Music

Music & Culture

'The Lonely, The Lonesome And The Gone' Is an Ode To The Underdogs

8:24am December 24, 2017

Lee Ann Womack's new album is packed full of classic country music characters. Womack tells NPR's Lauren Frayer that she recorded it in Houston because going back home fills her with hope

Far from his down-and-out days on Skid Row, Ben Shirley is currently a student at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Music & Culture

From Skid Row To The San Francisco Conservatory Of Music

8:11am December 23, 2017

Ben Shirley's addictions landed him on the streets of Los Angeles. Now, at 53, he's turning his life around with the help of music.

Tatsuya Takahashi at his home workshop in early 2017, surrounded by a few of his signature machines.

Music & Culture

Analog For The People: Synth Master Tatsuya Takahashi On Engineering Fun

8:22pm December 22, 2017

by Daoud Tyler-Ameen

NPR Music's year-end interview series continues with an engineer who's led a quiet movement to create music tools anyone can use.

Music & Culture

Kendrick Lamar's Video For 'LOVE.' Brings Us All Down To Earth

7:33pm December 22, 2017

by Andrew Flanagan

The fifth video from DAMN. is just as beautiful as the rest — and examines a topic just as universal and intractable as the others. Maybe more so.

The 58 fatalities in October's mass shooting in Las Vegas were all caused by gunshot wounds, the county coroner and medical examiner said Thursday. A makeshift memorial on the south end of the Las Vegas Strip a few days after the shooting has photos of so

Coroner Releases Causes Of Death For All 58 Victims Of Las Vegas Shooting

5:33pm December 22, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

Nearly all of the fatalities were caused by a single gunshot wound, though six died from multiple wounds. The deaths were all ruled homicides.

Music & Culture

Kendrick Lamar Tells Story Of Our Time In Prophetic Terms With 'DAMN.'

4:34pm December 22, 2017

by Rodney Carmichael

Kendrick Lamar's album DAMN. has topped dozens of best of lists for 2017. NPR's hip hop critic Rodney Carmichael says that Lamar is telling the story of our time in prophetic terms.

Damon Krukowski's book, The New Analog, and podcast, Ways of Hearing, explore the ways digital culture has changed how music is both heard and made.

Music & Culture

Wear My Headphones: Damon Krukowski On How Digital Culture Changes Us

2:16pm December 22, 2017

by Ann Powers

NPR Music's year-end interview series concludes with an analog baby turned digital savant, who says that how we consume music today has become a political, emotional and existential choice.

Music & Culture

Trombonist Roswell Rudd Packs A Lot Of Wisdom Into Every Note Of 'Embrace'

1:48pm December 22, 2017

by Kevin Whitehead

Rudd started out playing dixieland before graduating to free jazz. Now he's collaborating with singer Fay Victor on his latest album. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Embrace has a "valedictory air."

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Remembering Jazz Singer Keely Smith

1:48pm December 22, 2017

Smith, who died Saturday, was discovered by bandleader Louis Prima as a teenager. She later married Prima, and the two became a popular Las Vegas lounge act. Originally broadcast in 2000.

Queue Listen Now

Lil Wayne is ready to re-up his long-running mixtape series with a sixth installment dropping on Dec. 25.

Music & Culture

Lil Wayne Takes On Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar And 21 Savage Beats For 'Dedication 6'

11:44am December 22, 2017

by Rodney Carmichael

The Young Money CEO teases new music from the next installment in his long-running mixtape series.