Music

Somali-Canadian rapper K'Naan released his first album in 2005.

Music & Culture

K'Naan On Cheapening His Music For The Money

2:30pm December 13, 2012

by NPR Staff

Somali-born rap musician K'naan is known for telling gritty stories about his childhood in war-torn Mogadishu through hip-hop music. On Country, God, Or the Girl, the edginess of past songs has been replaced with a polished pop sound.

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The Boogers, pogo-ing to their punk rock for kids.

Music & Culture

The Boogers And Play Date Make Punk Rock For Kids

6:29pm December 12, 2012

by Stefan Shepherd

The kids' music scene and the punk rock movement have a lot in common: Both have a DIY attitude and seem unconcerned with mainstream success. The bands Play Date and The Boogers have combined the genres, making kids' music using the infectious hooks of classic punk rock.

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Music & Culture

Ke$ha: A 'Warrior' In Search Of Legitimacy

4:53pm December 12, 2012

by Ken Tucker

On her new album, the pop star tries to show she's not just in the business for the money. As critic Ken Tucker says, "Like pop stars ranging from Madonna on back to Chuck Berry, Ke$ha wants it both ways: mass-audience success and artistic acknowledgment."

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Music & Culture

A Sitar Player On The Unique Instrument Shankar Made Famous

4:04pm December 12, 2012

Sitar player Ravi Shankar died Tuesday at the age of 92. Brian Q. Silver, a sitar player with over 40 years of experience, talks about playing the unique instrument and how Shankar popularized the Indian musical style.

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Music & Culture

Ravi Shankar, Who Brought Eastern Music To Western Legends, Dies

8:40am December 12, 2012

by Susan Stamberg

When he was just 10 years old, Shankar began performing in Europe and the US with his family's Indian dance troupe. But at age 18, Shankar gave up all the glitter to study with a guru who taught him the sitar. He became a master, and introduced the West to his country's music.

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Bruno Mars draws inspiration from across the pop landscape on his second album, Unorthodox Jukebox.

Music & Culture

Bruno Mars Goes Anyplace And Everyplace On 'Jukebox'

9:34pm December 11, 2012

by Tom Moon

On his second album, Unorthodox Jukebox, Mars traverses the pop landscape, pulling in far-flung influences and making them his own.

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Jazz great Charles Mingus performs at the Monterey Jazz Festival in September 1964.

Music & Culture

Bass Note: Mingus And The Jazz Workshop Concerts

7:28pm December 11, 2012

by Kevin Whitehead

Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new, seven-disc Charles Mingus box set chronicling the jazz legend's mid-'60s live performances. The records, Whitehead says, "can be a little raw, as if the explosive music caught the engineers by surprise."

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Donna Summer, a possible Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, poses for a portrait circa 1976.

Music & Culture

Who Should Be In The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame?

10:55am December 11, 2012

by David Barnett

The annual list of inductees to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame spurs debate among fans and industry insiders alike.

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The epic strings and chanting monks of the Halo series are just some of the video-game sounds reinterpreted by Angèle Dubeau on her new album, Game Music.

Music & Culture

A Classical Musician's Game Theory

10:46pm December 10, 2012

by NPR Staff

"Good music is good music," violinist Angèle Dubeau says. The Canadian musician interprets theme music from Halo, Angry Birds and other video games on her latest album.

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Jenni Rivera performs at the Lilith Fair in 2010 in San Diego.

Music & Culture

Remembering Banda Diva Jenni Rivera

8:44pm December 10, 2012

by Jasmine Garsd

The singer died in an airplane that crashed in the early hours of Sunday morning in Toluca, Mexico. She was a household name and feminist presence in the Latin music scene.

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