Music

Jay Z performs a B-sides and album tracks at a concert in New York City on May 17, 2015.

Music & Culture

A Rational Conversation: Are B-Sides For Die Hards, Or Everybody?

2:33pm June 19, 2015

by Eric Ducker

Should more superstar musicians follow Jay Z's lead and play shows filled with lesser-known songs? Is the format a live music innovation or the last gasp of a nostalgia machine?

'Love & Mercy' Brings The Life Of Brian Wilson To The Big Screen

1:46pm June 18, 2015

Screenwriter Oren Moverman talks with Fresh Air's Terry Gross about the film's depiction of the Beach Boy's troubled life. We'll also listen back to an interview Gross recorded with Wilson in 1988.

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Neil Young says he supports Bernie Sanders — and that Donald Trump shouldn't have used his song "Rockin' in the Free World." He's seen here performing in Los Angeles earlier this year.

Neil Young Is Displeased That Donald Trump Was 'Rockin' In The Free World'

5:27pm June 17, 2015

by Bill Chappell

When Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he's running for president, the soundtrack at the rally was Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World," which was played loudly and repeatedly.

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Giorgio Moroder in 1979, the year his longtime collaborator, the singer Donna Summer, had a hit with "Hot Stuff."

Music & Culture

From Here To Eternity: A Giorgio Moroder Primer

11:50am June 16, 2015

by Barry Walters

The iconic dance producer — his first album in two decades, Deja Vu, is out now — is having a moment. Here's a guide to the highlights of his career, from the popular to the obscure.

Music & Culture

Review: 'Amanecer,' Bomba Estereo

6:30pm June 15, 2015

The Colombian party band, Bomba Estereo, is out with their latest album, Amanecer. NPR reviewer Banning Eyre, senior editor at afropop.org, says it offers a friendly entrée into the realm of electronic dance music with folk roots.

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Karim Wasfi, conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, at his home in Baghdad, has been playing his cello at the sites of explosive attacks in Baghdad.

Amid Violence In Baghdad, A Musician Creates A One-Man Vigil

5:11pm June 15, 2015

by NPR Staff

Karim Wasfi, conductor of the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra, has been playing his cello at the sites of deadly attacks across the capital.

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Music & Culture

Dawes' New Album Grapples With Regret Without Getting You Down

3:25pm June 15, 2015

The California quartet, led by lead vocalist and main songwriter Taylor Goldsmith, has a new album called "All Your Favorite Bands." It explores sadness and doubt without being downbeat.

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Kendrick Lamar visits Brian Mooney's English classes at High Tech High School in North Bergen, N.J., on Monday.

A Visit From Kendrick Lamar — Best Day Of School Ever?

11:46am June 15, 2015

by Sami Yenigun

A New Jersey high school teacher used the rapper's latest album to teach a unit on Toni Morrison's novel, The Bluest Eye. Lamar found out about it, and decided to stop in for a visit.

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Ornette Coleman performs during the North Sea Jazz Festival in 2010.

Music & Culture

Ornette Coleman, Jazz Iconoclast, Dies At 85

8:33am June 15, 2015

by Howard Mandel

The American jazz saxophonist and composer who liberated jazz from conventional harmony, tonality, structure and expectation, died Thursday of cardiac arrest in Manhattan at age 85.

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Fans react as Foo Fighters band member Dave Grohl falls from the stage during the band's concert at Nya Ullevi in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Friday.

Foo Fighters Frontman Breaks Leg During Concert, But The Show Goes On

3:12pm June 13, 2015

by Scott Neuman

Dave Grohl fell off a stage during a concert in Goteburg, Sweden, but returned after a visit to the hospital and finished the gig with his leg in a cast.