Music

After years of attending church dances, Step Rideau says he was moved to connect with his heritage on a deeper level.

Music & Culture

Accordions, Beer And God: Zydeco In Gran Texas

5:07pm November 03, 2013

by David Brown

If it's Sunday in Houston, get ready to dance up and down the aisle at church. Zydeco music is the soundtrack to spirit-filled parties fueled by beer, boudin, and red beans and rice. It's a joyful continuation of a decades-old tradition.

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Luscious Jackson has reconvened after more than a decade for its new album, Magic Hour, which comes out Nov. 5.

Music & Culture

Luscious Jackson Is Ready For Its 'Magic Hour'

7:22am October 31, 2013

by NPR Staff

After a very long hiatus, the members of the infectious alternative rock crew are back with a new album. The musicians discuss how everyday life inspired the band's first new record in 14 years.

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Music & Culture

Arcade Fire Takes A Dancey Turn Down A Well-Trod Path

2:25pm October 30, 2013

by Will Hermes

With a new record, the band Arcade Fire is trying to top their 2011 release, which won a Grammy for Album of the Year. Critic Will Hermes says that on Reflektor, they turn to dance music to try to reinvigorate their sound.

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Music & Culture

Influential Musician Lou Reed Dies

2:25pm October 30, 2013

Rock musician Lou Reed died Sunday at 71. Renee Montagne and Steve Inskeep report.

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Jason Isbell was previously a member of Drive-By Truckers. His solo albums include Sirens of the Ditch and Here We Rest.

Music & Culture

Jason Isbell Locates His Musical Compass On 'Southeastern'

10:38am October 30, 2013

The singer-songwriter earned a name for himself while playing with Drive-By Truckers and The 400 Unit, but on his new album — written after he got sober — Isbell finds a new level of emotional honesty. Here, he talks with Terry Gross about his life and plays songs from Southeastern.

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In Memoir, Linda Ronstadt Describes Her 'Simple Dreams'

10:37am October 30, 2013

Last month, Ronstadt revealed that she has Parkinson's disease and can no longer sing. Her new memoir, Simple Dreams, reflects on a long career. In this conversation with Fresh Air's Terry Gross, she offers frank insights on sex, drugs, and why "competition was for horse races."

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Johnny Cash: The Life delves more deeply into Cash's dark side than the 2005 film Walk the Line.

Biography Doesn't Hold Back On Darkest Years Of 'The Man In Black'

7:49am October 30, 2013

by NPR Staff

Through all the pain and redemption, "Johnny Cash was a good man," author Robert Hilburn tells NPR's David Greene. Hilburn's new biography of the late country singer is titled Johnny Cash: The Life.

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"[Lou Reed] really saw the beauty of life, and wanted to be a person who could live in that beauty as often as possible," longtime publicist Bill Bentley says.

Music & Culture

Never Back Down: Fresh Air Remembers Lou Reed

2:43pm October 29, 2013

by NPR Staff

"In Lou Reed's world, when you were Lou's friend you knew it," his longtime publicist Bill Bentley tells Terry Gross. Fresh Air dedicates an entire hour to the transgressive and transcendent Velvet Underground co-founder, with music and commentary by original Velvets John Cale and Maureen Tucker.

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Music & Culture

Arcade Fire On Its Brand-New Beat

5:22pm October 28, 2013

by NPR Staff

NPR's David Greene speaks with members Regine Chassagne and Win Butler about the band's new album, Reflektor, and how it was influenced by their cultural connections to Haiti.

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Church elder Elwood Cornett preaches at a recent reunion of Old Regular Baptists. Brother Don Pratt is seated behind him in a blue shirt and tie.

Before Churches Had Songbooks, There Was 'Lined-Out' Gospel

10:12am October 28, 2013

by John Burnett

Hidden deep in the hills of Appalachia, there's a tradition of worship music that has not changed since the 18th century. The hymnody is still practiced by congregations of the Old Regular Baptist Church, where a leader calls out a line and the people respond in a mournful, soaring chorus.

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