Music & Culture

Music & Culture

'A Character of Quiet': Music That Speaks To A Sense Of The World Slowing Down

4:14pm September 15, 2020

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with concert pianist Simone Dinnerstein about her new album, A Character of Quiet, which she recorded at home during the pandemic.

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Arlo Parks plays a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Arlo Parks: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

8:50am September 15, 2020

by Bobby Carter

Watch the young London pop artist perform four songs for our Tiny Desk quarantine series.

Music & Culture

Grohl Ups His Game In Drum Battle With 10-Year-Old Opponent

6:20am September 15, 2020

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl wrote and performed a new song dedicated to Nandi Bushell, who first challenged him last month with a cover of the Foo Fighters' song "Everlong."

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Sayonara Wild Hearts' protagonist assumes her heroic form as masked avenger The Fool.

The Sweet Escape Of 'Sayonara Wild Hearts,' Where Pop Music Is Recovery

4:46pm September 14, 2020

by Daoud Tyler-Ameen

The 2019 video game presents a world where shiny synth-pop is the key to unbreaking your own heart. One unthinkable year later, its comforts are more welcome than ever.

Music & Culture

The Happy Fits Deliver Fresh And Snappy Pop On 'What Could Be Better'

1:40pm September 14, 2020

by Ken Tucker

The musical trio met in college and are now making some of the catchiest tunes around. Their sound features a guitarist, a drummer and one lead singer — who's also a classically trained cellist.

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World Cafe celebrates National Hispanic Heritage Month

Music & Culture

Hispanic Heritage Month On World Cafe: The Playlist

1:27pm September 14, 2020

by Byron Gonzalez

Take a musical journey throughout Latin America, through cities in Central America, South America and Mexico to explore the rising Latinx voices and sounds that often fall under the radar.

Music & Culture

Alphorns Are The Perfect Instrument For Social Distancing

5:55am September 14, 2020

The large wooden horns which are traditional in the Alps can be more than 10 feet in length. Over the weekend, professionals serenaded the German city of Dresden from the top of an apartment building.

Declan McKenna plays a Tiny Desk (home) concert.

Music & Culture

Declan McKenna: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert

5:00am September 14, 2020

by Bob Boilen

The 21-year-old McKenna performs a four-song quarantine concert with a full band.

Hanging Tree Guitars: The Wood's 'Not Good, Not Bad, Not Ugly — Just Strange'

1:26pm September 13, 2020

by Debbie Elliott

Freeman Vines is an African American luthier who creates what have been called "contemporary art sculptures hidden as guitars" out of old wood, some of it from a tree used for a lynching.

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Music & Culture

Rita Indiana Returns To Music After Decade-Long Hiatus

7:53am September 13, 2020

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro talks to Rita Indiana, an award-winning Dominican novelist, about her album, Mandinga Times. It's her first after a decade hiatus from music.