Music & Culture

Music & Culture

George Clinton, Doctor Of The Mothership, Prescribes Funk In 'Medicaid Fraud Dogg'

3:10pm May 22, 2018

by Lars Gotrich

The only antidote for the hell-in-a-handbasket blues is the stankiest of funks, and no one makes it stankier than George Clinton. Hear the first Parliament album in 38 years now.

Music & Culture

Courtney Barnett's New Album Blends Forceful Guitar With Lyrical Complexity

3:08pm May 22, 2018

by Ken Tucker

Barnett sings about fame, feminism and self-doubt on her new album, Tell Me How You Really Feel. Ken Tucker says the songs are like "inner monologues, shaped and sharpened for public consumption."

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Music & Culture

Monsieur Periné Returns With 'Encanto Tropical'

2:20pm May 22, 2018

by Catalina Maria Johnson

The Colombian band stretches their boundaries across the decades, expanding on its swing and jazz-indebted sound with a pop sensibility.

Music & Culture

Tricot Splatters Paint Onto Brightly-Colored 'Potage'

10:41am May 22, 2018

by Lars Gotrich

The Japanese band's brilliantly colored math-rock is meticulously painted in a video by director Yasuyuki Yamaguchi.

Music & Culture

Guest DJ: Stephen Malkmus

10:09am May 22, 2018

by Bob Boilen

Stephen Malkmus shares the songs that have shaped his life and love of music over the years, and talks about his new album with The Jicks, Sparkle Hard.

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Music & Culture

On 'Big Train,' Pllush Ponders The Difference Between Loneliness And Being Alone

10:08am May 22, 2018

by Marissa Lorusso

The San Francisco band formerly known as Plush has written a soundtrack for a breakup's aftermath from its forthcoming album Stranger to the Pain.

Headphone company Ossic announced Saturday it was shutting down, having delivered just 250 of the 10,000 pairs of virtual reality headphones that its backers had crowdfunded.

Crowdfunders Left Hanging By 3D Headphone Startup's Abrupt Closure

10:01pm May 21, 2018

by Laurel Wamsley

"To fail at the five-yard line is a tragedy," the company said in a statement. More than 10,000 people had shelled out $200 or more for Ossic X headphones on Kickstarter and Indiegogo.

Saxophonist Coleman Hawkins and trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie in concert with the Cannonball Adderley Quintet in November 1960.

Music & Culture

What Makes A Jazz Standard?

5:14pm May 21, 2018

Christian McBride of Jazz Night in America joins NPR's Audie Cornish with a few criteria for what turns a regular composition into a canonized classic.

Music & Culture

A Recovering Puerto Rico Stars In Hurray For The Riff Raff's 'Pa'lante' Video

4:59pm May 21, 2018

by Jessica Diaz-Hurtado

Watch the emotional short film and read an interview with director Kristian Mercado.

Donald Glover, performing as Childish Gambino on Saturday Night Live May 5, 2018.

Music & Culture

This Season's 'SNL' Musical Guests, Cruelly Ranked

4:58pm May 21, 2018

by Stephen Thompson

With the 2017-18 season of Saturday Night Live now a wrap, we consider all 21 musical guests from this year — from worst to best. Apologies in advance to Sam Smith.