Music

American composer Carlisle Floyd, photographed at his first home, in which he composed his best known opera, Susannah, in Tallahassee, Fla. in 2009.

Music & Culture

Carlisle Floyd, a founding father of American opera, has died at age 95

4:12pm September 30, 2021

by Tom Huizenga

Known primarily for his southern-flavored operas, Floyd helped create an American opera vernacular. His 1955 hit Susannah won the New York Music Critics Circle Award and helped launch his career.

#FreeBritney activists rally at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles during the Britney Spears conservatorship hearing Wednesday.

Britney Spears is on the road to independence. The media should let her take the wheel

3:05pm September 30, 2021

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

On Wednesday, Jamie Spears was suspended as his daughter's conservator. Is all the media attention, including three new Spears documentaries, still welcome?

Britney Spears supporter Peter Stickles was among those demonstrating outside Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday.

A Judge Suspends Britney Spears' Dad From Her Conservatorship

1:50pm September 30, 2021

At a hearing Wednesday at Los Angeles Superior Court, Judge Brenda J. Penny suspended the pop star's father from controlling her financial affairs. Britney Spears has accused him of exploiting her.

Music & Culture

Remixed Pere Ubu Albums Bring Fresh Intimacy To The Band's Vocals

1:21pm September 30, 2021

by Ken Tucker

Pere Ubu leader David Thomas remixed two of his favorite Ubu albums, 1998's Pennsylvania and 2002's St. Arkansas, saying that the remixes are so substantial, they amount to being two new albums.

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With Let Me Do One More, Sarah Tudzin issues an invitation into the expressive and ever-widening musical world of Illuminati Hotties.

Music & Culture

Illuminati Hotties Dares You To Laugh

11:00am September 30, 2021

by Lyndsey McKenna

Let Me Do One More, the latest from songwriter, engineer and producer Sarah Tudzin, is proof that ambition doesn't have to be serious and that moments of vulnerability can also make for hooky rippers.

#FreeBritney activists protest outside the courthouse in Los Angeles during a conservatorship hearing on April 27.

Britney Spears Has Moved Toward Freedom From Her Father

6:35pm September 29, 2021

by Rachel Treisman

Spears and her father petitioned to end his conservatorship role. A Los Angeles judge has granted that request.

Composer, harpist and singer Corrina Hewat is featured in this week's episode.

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: 2000 Shows Later

6:05pm September 29, 2021

This week's episode of The Thistle & Shamrock features Alan Stivell, Battlefield Band, Tony Cuffe, Clannad and Corrina Hewat.

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Britney Spears' Fight To End Conservatorship Continues With Hearing

5:55pm September 29, 2021

by Andrew Limbong

Pop star Britney Spears is having a big day in court on Wednesday. Spears is hoping that a judge will remove her father, Jamie Spears, as the conservator of her estate.

Pastor T.L. Barrett rewrote the rules of gospel in the 1970s and '80s.

Music & Culture

Pastor T.L. Barrett's Five Decades Spent As A Current For Our Sails

5:55pm September 29, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with gospel artist Pastor T.L. Barrett, Jr., whose collected work was recently reissued in a box set called I Shall Wear a Crown.

Iranian Singer Googoosh Raises Her Voice To Keep Her Nation's Culture Alive

5:55pm September 29, 2021

by Betto Arcos

Known as "The Voice of Iran," Googoosh was silenced by the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Active again since 2000, she uses music to keep Iranians forced to leave the country in touch with their culture.