Music

Music & Culture

Simple Idea, Spooky Result: Latin American Ballads Get A Ghostly Makeover

4:31pm August 24, 2016

by Oliver Wang

Frankie Reyes is a Los Angeles-based artist who remakes classic Mexican and other Spanish-language ballads and waltzes using a vintage synthesizer. His new album is called Boleros Valses y Mas.

Music & Culture

Encore: The Science Of Freddie Mercury's Voice

4:29pm August 24, 2016

NPR's Kelly McEvers talks with professor Christian Herbst, who was part of the team that released a study that explores the science behind Freddie Mercury's amazing voice.

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: Islanders

3:59pm August 24, 2016

From Shetland and Orkney to the Hebrides, the Isle of Man and Rathlin Island, this week's diverse choice of music is far from insular.

Beth Orton performs live for World Cafe.

Music & Culture

Beth Orton On World Cafe

2:50pm August 24, 2016

Once dubbed a "folktronica" artist, Orton goes all-electronic on her latest album, Kidsticks. Hear her perform live in this session.

Angel Olsen, in a scene from a video for her song "Sister."

Music & Culture

Angel Olsen Shares Epic New Song, Video

2:50pm August 24, 2016

by Robin Hilton

The latest song from Angel Olsen, "Sister," is both epic and reflective, a melancholy meditation on heartache and coming to terms with lost love.

A diplomat faces off with another in a scene from DJ Shadow's video for the song "Nobody Speak."

Music & Culture

See The Amazing New Video From DJ Shadow And Run The Jewels

2:50pm August 24, 2016

by Robin Hilton

The short film for "Nobody Speak," brilliantly directed by Sam Pilling, is a powerful — if sometimes comical — statement on the dysfunction of this year's political season.

Music & Culture

'King of Highlife Anthology' Finally Does Justice To African Bandleader Mensah

1:41pm August 24, 2016

by Milo Miles

E. T. Mensah, who died 20 years ago, played highlife, an offshoot of jazz that for years was the most popular style of music in southern Africa. Milo Miles reviews a new anthology of Mensah's music.

Queue Listen Now

George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic perform live for KCRW.

Music & Culture

Watch George Clinton With Parliament Funkadelic And Thundercat, Live In The Studio

1:11pm August 24, 2016

by Jason Bentley

The Godfather of Funk has announced new music on Flying Lotus' label, but he stuck to the hits in a session at KCRW. Watch him perform "Flash Light" with special guest Thundercat.

Donald Trump, Ivana Trump and Frank Sinatra in 1988.

Channeling Sinatra? Trump Says He Has Regrets, But Too Few To Mention

11:31am August 24, 2016

by Ron Elving

Do Donald Trump's comments about regret signal a new phase in the phenomenon? They might as easily be heard as a variation on what Trump has sounded from the beginning: Same song, different verse.

Music & Culture

First Watch: Ian Sweet, '#23'

11:29am August 24, 2016

by Sophie Kemp

In the scuzz-rock band's new video, Jilian Medford sings about shedding her insecurity.