For Duo Tennis, Pop Is A Natural Language
Can you re-invent lively pop from the distant past? Fresh Air music critic Milo Miles says the songwriting team Tennis does just that with their new third album, Ritual in Repeat.
Music
Controversial Mexican Musician Temporarily Retires From Drug Ballads
Alfredo Rios, aka El Komander, is the Jay Z of Mexican drug balladeers. He says government pressure, in the form of fines and banned or canceled concerts, is forcing him to think about retirement.
Bob Crewe Knew How To Make Artists Sing
Bob Crewe co-wrote and produced such hits for Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons as "Walk Like A Man," "Rag Doll" and "Sherry." He died Thursday at the age of 83.
Jazz Pianist Joe Sample Dies At 75
Sample was a founder of the band the Jazz Crusaders and reportedly played with musicians from Miles Davis and B.B. King to Steely Dan and the Supremes. NPR's Arun Rath has this remembrance.
Cosimo Matassa Made His Reputation Behind The Studio Glass
Cosimo Matassa recorded songs by Fats Domino, Little Richard, Professor Longhair and Jerry Lee Lewis and helped get the New Orleans sound out to the world. Matassa died Thursday at the age of 88.
Listen To The Atlanta Symphony While It's Locked Out — Again
In music from Giuseppe Verdi to Jennifer Higdon, celebrate the sound of the venturesome Atlanta Symphony Orchestra while it's silenced by a bitter labor dispute.
An Emerging Voice Of Americana (And Oklahoma)
Parker Millsap, a 21-year-old with a thick rubber-band tenor, has potential to burn and a new video for one of our favorite songs of the year, "Truck Stop Gospel."
Nonesuch At 50: A Record Label Without Borders
It began as a small classical label selling records at modest prices. A half-century later, it issues albums from big names in a spectrum of contemporary music from all parts of the globe.
This Is Your Brain. This Is Your Brain On Music
A new study suggests that learning to play a musical instrument helps improve the brain's ability to process language. That means music lessons could give kids from low-income communities a big boost.
All Together Now: The Beatles Are (Back) In Mono
The latest reissue project in the never-ending celebration of the most famous catalog in rock 'n' roll goes back to the beginning. Does listening to The Beatles in mono make sense in 2014?