Music

Music & Culture

The Enduring Musical Influence Of Electric Guitarist Charlie Christian

2:09pm July 26, 2016

by Kevin Whitehead

Born in 1916, Christian died when he was just 25 years old. Jazz critic Kevin Whitehead calls him "the single greatest influence on a signature 20th-century instrument."

Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard howled, snarled and swaggered her way through a powerful closing set on Sunday.

Music & Culture

What We Saw At The 2016 Newport Folk Festival

1:58pm July 26, 2016

by Rachel Horn

More than four dozen bands played at this year's festival, which was full of serendipitous moments. Our photographer Adam Kissick captured it all.

Spirit Adrift is the project of Nate Garrett. Live, he's joined by Jeff Owens, Marcus Bryant and Christopher Coons.

Music & Culture

Viking's Choice: Spirit Adrift, 'Psychic Tide'

1:08pm July 26, 2016

by Lars Gotrich

Spirit Adrift communes with the wide-eyed expanse of American doom-metal.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Lydia Loveless, 'Out On Love'

11:14am July 26, 2016

by Alison Fensterstock

The sassy agent of rock 'n' roll chaos turns in an uncharacteristically hushed and spare song that approaches the twisted path of passion and loss with a new, sober gravity.

Pakistani cyclists ride past a wall image of late Sufi musician Amjad Sabri alongside a street in Karachi on June 27, 2016.

After His Assassination, A Pakistani Artist's Family Keeps His Song Alive

11:06am July 26, 2016

by Philip Reeves

The famed qawwali singer Amjad Sabri was shot down last month in Karachi, Pakistan, apparently by the Taliban. The vocalist's family is pledging to keep his home a refuge of, and for, music.

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Top row: Wilco; middle row: The Julie Ruin; bottom left: Jeff The Brotherhood, Sleigh Bells

Music & Culture

New Mix: Wilco, Sleigh Bells, The Julie Ruin, JEFF The Brotherhood, More

10:24am July 26, 2016

On this week's All Songs Considered, we share songs that are punk in spirit, synth-fueled, noisy and touched with real-life tragedy.

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Like The Olympics, The Music World Is Full Of The Competitive Spirit

5:46am July 26, 2016

Who needs the Olympics? Renee Montagne talks with music commentator Miles Hoffman about the intense world of classical music competitions.

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Soprano Marni Nixon, shown above in June 1988, was dubbed "The Ghostess with the Mostest" in Time magazine. "Bad rhyme, but that sort of stuck," she said.

'Ghost' Soprano Marni Nixon, Who Voiced Blockbuster Musicals, Dies At 86

6:01pm July 25, 2016

by Jeff Lunden

You might not know Marni Nixon's name, but you've probably heard her. Nixon dubbed the voices for Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Natalie Wood in West Side Story and Deborah Kerr in The King and I.

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Music & Culture

Peter Bjorn And John On World Cafe

4:47pm July 25, 2016

The Swedish pop-rock trio performs songs from its new album, Breakin' Point.

Tokimonsta's song "Drive" is featured in this week's episode of Metropolis.

Music & Culture

Metropolis: 07/23/2016

4:07pm July 25, 2016

by Jason Bentley

KCRW's Jason Bentley spins music by The Avalanches, A Tribe Called Quest, Paradis and more in this week's two-hour EDM mix.