Music

Heavy Metal Parking Lot's concept is simple: a snapshot of eager fans tailgating outside a 1986 Judas Priest and Dokken concert in a Maryland suburb.

Music & Culture

30 Years Of 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot,' The Classic 'Cult Classic' Film

3:51pm October 22, 2016

by Tom Cole

Shot outside an arena in suburban Maryland hosting a Judas Priest and Dokken double bill, the short documentary captured something vital about its moment in music history.

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After Stroke, Country Music Star Randy Travis Returns To Stage With 'Amazing Grace'

8:25am October 22, 2016

After suffering a stroke three years ago, Randy Travis had to learn to walk and talk again. This week he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, where he stood onstage and sang.

"Whatever the dream was about — becoming famous or becoming a big pop group or whatever those things are when you're a kid — it all happened," Barry Gibb says.

Music & Culture

'I'm In Defiance Of Time': Barry Gibb On Music, Family And Loss

5:37am October 22, 2016

by NPR Staff

The last surviving Bee Gee has released his first album in more than 30 years. In The Now is colored by the loss of Gibb's mother and brothers, but he says it's also about "the idea of having fun."

Warpaint visits the World Cafe performance studio.

Music & Culture

Warpaint On World Cafe

5:49pm October 21, 2016

On its new album, the L.A. band's atmospheric grooves are more extroverted than ever before. Hear a powerful performance recorded live in the studio.

Leonard Cohen (left) and Adam Cohen speak at an event for the release of You Want It Darker.

Music & Culture

Leonard Cohen's 'You Want It Darker' Is A Family Affair

5:04pm October 21, 2016

by Talia Schlanger

The album, one of the 82-year-old's best, was produced by his son Adam, who joins World Cafe to discuss what it's like to work with a living legend who just happens to be your dad.

My Chemical Romance released its defining album, The Black Parade, on Oct. 23, 2006.

Music & Culture

Join The Black Parade: My Chemical Romance And The Politics Of Taste

4:36pm October 21, 2016

by Daoud Tyler-Ameen

To toast an iconic album's 10th birthday, a conversation about listening while black — featuring Another Round host Tracy Clayton and writer/poet Hanif Willis-Abdurraqib.

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Music & Culture

Leonard Cohen On Poetry, Music And Why He Left The Zen Monastery

1:49pm October 21, 2016

Now 82, Cohen has a new album, You Want It Darker, with songs that wrestle with mortality, question God and long for transcendence. Originally broadcast May 22, 2006.

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Music & Culture

All Songs +1: How David Bowie's Songs Became The Musical 'Lazarus'

12:11pm October 21, 2016

by Robin Hilton

Lazarus is a musical sequel to David Bowie's 1976 film The Man Who Fell To Earth. Henry Hey, the musical director for Lazarus, explains how he reshaped the iconic singer's songs to tell the new story.

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Music & Culture

Esperanza Spalding On Piano Jazz

10:58am October 21, 2016

The bassist and singer performs "Prelude To A Kiss" with Marian McPartland in a 2008 session.

Lady Gaga's new album, Joanne, is out now.

Music & Culture

On Lady Gaga's 'Joanne,' All Of Pop Is A Stage

10:31am October 21, 2016

by Ann Powers

Joanne is as theatrical as anything Gaga has ever done, touching on styles intimate and overcooked and upholding her romantic belief in broad gestures and bold declarations.