Music & Culture

Boots Riley Mines His Experiences As A Telemarketer In 'Sorry To Bother You'

3:27pm July 02, 2018

by Terry Gross

The social satire takes aim at corporations that underpay and exploit workers. This is Riley's first film — he has a long career as a rapper — and his band, The Coup, plays on the film's soundtrack.

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Dave Alvin (left) and Jimmie Dale Gilmore (right) performing live in the World Cafe Performance Studio.

Music & Culture

Dave Alvin And Jimmie Dale Gilmore On World Cafe

2:07pm July 02, 2018

As the longtime acquaintances found out when they were thrown together as tour mates, Alvin and Gilmore have the blues, classic folk and the L.A. club The Ash Grove in common.

Nile Rodgers, performing at the Glastonbury Festival in England in June 2017.

Music & Culture

Nile Rodgers Named Chairman Of Songwriters' Hall Of Fame

2:00pm July 02, 2018

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

The co-founder of ChicC, who has also worked with artists from David Bowie to Madonna to Daft Punk, will serve a three-year term.

Music & Culture

'Lost Album' Offers A Fresh Look At Peak Coltrane

11:52am July 02, 2018

by Kevin Whitehead

A new album revives the lost tracks of a studio session Coltrane recorded with his quartet in 1963. Critic Kevin Whitehead says Both Directions At Once: The Lost Album is solid — but not revelatory.

PJ Morton performs a Tiny Desk Concert on June 20, 2016.

Music & Culture

PJ Morton: Tiny Desk Concert

5:29am July 02, 2018

by Rodney Carmichael

New Orleans' native son brought his musical Gumbo — and a 10-piece orchestra — to the Tiny Desk for some well-seasoned soul and a lesson in creative freedom.

Award-winning playwright Dominique Morisseau authored the book for The Temptations musical, Ain't Too Proud, that tells the origin story of the iconic quintet discovered in her hometown of Detroit.

Music & Culture

'Ain't Too Proud' Playwright Dominique Morisseau Tackles The Temptations Origin Story

2:09am July 02, 2018

Award-winning Detroit native Morisseau authored a new musical that goes behind the scenes of the Motown quintet's signature smooth tunes, as told through the eyes of founding member, Otis Williams.

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After much searching, we found the perfect spot right outside their window. Or did it find us? Levon and Rick's yard. Woodstock, NY, '68

Music & Culture

50 Years On, The Band's 'Music From Big Pink' Haunts Us Still

11:55am July 01, 2018

by Tom Moon

Nobody witnessing the turmoil of 1968 was waiting around for a salve like "The Weight" — or could have predicted how fundamental those songs would become.

Smash Mouth's hit single "All Star" has inspired countless Internet memes since its 1999 release.

Music & Culture

Yes, Smash Mouth Has Seen The 'All Star' Memes

8:14am July 01, 2018

Smash Mouth has recorded a new acoustic version of its 1997 debut album Fush Yu Mang. The 1990s ska-punk staples talk about songwriting, fan mail and all those "All Star" memes.

Ephraim Sykes, Jawan Jackson, Jeremy Pope, Derrick Baskin and James Harkness, star as the original members of The Temptations, in Berkeley Repertory Theatre's production of Ain't Too Proud, now playing at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

Music & Culture

'I Lived Through All That?': The Temptations Musical Hits The High And The Low Notes

6:23am July 01, 2018

The memoir of the Motown group's co-founder, Otis Williams, plays out in Ain't Too Proud. Although the successes of the fractious group came at a cost, Williams says the power of their music lives on.

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Tiny Desk Contest standout Yasmin Williams from Woodbridge, Va., lays a guitar face up, taps on the frets and plays percussion in the NPR studio.

Music & Culture

Yasmin Williams Transcends All Guitar Norms In Her Tiny Desk Contest Entry

12:08pm June 30, 2018

Virginia's Yasmin Williams is a captivating acoustic finger-style guitarist who incorporates cello bows and tap shoes into making her sound.

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