Music Articles : NPR

Jackie Shane, A Force Of Nature Who Disappeared, Has A Story All Her Own

Jackie Shane in Sept. 1967. Courtesy of Numero Group hide caption

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Courtesy of Numero Group

Jackie Shane, A Force Of Nature Who Disappeared, Has A Story All Her Own

October 25, 2017 • The performances of this trailblazing transgender singer — once radically visible, now long hidden — have been likened to tornadoes. A new box set is a document of a career that never followed rules.

Justin Timberlake Will Return To The Super Bowl Halftime Stage As A Headliner

Justin Timberlake photographed on September 8, 2017. The pop star was chosen to headline the 52ns Super Bowl halftime show. Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for EIF hide caption

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Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for EIF

Justin Timberlake Will Return To The Super Bowl Halftime Stage As A Headliner

October 23, 2017 • Timberlake will no doubt bring a cavalcade of stars to the program — and try to avoid recalling what happened on the same stage in 2004.

How 'The Con' Almost Broke Tegan And Sara

Tegan (left) and Sara Quin perform at Coachella in 2008, following the release of the duo's fifth album, The Con. Tegan and Sara are celebrating the 10th anniversary of The Con with a tour and an album of covers performed by musicians influenced by the original album. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Record

How 'The Con' Almost Broke Tegan And Sara

October 20, 2017 • Ten years ago, the making of Tegan and Sara's fifth album — and divided reactions to it — created a rift between the twins that nearly tore them apart but eventually showed them a way forward.

Eminem's Presidential Dis Wasn't The Only Political Statement At BET Hip Hop Awards

In an extended freestyle during the BET Hip Hop Awards, Eminem went all-in on President Trump. YouTube hide caption

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YouTube

The Record

Eminem's Presidential Dis Wasn't The Only Political Statement At BET Hip Hop Awards

October 11, 2017 • The rapper's condemnation of President Trump coincided with Luther Campbell's long overdue honors for taking hip-hop's freedom of speech fight all the way to the Supreme Court.

Nightmare Scenario: Concert Security Experts Grapple With Lessons Of Las Vegas

A view of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, overlooking the Las Vegas Strip. Drew Angerer/Getty Images hide caption

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Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Record

Nightmare Scenario: Concert Security Experts Grapple With Lessons Of Las Vegas

October 7, 2017 • The Las Vegas shooting is a chilling reminder that big concerts are a soft target. And that the industry still has much work to do to improve security and minimize the damage from future incidents.

Nightmare Scenario: Concert Security Experts Grapple With Lessons Of Las Vegas

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The Art Ensemble of Chicago Celebrates 50 Years Of Channeling And Challenging History

Roscoe Mitchell (saxophone), Hugh Ragin (piccolo trumpet), Junius Paul (bass) and Famadou Don Moye (drums) of the Art Ensemble of Chicago perform at London's Cafe OTO on Feb. 1, 2017. Roger Thomas hide caption

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Roger Thomas

Jazz Night In America

The Art Ensemble of Chicago Celebrates 50 Years Of Channeling And Challenging History

WBGO

October 6, 2017 • Since the 1960s, the experimental jazz collective has worked toward a high standard of shared intuition. The group is playing a series of anniversary concerts featuring original and new members.

How 'Ashes To Ashes' Put The First Act Of David Bowie's Career To Rest

David Bowie performing live in 1978. A new box set collects all of Bowie's albums released between 1977 and 1982. Dagmar/Courtesy of Rhino Records hide caption

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Dagmar/Courtesy of Rhino Records

The Record

How 'Ashes To Ashes' Put The First Act Of David Bowie's Career To Rest

October 6, 2017 • Following a decade of relentless self-reinvention, one song signaled the beginning of a new persona for the shape-shifting pop star: one known simply as David Bowie.

Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers perform on Saturday Night Live after the release of Full Moon Fever in 1989. NBC/NBC via Getty Images hide caption

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NBC/NBC via Getty Images

The Record

Tom Petty Was Rock's Everyman

October 3, 2017 • His songs could sound tortured, weary, angry, knowing, defiant. But Tom Petty's music also possessed a great capacity for hard-won warmth.

Shania Twain On Being Respected And Finding Her Voice 'Now'

Shania Twain's new album, Now, is her first after a decade-and-a-half break. Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Mert Alas, Marcus Piggott/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Shania Twain On Being Respected And Finding Her Voice 'Now'

September 30, 2017 • After nerve damage, divorce and a decade-and-a-half break, Twain has returned to the studio with a much-altered relationship to her instrument. "The mic's become a very good friend of mine," she says.

Hear Shania Twain on Weekend Edition Sunday

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How Streaming Revolutionized Rap's Album Rollouts On The Road To No. 1

Future (left) and Kendrick Lamar, onstage at this summer's BET Awards, set their own rules when it came to album rollouts in 2017. Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET hide caption

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Paras Griffin/Getty Images for BET

The Record

How Streaming Revolutionized Rap's Album Rollouts On The Road To No. 1

September 28, 2017 • From Kendrick Lamar's TDE camp to Rick Ross's MMG, industry heavies weigh in on digital's continued disruption of the traditional album release calendar.

'Screaming Eagle Of Soul' Charles Bradley Dies At 68

Charles Bradley performing on July 16, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky. Bradley passed away on Sept. 23, 2017 at the age of 68. Timothy Hiatt/WireImage hide caption

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Timothy Hiatt/WireImage

The Record

'Screaming Eagle Of Soul' Charles Bradley Dies At 68

September 23, 2017 • The singer, inspired as a teen by James Brown, didn't release his first album until 2011, at the age of 62. For the six years that followed, through a battle with cancer, he never wasted a moment.

From Church Choirs To Performance Poetry: How Jamila Woods Found Her Voice

Jordan Lee interviews Jamila Woods at Radio Milwaukee. Radio Milwaukee hide caption

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Radio Milwaukee

Slingshot: Jamila Woods

From Church Choirs To Performance Poetry: How Jamila Woods Found Her Voice

September 20, 2017 • Hear the Chicago-based soul singer discuss her songwriting process, artistic communities, and how poetry built her confidence in an interview at Radio Milwaukee.

From Church Choirs To Performance Poetry: How Jamila Woods Found Her Voice

27:11

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Hacker Group OurMine Targets Vevo's Data (And Removes It By Request)

Vevo was hacked by the group OurMine following the group's claimed attempt at warning the company. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for VEVO hide caption

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Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for VEVO

The Record

Hacker Group OurMine Targets Vevo's Data (And Removes It By Request)

September 15, 2017 • The hacker group, which posted hundreds of gigabytes of data it took from the music video site on Friday, said that it had alerted Vevo about the site's failure to protect itself.

After Labels Object, White Nationalist Stormfront Radio Stops Using Johnny Cash

A 1969 headshot of singer and songwriter Johnny Cash. Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

The Record

After Labels Object, White Nationalist Stormfront Radio Stops Using Johnny Cash

September 14, 2017 • Show producers received a cease-and-desist notice from Universal Music Group and American Recordings telling them to stop using Cash's cover of the Tom Petty and Jeff Lynne song "I Won't Back Down."

From Baptist Roots To The Bedroom, Demo Taped Gives His Electro Groove A Gospel Redux

Demo Taped works his way out of the blues by returning to his gospel roots on "Insecure." Savana Ogburn hide caption

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Savana Ogburn

The Record

From Baptist Roots To The Bedroom, Demo Taped Gives His Electro Groove A Gospel Redux

September 13, 2017 • The Atlanta anomaly and Young Thug labelmate faces his anxieties on new single, "Insecure."

Turn It Down: Morton Feldman's Silent Revolution

Composer Morton Feldman at the piano, ca. 1963. University at Buffalo Music Library hide caption

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University at Buffalo Music Library

Deceptive Cadence

Turn It Down: Morton Feldman's Silent Revolution

September 4, 2017 • If you've never heard For Bunita Marcus, pianist Marc-André Hamelin predicts it'll be either the most aggravating thing you've ever heard, or the best migraine medicine you've ever had.

Turn It Down: Morton Feldman's Silent Revolution

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Walter Becker Was A Master Of Musical Understatement

Walter Becker (left) and Donald Fagen of Steely Dan in 1977. Becker died on Sunday, Sept. 3 at 67 years old. Chris Walter/WireImage hide caption

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Chris Walter/WireImage

The Record

Walter Becker Was A Master Of Musical Understatement

September 4, 2017 • If pop music is a constant tug of war between the reassuringly familiar and the jolt of the modernist new, the Steely Dan guitarist's gift was the ability to hit both extremes at once.

Houston's Jazz Envoys Describe A Vibrant Scene Deluged, And Worry For Its Future

Downtown Houston's theater district, the second-largest in the nation, was flooded with water from Buffalo Bayou. Thomas B. Shea/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Thomas B. Shea/AFP/Getty Images

Jazz Night In America

Houston's Jazz Envoys Describe A Vibrant Scene Deluged, And Worry For Its Future

WBGO and Jazz At Lincoln Center

September 1, 2017 • An outsized number of jazz heavyweights call Houston and its surrounding area home — here, they speak of the situation down south and their concerns for its future.

Why Black Boy Joy And Lil Uzi Vert's Melancholy Are All The Rage

Lil Uzi Vert, caught surfing the crowd at Coachella last April, released his album Luv Is Rage 2 last week. Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella hide caption

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Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Coachella

The Record

Why Black Boy Joy And Lil Uzi Vert's Melancholy Are All The Rage

September 1, 2017 • From fearless smiles to suicidal thoughts, mainstream rap is challenging the old black masculine tropes with a nod to mental health.

Venezuelan President Cancels Gustavo Dudamel's Youth Orchestra Tour To U.S.

Venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel leads the Simon Bolivar National Youth Orchestra during a rehearsal in Caracas on November 20, 2012. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

Deceptive Cadence

Venezuelan President Cancels Gustavo Dudamel's Youth Orchestra Tour To U.S.

August 21, 2017 • The crackdown on the star conductor's four-city American tour with the National Youth Orchestra of Venezuela is seen as payback for his recent criticisms of the Maduro government.

Spotify Removes Racist Music In Response To Charlottesville

Virginia State Police in Charlottesville, Va., on Sunday, the day after a "Unite the Right" rally ended in violence and the death of a 32-year-old woman. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Two-Way

Spotify Removes Racist Music In Response To Charlottesville

August 17, 2017 • Streaming services, blogs and musicians have been busy this week distancing themselves from white supremacy.

One Of Music Row's Most Influential Leaders, Jo Walker-Meador, Has Died At 93

Jo Walker-Meador and Vince Gill at the Country Music Hall of Fame Medallion Ceremony in Nashville, Tennessee in 2015. Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMHOF hide caption

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Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMHOF

The Record

One Of Music Row's Most Influential Leaders, Jo Walker-Meador, Has Died At 93

August 16, 2017 • She led the Country Music Association for nearly 30 years and oversaw the creation of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the CMA Awards and the CMA Music Festival. She died Tuesday night at age 93.

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Nightmare Scenario: Concert Security Experts Grapple With Lessons Of Las Vegas

Hear Shania Twain on Weekend Edition Sunday

From Church Choirs To Performance Poetry: How Jamila Woods Found Her Voice

Turn It Down: Morton Feldman's Silent Revolution