Music

Sam Baker's Say Grace is his fourth album since he started making them in 2004, at age 50.

Music & Culture

Sam Baker's 'Say Grace' Is At Once Beautiful And Broken

6:31pm August 27, 2013

by Robert Christgau

The Austin singer-songwriter's latest album is his fourth since he started making them in 2004, at age 50. Critic Robert Christgau says Baker's backstory, which includes surviving a terrorist attack, "must be told."

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The Renaissance Street Singers give a performance at the Winterdale Arch, near the West 81st Street gate in Central Park.

Music & Culture

Atheists Take Old Hymns Out Of The Chapel And Into The Streets

10:16am August 26, 2013

by Joel Rose

For 40 years, the Renaissance Street Singers have given free public performances of sacred music. But they insist that their mission is not religious in nature.

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Music & Culture

MTV Video Awards Celebrate 30 Years

7:00am August 26, 2013

The MTV Video Music Awards were held in Brooklyn, New York, Sunday night. The video of the year trophy went to Justin Timberlake for "Mirrors."

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Julia Holter's latest album is titled Loud City Song.

Music & Culture

Julia Holter's 'Loud City Song' Is A Story On Top Of A Story

5:08pm August 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

The lush vocals and minimal cabaret orchestration of Holter's music has graced albums dedicated to such high-minded concepts as Greek mythology and French New Wave films. Her latest is loosely based on the 1958 film musical Gigi.

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Franz Ferdinand's latest album is titled Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action.

Music & Culture

Franz Ferdinand's Alex Kapranos On The Importance Of Structure

11:17am August 25, 2013

"Too much jamming kills the band," the leader of the Glasgow quartet says. On the new Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action, the band tries to lead with good concepts and let the music follow.

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The hook in Vanilla Ice's song "Ice Ice Baby" was based on a passage from "Under Pressure" by David Bowie and Queen, but the rapper denied the similarity at first.

Music & Culture

Haven't I Heard This Song Before?

9:12pm August 23, 2013

by Jacob Ganz

A pinch of melody, a dash of groove. Pop music is built on making a song sound just new enough to be intriguing. So what happens when one song sounds a little too familiar?

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Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz featured performances and conversation with a variety of pianists, including Ray Charles and Dave Brubeck.

Music & Culture

Fresh Air Remembers 'Piano Jazz' Host Marian McPartland

1:36pm August 23, 2013

For more than 30 years, the jazz pianist hosted one of public radio's most beloved shows. She died of natural causes on Tuesday at the age of 95. McPartland spoke with Fresh Air's Terry Gross in 1987.

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Robin Thicke on the cover of Blurred Lines.

Music & Culture

Robin Thicke: Smirky But Sincere On 'Blurred Lines'

1:57pm August 22, 2013

by Ken Tucker

Listen and look past his roué image, and the chart-topper is revealed as an earnest nostalgist.

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Sly & The Family Stone in Croton-on-Hudson, N.Y., in 1968. Left to right: Sly Stone, Cynthia Robinson, Freddie Stone, Rose Stone, Jerry Martini, Larry Graham.

Music & Culture

'You're What I Wanted': Assembling The Family Stone

12:43pm August 22, 2013

by NPR Staff

Members Cynthia Robinson and Jerry Martini say that, when crafting the lineup of his pioneering funk and soul band, Sly Stone was a man on a mission.

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The episode of Piano Jazz with Bill Evans was later issued as a commercial album.

Music & Culture

Marian McPartland, 'Piano Jazz' Host, Has Died

4:23pm August 21, 2013

by Felix Contreras

As the host of a weekly public radio program pairing conversation and duet performances, McPartland brought many jazz greats to an audience of millions. For more than 40 years, she offered an intimate perspective on the elusive topic of improvisation.

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