Music

Music & Culture

Yo La Tengo To Perform Live On 'Morning Edition'

6:37pm August 24, 2015

As you listen to Morning Edition on Tuesday, pay special attention to the music you hear between stories. The band Yo La Tengo will be in the NPR studios, accompanying the show while it's live on the air.

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Music & Culture

The One Real Problem With Rolling Stone's 'Greatest Songwriters Of All Time'

8:16am August 24, 2015

by Tom Moon

There are many valid gripes with the magazine's selections — who was left out, who was included — but taken as a whole, the list reveals something disappointing about the way it was conceived.

Music & Culture

Why Is 'Billboard' Asking Industry Execs If They Believe Kesha?

10:27pm August 23, 2015

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

After an anonymous questionnaire circulated to "top music-industry executives" leaked online, questions arise about the industry publication's ethics and objectives.

10 Years After Katrina, New Orleans' Brass Bands March On

3:20pm August 21, 2015

by Eve Troeh

One of New Orleans' signature traditions is the second line — the weekly brass band parades. But after Hurricane Katrina, a lot of people worried the tradition would become history.

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'8 CDs For A Penny' Company Files For Bankruptcy

6:13pm August 20, 2015

by Laura Wagner

The parent company of Columbia House, the music-subscription king of the '80s and '90s, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Two NPR music editors remember the good and the bad.

Student Journalists

Making Music With Developmentally Disabled Adults: Aaron Bachelder

2:52pm August 20, 2015

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Dayme Arcocena, the Havana Cultural Sessions

A Witness To History: Guest DJ Arturo O'Farrill

1:43pm August 20, 2015

by Felix Contreras

Alt.Latino talks to a bandleader with deep roots in Cuban music and a role in current events. O'Farrill just released a new album called Cuba: The Conversation Continues.

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Kendrick Lamar performs onstage in June. His most recent album, To Pimp A Butterfly, runs nearly 80 minutes over 16 songs.

Music & Culture

A Rational Conversation: Does Anybody Even Have Time For An 80-Minute Album?

4:07pm August 19, 2015

by Eric Ducker

In a musical environment that prizes economy and the listener's ability to shuffle, skip and create playlists, is there still a place for ambitious, sprawling albums meant to be consumed all at once?

The rapper V-Sita (at right) had a No. 1 hit in Kenya with the song "Hivo Ndio Kunaendaga."

Stop The Foreign Music! African Pop Stars Ask For Government Help

1:31pm August 19, 2015

by Gregory Warner

Musicians in Kenya want a law forcing radio stations to play 70 percent local music. Nigeria and South Africa have similar rules. But this kind of protectionism could backfire.

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Members of the Syrian band Khebez Dawle include (from left to right) Hekmat Qassar on guitar and keyboards, lead guitarist Bashar Darwish, bassist Muhammad Bazz and lead singer Anas Maghrebi. Half the band members are now in Turkey, and are strongly consi

Syrian Rockers, Fleeing War, Find Safety And New Fans In Beirut

1:05pm August 19, 2015

by Alice Fordham

Members of a Syrian indie rock band escaped their country's bloodshed and have become a mainstay of Beirut's music scene. "In spite of all the deaths," the band sings, "you are still alive."

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