Music & Culture

Dave's Picks Volume 9 features a 1974 Grateful Dead concert played in Montana.

Music & Culture

Fight Sound With Sound: Grateful Dead's Arena Combat

3:47pm March 31, 2014

by Milo Miles

In 1974, sound engineer Owsley Stanley crafted a superior live experience with an enormous conglomeration of amps and speakers called the Wall of Sound. Dave's Picks Volume 9 captures this era.

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Music & Culture

Helen Keller's Glimpse Of Beethoven's 'Heavenly Vibration'

11:27am March 29, 2014

NPR's Scott Simon reads from a letter written by activist Helen Keller, who was deaf and blind. It was written in 1924, after she listened to a performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

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"I feel like people don't take you as seriously unless you've done a 'studio record' — which is OK, but I think it's also important to not limit yourself to that," Skrillex says. His new LP Recess is a debut in name only, part of a consistent stream of

Music & Culture

Skrillex, The Darling Of Dubstep, Speaks

2:18pm March 24, 2014

by NPR Staff

In an extended chat with NPR's Arun Rath, the DJ and producer breaks down his unconventional release strategy, collaboration process and how he turned "brostep" from a dirty word to a badge of honor.

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Bud Powell pioneered bebop-style improvisation on the piano.

Music & Culture

After A Painful Year, Bud Powell's Triumpant 1953 Return

2:14pm March 24, 2014

by Kevin Whitehead

On Feb. 5, 1953, Powell was uncommunicative face to face at the New York jazz club Birdland. But when he sat at the keys, it was a whole other story.

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Music & Culture

For Foster The People Frontman, Fame And Isolation

11:47am March 23, 2014

by David Greene

David Greene talks to Mark Foster of Foster the People about the band's second album, Supermodel.

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Music & Culture

Jazz Composer Tries Something New With 'A Trumpet In The Morning'

11:46am March 23, 2014

Musician Marty Ehrlich doesn't play much on his new album; instead, he conducts an ensemble that performs his compositions. He tells Fresh Air about his first album devoted to his orchestral music.

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Music & Culture

'Flaco And Max' Keep A South Texas Musical Tradition Thriving

11:45am March 23, 2014

Flaco Jimenez has been playing the accordion for most of his 75 years. He makes conjunto music with guitar player Max Baca. NPR's Scott Simon speaks to the pair about their album, Flaco & Max.

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Music & Culture

Intocable's Music Straddles The Border

10:37am March 21, 2014

by Steve Inskeep

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep stops in Zapata, Texas, the hometown of the lead singer of Intocable, a band popular on both sides of the border.

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Music & Culture

Sara Evans: Country Power Ballads With A Punch

5:35pm March 20, 2014

by Ken Tucker

Surrounded on the charts by younger men and their big hits about drinking and partying, Sara Evans' hit-single success of Slow Me Down's title song all the more heartening.

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Karen Carpenter, of The Carpenters, performs in London in 1974.

Music & Culture

Remembering Karen Carpenter, 30 Years Later

4:38pm March 20, 2014

by Joel Samberg

By the time she was 24, Carpenter was already famous, having released more than a dozen hit records with her brother Richard. Her legacy remains a source of disagreement.

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