Music

Madonna, Deadmau5, Kanye West and Jay Z onstage at the Tidal launch event.

Music & Culture

Jay Z's Music Service, Tidal, Arrives With A Splash, And Questions Follow

2:57pm April 01, 2015

by Sam Sanders

The premium streaming service, which will be owned in part by musicians, was unveiled in a star-packed ceremony. The first question it needs to answer: Can it attract listeners?

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Music & Culture

Rare Latin Grooves Excavated In Anthology

2:55pm April 01, 2015

by Milo Miles

The mostly instrumental cuts draw on salsa, funk, soul and rock from vintage and new performers.

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Musician Joni Mitchell attends a party before the Grammy Awards in February. Mitchell, 71, was found unconscious in her home Tuesday.

Musician Joni Mitchell Is 'Awake And In Good Spirits' In Intensive Care

11:04am April 01, 2015

by Bill Chappell

The folk music icon was hospitalized in Los Angeles after being found unconscious in her home Tuesday.

Music & Culture

Remembering Pop Singer Selena, 'The Queen of Tejano'

10:03am April 01, 2015

by Cynthia Leonor Garza

The singer Selena elevated Tex-Mex music to a new level. She was about to cross over to the English-language market when she was fatally shot 20 years ago on March 31, 1995.

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Lower Dens singer and songwriter Jana Hunter writes that her band's new album, Escape From Evil, is typified by "warmth and physicality."

Music & Culture

Lower Dens' Jana Hunter Explains 'Escape From Evil,' Track By Track

9:28am April 01, 2015

by Jacob Ganz

The singer-songwriter pulls back the curtain on her band's beautiful-but-mysterious new album, Escape From Evil. "All of these songs are based in personal experience," she writes.

Music & Culture

No Hits, No Problem: Captain Beefheart's Major Label Run

2:27pm March 31, 2015

by Ed Ward

In 1970, Warner Bros. Records had an unusual philosophy: they'd sign artists and, instead of wanting a hit single immediately, they'd develop them over several albums. Hence, Captain Beefheart.

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Music & Culture

Review: Courtney Barnett, 'Sometimes I Sit And Think, And Sometimes I Just Sit'

7:51pm March 30, 2015

by Will Hermes

NPR music critic Will Hermes reviews an album that contains the best storytelling he's heard in a long time. It's the debut album from Courtney Barnett.

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Music & Culture

Art Pepper's Startling Intensity Captured On Live Recordings

3:38pm March 30, 2015

by Kevin Whitehead

Fresh Air jazz critic Kevin Whitehead says that Art Pepper played like he was making up for lost time.

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Using Computers To Connect With Classical Music

5:30pm March 28, 2015

Yale computer scientist David Gelernter talks with NPR's Arun Rath about using computers and the Internet to teach young people to appreciate the beauty of what he calls "serious music."

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John Renbourn performs onstage at the Royal Festival Hall in London June 29, 2008. The influential guitarist died at his home in Scotland Thursday. He was 70.

Influential Guitarist John Renbourn, Co-Founder Of Pentagle, Dies

1:41pm March 28, 2015

by Tom Cole

Renbourn co-founded the popular folk/jazz group Pentangle and was one of the most respected and influential acoustic guitarists in the world. He died this week at his home in Scotland; he was 70.

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