Music

Music & Culture

Queen Guitarist Brian May On Writing Anthems And Studying Astrophysics

2:23pm November 09, 2018

by Terry Gross

Brian May spoke to Fresh Air in 2010 about writing "We Will Rock You," recording the many vocals in "Bohemian Rhapsody" and getting a Ph.D. The biopic Bohemian Rhapsody details Queen's meteoric rise.

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Sam Morrow and his band perform at this year's AmericanaFest Day Stage, presented by WMOT, NPR Music and World Cafe.

Music & Culture

Hear One Of The Most Anticipated AmericanaFest Performances: Sam Morrow

2:08pm November 09, 2018

by Bruce Warren

If you're a fan of Little Feat, Tony Joe White and classic Lynyrd Skynyrd, this Los Angeles based singer-songwriter has it all for you.

Gretchen Peters performs on Mountain Stage.

Music & Culture

Gretchen Peters On Mountain Stage

12:16pm November 09, 2018

by Adam Harris

The Nashville songwriter's fifth Mountain Stage performance was compellingly honest.

Laura Jane Grace & The Devouring Mothers' album Bought to Rot is on our list of the best new albums out Nov. 9.

Music & Culture

New Music Friday For Nov. 9: The 8 Albums You Need To Hear Now

11:54am November 09, 2018

by Robin Hilton

This week's best new albums includes Lil Peep's posthumous follow-up to Come Over When You're Sober, 50th-anniversary editions of Electric Ladyland and The Beatles "White Album," Hanson and more.

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Music & Culture

How The Beatles And Jimi Hendrix Set Themselves Free — And Made Music History

11:39am November 09, 2018

by Lauren Onkey

Deluxe reissues of Jimi Hendrix's Electric Ladyland and The Beatles' self-titled "White Album" celebrate their 50th anniversaries, and reveal the remarkable creative abandon behind them.

Jeff Goldblum's new album with his jazz group, The Mildred Snitzer Orchestra, is called The Capitol Studios Sessions.

Jeff Goldblum The Jazz Artist? Life, Uh, Finds A Way

9:18am November 09, 2018

At his weekly gigs in L.A. — and now on a new live album — you'll find the actor playing keys one moment, holding court with attendees the next and just generally being ... well, Jeff Goldblum.

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Half Waif performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Oct. 17, 2018 (Cameron Pollack/NPR).

Music & Culture

Half Waif: Tiny Desk Concert

7:33am November 09, 2018

by Bob Boilen

The band's songs, stripped here to their essence, are particularly peaceful and calm — and sometimes chilling.

Music & Culture

The Thistle & Shamrock: Belonging

4:36pm November 08, 2018

This week, Fiona Ritchie features excerpts by Mairi Campbell, Kathryn Tickell, Cathy Jordan and other artists who travel homeward in songs and instrumentals.

Haruki Murakami, appearing at Waseda University in Tokyo on Nov. 4, 2018. The author was there to announce that he will donate his archives to the school, his alma mater.

Author Haruki Murakami Will Donate A Record Collection 'Beyond The Bounds Of Sanity'

3:14pm November 08, 2018

by Andrew Flanagan

Music is as intrinsic to the soul and spirit of Murakami's books as it is to the author's own.

Music & Culture

KT Tunstall On World Cafe

2:09pm November 08, 2018

by Talia Schlanger

World Cafe visited Tunstall in Edinburgh — where the artist was born — the day after a sold-out show featuring songs from her new album, WAX.