Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Ala. Juke Joint Shuttered After More Than 50 Years

10:11am May 11, 2013

Longtime blues joint Gip's Place, in Bessemer, Ala., has been forced to close its doors. Weekend Edition profiled the place two years ago. Host Scott Simon takes note of the closing.

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Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan star in Baz Lurhmann's adaptation of The Great Gatsby — but the new film's music is so bold it may as well be a character, too.

Music & Culture

'It Led Us On A Journey': The Musical World Of 'The Great Gatsby'

9:47am May 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

In overseeing the new film's soundtrack, music supervisor Anton Monsted says he hoped to create a "sliding door" effect between the Jazz Age and the hip-hop era.

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Charles Bradley was signed by Daptone Records partly because of a James Brown act he used to perform. His new album is Victim of Love.

Music & Culture

On Two New R&B Albums, An Old Soul Sound That Glows

5:55pm May 08, 2013

by Oliver Wang

New York's Charles Bradley and London's James Hunter Six both mix inspiration and replication.

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Natalie Maines, former singer for the Dixie Chicks, placed the group at the center of controversy in 2003, when she publicly criticized George W. Bush's decision to invade Iraq.

Music & Culture

Natalie Maines: A Country-Music Rebel Rocks On Her Own

3:06pm May 08, 2013

by Ken Tucker

On Mother, Maines' first solo record, the singer moves beyond the music that propelled her to fame as a member of the Dixie Chicks. It features an assortment of pop and rock covers, including a reworking of the Pink Floyd song that lends the album its title.

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Burt Bacharach has just released a memoir, Anyone Who Had a Heart.

Burt Bacharach: 'Never Be Afraid Of Something That You Can Whistle'

10:25am May 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

The award-winning songwriter speaks with NPR's Scott Simon about the value of melody, and writing a song about rain for a movie scene that had none.

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Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashely Monroe, country stars in their own right, form the trio Pistol Annies.

Music & Culture

Pistol Annies: Plain Truths, Sharp Humor, Three-Part Harmony

10:56pm May 07, 2013

by Meredith Ochs

The latest album from the trio of Miranda Lambert, Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe unites three distinct perspectives from some of the strongest voices in country music.

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Caitlin Rose's newest album is titled The Stand-In.

Music & Culture

Caitlin Rose: A Singer Grounded In The Details Of Yearning

3:20pm May 06, 2013

by Ken Tucker

Dubbed a country singer by virtue of her Nashville base, Rose sounds more like a pop vocalist on The Stand-In. Drawing inspiration from Roy Orbison, Carlene Carter and countless others, Rose knows it takes an assured performer to sell the notion of vulnerability over the long haul.

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The cover image of Dur-Dur band's Volume 5.

Music & Culture

A Funky-Fresh Sound From Somalia, With A Political History

7:20pm May 05, 2013

by NPR Staff

A dance band called Dur-Dur Band ruled the nightclub scene in 1980s Mogadishu, thanks to a unique sound made possible by access to Western culture and instruments.

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Dave Matthews' rain-soaked set at Jazz Fest 2013.

Music & Culture

At Jazz Fest, Photographers Have A Culture All Their Own

11:53am May 04, 2013

by Eve Troeh

Some of the most iconic images of New Orleans musicians have come from its annual Jazz & Heritage festival — thanks to the scores of photographers who crowd the apron of the stage, vying for the best shots. Eve Troeh, of member station WWNO, tagged along with one of them this year.

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Mother is the solo debut of Natalie Maines, former Dixie Chicks frontwoman.

Music & Culture

Natalie Maines On Motherhood, Eddie Vedder And Leaving Country Music

6:22pm May 02, 2013

by NPR Staff

A decade after the Dixie Chicks' frontwoman came out against the Iraq War — the response to which brought the band's career to a halt — Maines returns with her solo debut, Mother.

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