Music

Music & Culture

Jazz Pianist Dan Cray's 'Outside In' Features Slow Tempos, Meandering Melodies

1:54pm July 18, 2016

by Kevin Whitehead

Much of the music on Cray's new album stems from a year he spent teaching at the University of Nevada in Reno. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Outside In is a reminder of the power of open spaces.

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Singer Alan Vega, seen here onstage in France in 2004, died Saturday at age 78.

Music & Culture

Remembering Punk Pioneer Alan Vega

1:18pm July 18, 2016

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The vocalist and artist, best known as half of the band Suicide, died Saturday at age 78.

Amanda Palmer and her father, Jack Palmer, pictured on the cover of their new duets album, You Got Me Singing.

Music & Culture

All Songs +1: Amanda Palmer And Her Dad Discover Each Other In Song

12:32pm July 18, 2016

by Bob Boilen

For years, Palmer has been a provocative artist. But on her new record, she finds kinship with her father Jack — and gets to know him as they cover songs from his generation and hers.

Music & Culture

Alt.Latino Brings New Music To Refresh Your Summer Playlist

8:29am July 17, 2016

Need a playlist boost for that summer road trip, or some hours lounging at the beach? Jasmine Garsd and Felix Contreras of NPR's Alt-Latino share some new tunes with NPR's Lynn Neary.

Composer Theodore Shapiro scored the new Ghostbusters movie like a gothic horror film, with church organ and full choir.

Music & Culture

What Makes A Comedy Funnier? Music With A Straight Face

5:04pm July 16, 2016

by Tim Greiving

When tapped to write the score for the Ghostbusters reboot, composer Theodore Shapiro knew the trick to getting laughs: a soundtrack of serious music.

A woman wearing headphones dances in a disco during the Clockenflap Music Festival in Hong Kong, China last year.

#NPRreads: Turn Up The Volume This Weekend With These 3 Great Reads

10:08am July 16, 2016

Correspondents, editors and producers from our newsroom share the pieces that have kept them reading, using the #NPRreads hashtag. Each weekend, we highlight some of the best stories.

In 1979, rock DJ Steve Dahl donned a combat helmet to blow up a crate of disco records, a stunt now known as Disco Demolition.

Music & Culture

July 12, 1979: 'The Night Disco Died' — Or Didn't

8:28am July 16, 2016

by Derek John

One muggy Thursday, 50,000 rowdy rock fans packed Chicago's Comiskey Park to see disc jockey Steve Dahl blow up a crate of disco records. That evening's stunt helped birth a new musical movement.

Music & Culture

Music Review: 'Wildflower,' The Avalanches

6:40pm July 15, 2016

by Will Hermes

Will Hermes reviews a second album by The Avalanches that was 16 years in the making called Wildflower.

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Music & Culture

John Prine To Release New Duets Album, 'For Better, Or Worse'

4:02pm July 15, 2016

by Jewly Hight

The sequel to 1999's album of vintage country duets, In Spite Of Ourselves, will be out Sept. 30. Hear Prine sing the opening song, "Who's Gonna Take The Garbage Out," with Iris DeMent.

Music & Culture

Alabama Shakes' Brittany Howard On Small-Town Life, Big-Time Music

3:41pm July 15, 2016

Howard was raised on her father's junkyard in the small town of Athens, Ala. "It was a really interesting way to grow up," she tells Fresh Air. Originally broadcast Jan. 28, 2016.

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