Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Remembering guitarist Wayne Kramer, founder of the MC5

1:40pm February 09, 2024

by Terry Gross

The Detroit-based band, which Kramer founded in the 1960s, is considered a forerunner of punk rock. Kramer, who died Feb. 2, spoke to Fresh Air in 2002 about the early days of the MC5.

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Seiji Ozawa led the Boston Symphony orchestra for nearly 30 years.

Music & Culture

Seiji Ozawa, longtime conductor of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, has died at 88

11:36am February 09, 2024

The pioneering Japanese-American conductor who led the Boston Symphony Orchestra for nearly decades died Tuesday.

Howard's vocal malleability allows her to access a whole spectrum of contradictory emotions and gender expressions.

Music & Culture

On 'What Now,' Brittany Howard is a virtuoso in pursuit of a flow state

11:31am February 09, 2024

by Jill Mapes

The former Alabama Shakes leader is in total control of her new album's genre-defying odyssey through this thing called life, evoking the mastery of another do-it-all maestro: Prince.

Music & Culture

Helado Negro brings deep listening from ordinary life to his latest album

9:43am February 09, 2024

NPR's Michel Martin talks to the artist known as Helado Negro who creates musical dreamscapes. In the album, PHASOR, he uses an electronic machine to create sounds and evoke "what the sun feels like."

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Music & Culture

Tiny Desk Premiere: Tinashe

5:47am February 09, 2024

by Alanté Serene

Tinashe's Tiny Desk performance proves her artistry has never been one-dimensional.

Music & Culture

Besides the game, a lot of people watch the Super Bowl for the halftime show

5:22am February 09, 2024

Usher headlines the Super Bowl halftime show on Sunday. Will it stand up to halftime shows of the past?

Snoop Dogg, left, and Master P seen at the 2017 Essence Festival at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, July 2, 2017, in New Orleans.

Snoop Dogg and Master P sue Walmart and Post for trying to sabotage their cereal

10:11pm February 08, 2024

by Jonathan Franklin

The rappers say that Walmart and Post Consumer Foods neglected their cereal brand and intentionally hid it in stockrooms to prevent it from being sold to customers.

Remembering Henry Fambrough, the last original member of The Spinners

6:59pm February 08, 2024

We remember Henry Fambrough, the last original member of the R&B group The Spinners, who died this week. He was 85.

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When Usher performs on Sunday evening in Las Vegas' Allegiant Stadium during the city's very first Super Bowl, he'll also be graduating from two years as one of its busiest and most successful working residents.

How the pandemic ushered in a maximalist new era for Las Vegas residencies

3:35pm February 08, 2024

by Bilal Qureshi

In the post-pandemic market for maximalist entertainment, America's "capital of entertainment" has found itself at the center of a cultural revival with A-list residencies at its core.

Music & Culture

New songs by Brittany Howard, Jim Kweskin and Colby T. Helms crackle with energy

1:44pm February 08, 2024

by Ken Tucker

Fresh Air's rock critic recommends three songs that transcend age and genre: Howard's "Another Day," Kweskin's duet with Maria Muldaur, "Let's Get Happy Together," and Helms' "Leanne."

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