Music

Katy Perry's new album, Prism, is out now.

Music & Culture

Katy Perry On The 180 That Saved Her Career

8:22pm October 26, 2013

by NPR Staff

Perry is among the world's biggest pop singers, but fans know her current career is actually a second take. She speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about failing to break out as a Christian artist, and how she rose again as the star we know today.

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Alexander Ebert is best known for his band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, a folk band with a dozen members. His latest project is the score for All Is Lost, a film about one man lost at sea.

Music & Culture

For 'All Is Lost,' A Songwriter Embraces Silence

7:05pm October 26, 2013

by NPR Staff

Alexander Ebert is the singer and songwriter of the band Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Now, he's also a film composer. He speaks with NPR about his work on All Is Lost, which stars Robert Redford as a solitary man lost at sea.

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Doc Pomus, pictured here in the 1980s, was an obscure, yet prolific songwriter who died in 1991. A.K.A. Doc Pomus is a documentary about his life.

Music & Culture

The Life Of Doc Pomus, Songwriter To The Stars

7:40pm October 24, 2013

by NPR Staff

NPR's Melissa Block speaks with director Peter Miller about his recent documentary, A.K.A. Doc Pomus, about the obscure songwriter behind Elvis Presley's "Viva Las Vegas," The Drifters' "This Magic Moment" and many more pop hits.

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The members of Caravan Palace are practitioners of electro-swing.

Music & Culture

Europe Swings The Body Electric

5:46pm October 23, 2013

by Milo Miles

What had been an infrequent novelty — mixing electronic and '30s beats with scat and big band-ish horn solos — has become more and more common among European dance musicians and producers. Critic Milo Miles looks at two compilations that highlight this European dance trend.

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Music & Culture

Lucy Wainwright Roche: In The Family Business

7:13pm October 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

But on her new album, There's a Last Time for Everything, Roche doesn't feature any of her famous family of musicians. She tells NPR's Melissa Block it was "great to do it in a little bubble away from the family." The album includes an unlikely cover — the Robyn anthem "Call Your Girlfriend."

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Linda Thompson's new album is called Won't Be Long Now.

Music & Culture

It's A Family Affair On Linda Thompson's 'Won't Be Long Now'

3:58pm October 22, 2013

by Ken Tucker

The singer-songwriter's new album sounds like a collection of songs that could have been sung a hundred years ago, or written and recorded just a few weeks ago. She's joined on the album by her ex-husband, Richard Thompson, and their three children.

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Barbara Hannigan and Bejun Mehta in the Festival at Aix production of Written on Skin.

Music & Culture

This Opera Will Eat Your Heart Out

11:05am October 22, 2013

by Lloyd Schwartz

In few operas does all the mayhem express what underlies George Benjamin's Written on Skin. The work conveys a profound awareness of human cruelty and its inextricable connection to passion and art.

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Music & Culture

'The Blow' Puts An Artsy, Electro-Pop Spin On Attraction

11:04am October 22, 2013

by Ken Tucker

Musical duo The Blow, in which the singing of Khaela Maricich meets the mixing of Melissa Dyne, has just released a new eponymous collection. Critic Ken Tucker says the electro-pop on the album is self-aware, sexy and smart — and, while informed by the art world, never dips into "art-rock" territory.

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Music & Culture

Gen Xers, Millenials Sound Off On The Music That Moves Them

10:10am October 22, 2013

Melissa Block and Audie Cornish read listener responses to a question we asked of Gen-X and Millennial listeners last week: "Who are your generation's future musical legends?" Tupac Shakur, Nirvana, Michael Jackson, and Adele made the list, but by far the most frequently mentioned group was a quartet of Irish baby boomers.

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Anoushka Shankar's new album, Traces of You, comes out Tuesday.

Music & Culture

Anoushka Shankar And Norah Jones: Half-Sisters Collaborate At Last

8:02pm October 20, 2013

by NPR Staff

The sitar-playing daughter of the late Ravi Shankar discusses teaming up with her half-sister, Norah Jones, on the new album Traces of You. Hear how their collaboration elicited an unexpected echo of their father's work, a sign that they were meant to work together.

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