Music & Culture

A 'Girl In A Band': Kim Gordon On Life After Sonic Youth

2:20pm March 04, 2015

Gordon co-founded Sonic Youth with Thurston Moore. When their marriage broke up in 2011, so did the band. Gordon talks about rebuilding her life, writing her memoir and her new band Body/Head.

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Jin poses for a photograph during an interview with the AP in Hong Kong in 2008.

Rapper Jin Tries To Stretch His '15 Minutes' Of Fame

9:50am March 04, 2015

by Kat Chow

In 2004, Jin was one of the first Asian-Americans to drop a major label rap album. One controversial song, "Learn Chinese," raised eyebrows. A decade later, he's trying to rephrase the message.

Debate About French Muslim Identity Plays Out In Hip-Hop

6:25pm March 03, 2015

As part of our stories about Muslims in Western Europe, commentator Hisham Aidi, author of the book Rebel Music, talks about how music factors into the cultural differences between French Muslims.

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Music & Culture

Fresh Air Remembers 'Jazz Master' Orrin Keepnews

2:19pm March 03, 2015

Keepnews co-founded two of the most important independent record labels of the 1950s and '60s. The Grammy-winning producer passed away Sunday. He spoke to Terry Gross in 1988.

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Music & Culture

Prolific Songwriter Rose Marie McCoy Was Largely Unknown

9:40am March 03, 2015

Rose Marie McCoy was one of the most prolific songwriters of last century, though her name is not well known. She died last month at the age of 92.

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Music & Culture

Legendary Jazz Producer Orrin Keepnews Dies At 91

6:38pm March 02, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

Jazz producer and record label found Orrin Keepnews died on Sunday at the age of 91. Keepnews was behind landmark recordings by jazz legends like Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans and Cannonball Adderley.

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"I think it's a terrible critical sin to try to be different," says Robert Christgau, whose memoir Going into the City is a look back at his five decades of music writing.

Robert Christgau Reviews His Own Life

6:07pm March 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

One of rock music's most loved, feared and prolific scribes, the 72-year-old Christgau says he knew early on that he liked criticism better than journalism: "I didn't want to get into people's faces."

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Josh Tillman's latest album as Father John Misty, I Love You, Honeybear, is a sincere and shocking catalog of the main character's adventures in sex and love.

Music & Culture

Sympathy For The Devils

4:17pm February 28, 2015

by Ann Powers

From Lana Del Rey to Father John Misty, musicians in the current pop moment who expose themselves, warts and all, do so in isolation, without support or challenge from a like-minded community.

House of Cards stars Kevin Spacey as the ruthless politician Frank Underwood.

Music & Culture

A Wrong Note Sets The Right Mood In 'House Of Cards'

9:42pm February 26, 2015

by Tim Greiving

The show's distinctive score is the work of Jeff Beal, who ushers viewers into its clandestine, manipulative and sometimes violent world by breaking a few musical rules.

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Singer Madonna falls during her performance at the Brit music awards at the O2 Arena in London on Wednesday night.

Madonna's Tumble At Brit Awards Lights Up Twitter, Stirs Ageism Debate

5:16pm February 26, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The 56-year-old singer fell off the steps next to the stage while performing her song "Living for Love." But she picked herself up and continued her performance.