Music

Music & Culture

David Byrne: How Do Spaces Shape The Music We Make?

11:03am July 24, 2020

by NPR/TED STAFF

David Byrne says "context has a huge effect on creativity." He draws on his time with Talking Heads, as well as Bach, Gregorian chant, even birds—to show how spaces affect the music we write and play.

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Es Devlin speaks at TED2019: Bigger Than Us. April 15 - 19, 2019.

Es Devlin: How Do Spaces Shape Our Memories And Experiences?

10:03am July 24, 2020

by NPR/TED STAFF

How does a designer take an abstract idea and turn a space into an experience? Artist Es Devlin explores the influence of the spaces and structures we create—in theater, art, music, and beyond.

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The Ephrata Cloister in Lancaster County, Pa., created conditions for its inhabitants to become the first known female composers in America.

Music & Culture

A New Album Re-Creates The Work Of The 1st Known Female Composers In America

7:45am July 24, 2020

by Avery Keatley

Women rarely received credit for their creative work in Colonial America. But with a new album, one scholar is reviving the works of the women who lived and composed at the Ephrata Cloister.

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Tiny Desk Concert with DakhaBrakha on April 3, 2015

Music & Culture

Invisibilia Staffers Pick Their 5 Favorite Tiny Desk Concerts

7:00am July 24, 2020

by Invisibilia

A hypnotizing mix of music and visuals, plus performances that honor home are two themes that emerge as the team at Invisibilia pick their five favorite Tiny Desk concerts.

Taylor Swift's new album, Folklore, is out now.

Music & Culture

Stream Taylor Swift's New Album, 'Folklore'

6:41am July 24, 2020

by Lyndsey McKenna

Swift's eighth studio album — recorded in isolation and announced just a day before it was released — features collaborations with members of The National and Bon Iver.

Music & Culture

Composer Maria Schneider Returns, With A Reckoning, On 'Data Lords'

6:00am July 24, 2020

by Nate Chinen

After collaborating with David Bowie in 2014, the multiple Grammy-winning composer found her artistic process had been recombobulated a bit — much like our ever-more digital world.

Music & Culture

Watch Tiny Desk Contest Top Shelf Episode 7 Featuring WFUV's Rita Houston

6:02pm July 23, 2020

by Elle Mannion

Live on YouTube, Bob Boilen and Rita Houston will watch their favorites entries to the 2020 Contest and discuss what made them stand out from the thousands we saw this year.

Fans sit under an umbrella as shade from the hot sun during the Newport Jazz Festival in Newport, R.I., on July 8, 1962.

Music & Culture

The Golden Age: A Newport Jazz Festival Special

1:48pm July 23, 2020

Hear an unforgettable lineup of music from the Newport Jazz Festival, hand-picked by Christian McBride. Check out rare sets from the Clifford Brown/Max Roach Quintet, Dave Brubeck and Horace Silver.

One Direction didn't win The X Factor in 2010, but filled stadiums, broke records and our hearts.

One Direction's Big Bang

5:00am July 23, 2020

by Maria Sherman

Ten years ago today, July 23, One Direction created the universe. Read an excerpt from Maria Sherman's new book on boy bands, Larger Than Life, about 1D's formation and meteoric rise.

Annie Ross, Mid-Century Jazz Icon, Dead At 89

3:04pm July 22, 2020

by James Gavin

Ross was recognized as a natural performer from an early age. She essentially never stopped.