Music & Culture

'Skate Kitchen' Follows Teenage Girls Skateboarding Their Way Through NYC

5:08pm August 12, 2018

Director Crystal Moselle's new film explores New York City through the eyes of a group of teen female skateboarders that she met on the subway. NPR's Lakshmi Singh talks with Moselle about the movie.

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Music & Culture

Summer Music From Alt.Latino

8:13am August 12, 2018

by Felix Contreras

It's rock, it's hip hop, it's sung in English ... can it still be "Latin music"? Music and cultural identity intersect in surprising ways in this week's list of tunes shared by Alt.Latino.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon wrote songs for The Beatles under Lennon-McCartney, but a new statistical model can be used to tell who actually took the lead.

Music & Culture

A Songwriting Mystery Solved: Math Proves John Lennon Wrote 'In My Life'

8:19am August 11, 2018

John Lennon and Paul McCartney have differing memories of who wrote the music for "In My Life." A mathematics professor has spent 10 years working with statistics to decide once and for all.

A screenshot from "KIKI Challenge | In my feelings Challenge | Shiggy Challenge | Funcho Entertainment | FC," a video by Funcho Entertainment.

Another 'Kiki Challenge' Video From India Earns 2 Million Views — And 3 Arrests

7:00am August 11, 2018

by Kamala Thiagarajan

The police came after the guys who made the video because of their dangerous stunts. The courts gave them what some folks think is a highly appropriate punishment.

Nicki Minaj performs onstage at the 2018 BET Awards on June 24, 2018 in Los Angeles. The rapper's latest album Queen arrives today.

Music & Culture

After A Bumpy Start, Nicki Minaj's 'Queen' Has Landed

5:37pm August 10, 2018

by Sidney Madden

Nicki Minaj fans have made it through the storm for their matriarch — today, we find out if the turbulence was worth it.

"Every five years or so, there's just a transformation I kind of need to constantly be going under," Jake Shears says.

Music & Culture

Jake Shears Strikes Out On His Own

5:05pm August 10, 2018

Scissors Sisters won the hearts of Elton John, David Bowie and Bono before going on hiatus in 2012. Lead singer Jake Shears is back with a debut solo album, full of familiar quirks and dizzying fun.

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"When I am on stage, I finally feel like myself," Miski says. "I finally feel like I can be myself."

Music & Culture

Mitski's new album Be the Cowboy explores the singer's roles onstage, in relationships and as a woman in the world. The artist talked to NPR's Ailsa Chang about how there's no such thing as one identity.

Music & Culture

Across the Blue Ridge #138 - Summer Listening Session

4:18pm August 10, 2018

by Paul Brown

No matter what you're up to this summer, you'll enjoy this program. It's a cavalcade of sound, from comfortable classics to adventures in byways and corners of southern American tradition.

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Music & Culture

Khruangbin, Live In Concert: Newport Folk 2018

3:09pm August 10, 2018

by Carmel Holt

A power trio of an entirely different kind, the Houston band led a journey through globally-influenced funk, jazz, surf and psych-rock — before creating a live, instrumental hip-hop mixtape.

In a short video drawing attention this week, musician B.C. Manjunath uses the Fibonacci sequence to illustrate the depth and complexity of konnakol rhythms.

Music & Culture

Let This Percussionist Blow Your Mind With The Fibonacci Sequence

1:18pm August 10, 2018

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

A South Indian musician, B.C. Manjunath, takes on a seemingly magical sequence of numbers for a dazzling, gasp-worthy performance. (Also: Math. Is. Awesome.)