Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Album Review: 'English Oceans,' By Drive-By Truckers

7:50pm March 06, 2014

by Robert Christgau

Music critic Robert Christgau says it has been six years since Southern rock band Drive-By Truckers put out a great album. That wait ends this week with the release of the excellent English Oceans.

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Pharrell, sporting more conventional headwear.

Music & Culture

Pharrell Williams: Just Exhilaratingly Happy

4:03pm March 06, 2014

by Ken Tucker

To hear G I R L, you'd think Pharrell's world consisted of grooving on catchy beats and flirting with women. It's a lightweight image that draws gravitas from his prolific work ethic.

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Music & Culture

Album Review: 'Always With Us,' By Ladysmith Black Mambazo

11:05am March 05, 2014

by Banning Eyre

Ladysmith Black Mambazo's Always With Us, remembers the life and voice of Nellie Shabalala, the late wife of the group's vocal leader.

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Album Review: 'Morning Phase'

11:05am March 05, 2014

by Tom Moon

It's been six years since singer-songwriter Beck released his last album. Music critic Tom Moon says that Beck's new record, Morning Phase, is purposely out of step with the pop trends of the moment.

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Teen Pop Idol Attracts Extra Fans To UK Soccer Match

10:35am March 04, 2014

One Direction singer Louis Tomlinson played for UK Soccer club Doncaster Rovers in a reserve game this week against Rotherham United. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with BBC's Andy Kershaw about the game.

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Music & Culture

Chuck Mead: Gleefully Sinister Country Serenades

2:25pm March 03, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Mead hooks the listener, eager to show us the bleak side of what seemed like a bright scenario. That's the way he operates during much of Free State Serenade.

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Colorful umbrellas long ago replaced concealed knives during frevo parades.

Music & Culture

From Recife, Brazil, 3 Rhythms Get The Carnival Party Started

8:23am March 01, 2014

by Lourdes Garcia-Navarro

The descendants of the coastal Brazilian city have a long, mixed history, making for quite the vibrant display and musical celebration. One style of music is even said to make the blood boil.

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A Major Oscar Dust-Up Over A Song From A Minor Movie

5:45pm February 25, 2014

The song "Alone Yet Not Alone" had been nominated for Best Original Song at this year's Oscars. Not anymore. Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter explains why.

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Music & Culture

Still 'Out To Lunch' 50 Years Later

5:15pm February 25, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

Eric Dolphy's creativity was exploding early in 1964, and he was finding more players who could keep up. Out to Lunch is free and focused, dissonant and catchy, wide open and swinging all at once.

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Music & Culture

Thundercat On Making Music Outside The Lines

7:41pm February 24, 2014

by Frannie Kelley

Session musician Stephen Bruner has played bass in other people's bands for more than a decade. He can play metal, R&B, hip-hop, jazz. With his second album, he's stepping to the front of the stage.

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