawing and writing
What does the letter "e" sound like as it's being written down? Capital "A?" The word "steak?" Experimental musician Leah Reid creates new music with the sounds of writing different letters and words.
'Sesame Street' composer Stephen Lawrence has died at 82
Emmy Award-winning composer Stephen Lawrence, who co-wrote songs for Sesame Street and Free to Be... You and Me, died on December 30 at age 82.
Some of the artists from journalist Ian Urbina's music project say they were misled
Journalist Ian Urbina recruited musicians to make music based off his reporting on crimes in international waters. Some participating artists complained they were misled about their side of the deal.
C. Tangana embraces tradition on his groundbreaking album, 'El Madrileño'
NPR's Eyder Peralta speaks with Spanish rapper C. Tangana about his highly-acclaimed and Grammy-nominated album, "El Madrileño."
Dave Grohl retraces his life-affirming path from Nirvana to Foo Fighters
After Nirvana, Grohl considered quitting music. But, he says, "Music was the one thing that had healed me my entire life." His memoir is The Storyteller. Originally broadcast Nov. 24, 2021.