Curtis McMurtry On Mountain Stage
Hear McMurtry's take on the overall improvements in Top 40 music and how Beyonce's ground-breaking album Lemonade gave him partial inspiration to write a song on his latest album.
Music & Culture
Kurt Vile Parks For Free In 'Loading Zones'
In the video for his first solo song in three years, Kurt Vile avoids payment while running errands by hopping from loading zone to zone.
First Listen: Lucie Silvas, 'E.G.O.'
The British-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter depicts the collision of self-importance and insecurity from an earthier, more conversational angle.
First Listen: Nothing, 'Dance On The Blacktop'
Domenic Palermo channels a lifetime of tragedy into Nothing's blustery distortion, scorching riffs and stirring melodies.
Wattstax: The Benefit Concert From The Past That Echoes Into The Present
In a summer full of anniversaries, the 1972 Wattstax concert in Los Angeles probably doesn't stick out. But Stretch Armstrong and Bobbito Garcia, of NPR's What's Good With Stretch and Bobbito podcast, have good reason to talk about it.
Erykah Badu On Stand-Up, Meeting Prince And 'Unpopular Opinions'
Badu joins Stretch & Bobbito for a conversation about her daily visit to "the five doctors," how she became a certified doula, her desire to try stand-up comedy and getting critiqued by Prince.
In Few Words, The 1975's 'TooTimeTooTimeTooTime' Asks Us To Slow Down
The quiet synth-pop song illuminates a delicate to-and-fro with a crush who maybe has eyes elsewhere.
iLe Uses Puerto Rican History To Focus On 'Odio'
A new single and accompanying video spotlights an independence movement massacre to make a plea for understanding.
SOPHIE's Debut Album Is A Complex, Clamorous Pleasure
The singer-songwriter-producer just released OIL OF EVERY PEARL'S UN-INSIDES. Rock critic Ken Tucker finds an undercurrent of serenity in the organized chaos of SOPHIE's playful brand of noise pop.
Rihanna Is The 21st Century's Most Influential Musician
For much of this century's first two decades, there has been at least one Rihanna song on the pop charts. If she is not seen as taking musical risks, it's only because so many of them have paid off.