Heat Check: Underrated And Elevating
Whether stealthy rotation faves or creatives re-introducing themselves, this week's Heat Check head-nods the musical stalwarts who deserve flowers mid-climb.
Music & Culture
Sufjan Stevens Announces New Solo Album 'The Ascension'
Stevens' eighth solo studio album will be released September 25, with its first single coming on Friday.
Singer Bob Dylan Reaches Billboard 200 Milestone
With his latest recording, Bob Dylan has become the first artist to have an album in the Billboard Top 40 in every decade since the sixties. The album Rough and Rowdy Ways came out this month.
CDC Says Singers Could Be Virus Superspreaders — But 100 Sang Unmasked With Pence
At a campaign rally in Dallas that featured Vice President Pence, a choir of about 100 people sang unmasked. Epidemiologists worry that singers are particularly likely to spread the coronavirus.
NPR Music's 25 Favorite Albums Of 2020 (So Far)
How can it be possible that we're only halfway through the year? Here are 25 albums from 2020's first six months that are worth holding onto for the next six, and beyond.
Beyoncé To Drop Visual Album, 'Black Is King,' On Disney+ In July
Beyoncé's upcoming visual album, Black Is King, is based on the music of The Lion King: The Gift soundtrack. A press release calls it "a celebratory memoir for the world on the Black experience."
Dirty Projectors On New EP, Sharing Vocals
Dave Longstreth and Felicia Douglass of Dirty Projectors talk about the band's new EP, Flight Tower, which is one of five in a cycle by the band, each featuring a different singer.
A Look At Songs Inspired By The 2020 Protests For Racial Justice
We take a listen to some of the protest songs of 2020, including Black Lives Matter by Richard Alexander, Mercy by Joy Oladokun and Anderson Paak's Lockdown.
A Different Kind Of Pride: Perspectives On 50 Years Of Celebration, Part 6
We asked writers in the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on the relationship between celebration, music and LGBTQ+ activism. Deborah Sprague writes about songs that reflect her experience as a trans woman.
Someone Finally Remembered William Dawson's 'Negro Folk Symphony'
Broadcast nationwide in 1934 and praised by listeners and critics alike, a masterful symphony soon fell silent. A new recording hopes to help revive an American treasure.