Music

Russian President Vladimir Putin tried hammering out a couple of tunes Sunday in Beijing.

Putin Plays The Piano, With Perhaps Unintentional Undertones

12:19pm May 15, 2017

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Was Sunday's episode in Beijing a challenge to France's Emmanuel Macron? A jab at China's piano-tuning skills? Or just Putin passing the time with a little Soviet-era nostalgia?

The late musician and spiritual leader Alice Coltrane Turiyasangitananda, in an undated photograph taken at her ashram in Agoura, Calif.

Music & Culture

All Songs +1: Alice Coltrane's Astonishing 'Ecstatic Music'

12:08pm May 15, 2017

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Saxophonist, composer and bandleader Ravi Coltrane — son of John and Alice Coltrane — talks about the music his mother made after she withdrew from her professional career and founded an ashram.

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Music & Culture

Katy Perry Announces New Album, 'Witness'

11:04am May 15, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

Perry's new album will feature "Chained To The Rhythm" and the Migos collaboration "Bon Appétit."

Noga Erez's new album, Off The Radar, comes out June 2.

Music & Culture

Noga Erez Imagines A Dystopia Where The Hand-People Judge Us All

10:32am May 15, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

The Israeli singer-songwriter makes politically charged dance music — banging, throbbing stuff full of messages about power and independence.

The Terminals' new album, Antiseptic, comes out May 19.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: The Terminals, 'Glass Walls'

10:00am May 15, 2017

by Doug Mosurock

Culled from New Zealand's weirdest, the band is integral to '90s Kiwi-pop. Hear a swirling, reverb-heavy song from its first record in 10 years.

Tim Darcy performs at Tiny Desk Concert on April 21, 2017 (Marian Carrasquero/NPR)

Music & Culture

Tim Darcy: Tiny Desk Concert

9:25am May 15, 2017

by Bob Boilen

Tim Darcy of Montreal band Ought brings his mysterious solo work, from the album Saturday Night, to the Tiny Desk. The record he says, was his chance to "get back to my roots, in my own voice."

The Mountain Goats' new album, Goths, is out May 19

Music & Culture

First Listen: The Mountain Goats, 'Goths'

9:06am May 15, 2017

by Stephen Thompson

For John Darnielle, goth isn't a sound or a style so much as a state of mind: a source of comfort and connection for more than just the young and lost.

Music & Culture

Hear Lana Del Rey's Warped Ode To Youth, 'Coachella - Woodstock In My Mind'

8:41am May 15, 2017

by Robin Hilton

"Critics can be so mean sometimes." The singer's latest single is a brooding, woozy ode to coming of age, with spare electronic beats and reflections on her place in the world

Logic's new album, Everybody, is out now.

Music & Culture

Logic Is Ready To Tell The World Who He Is

7:40am May 15, 2017

The son of a black father and a white mother, Logic says he was "born to make" his new album, Everybody. On it, he confronts issues of identity he says he's been scared to rap about in the past.

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Angaleena Presley's new album, Wrangled, is out now.

Music & Culture

World Cafe Nashville: Angaleena Presley

6:00am May 15, 2017

by Ann Powers

On her new album, Wrangled, Presley fearlessly addresses a country music milieu that, in her view, is downright hostile to women who speak their minds. Hear an interview and performance.