Music & Culture

Music & Culture

Lady Gaga And Carly Rae Jepsen, Both With Bold Albums, Make Isolation Less Lonely

2:15pm June 23, 2020

by Ken Tucker

The electric instrumentation of Lady Gaga's flashy disco record Chromatica and Carly Rae Jepsen's Dedicated Side B provide a much-needed jolt for the COVID era.

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Soul singer and songwriter William Bell — one of Stax Records' earliest stars — is one of this year's recipients of an NEA National Heritage Fellowship.

The NEA Announces Its 2020 National Heritage Fellowship Winners

1:38pm June 23, 2020

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

A soul singer from Atlanta, an Iroquois bead artist, West African dancers and an Armenian vocalist are among this year's recipients of National Heritage Fellowship

For writer Barry Walters, Donna Summer's "She Works Hard for the Money" soundtracked a joyous moment of Pride.

Music & Culture

A Different Kind Of Pride: Perspectives On 50 Years Of Celebration, Part 2

8:00am June 23, 2020

by Barry Walters

We asked music writers in the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on the relationship between celebration, protest, music and LGBTQ+ activism. Barry Walters writes about pandemics, privilege and disco.

Music & Culture

After Lockdown, Barcelona's Liceu Opera House Opens To A Full House

6:00am June 23, 2020

The curtains rose revealing that more than 2,000 seats were filled with a bunch of lively... plants. The idea was to get people to reflect on the silencing of urban life during the pandemic.

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Music & Culture

Barcelona's Liceu Opera House Opens To A Full House Of Plants

5:56am June 23, 2020

After months of lockdown, the curtains rose revealing more than 2,000 seats were filled with plants. The idea was to get people to reflect on the silencing of urban life during the pandemic.

Janelle Monáe's coming out as a "free-ass motherf*****" "helped me carve space for myself," says Cyrena Touros.

Music & Culture

A Different Kind Of Pride: Perspectives On 50 Years Of Celebration, Part 1

12:01pm June 22, 2020

by Cyrena Touros

This year, Pride feels a little different. We asked music writers in the LGBTQ+ community to reflect on the changing relationship between celebration, protest, music and LGBTQ+ activism.

Music & Culture

Grateful Dead Launches Deodorant Brand

6:26am June 22, 2020

When you think of the Grateful Dead you might not think fresh scent. The deodorant line is handmade and vegan. The fragrances have names like Skull & Roses and Sunshine.

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Phoebe Bridgers is one of the most prolific young songwriters to emerge in the last several years. Her second solo album, Punisher, is out now.

Music & Culture

It 'Feels Like A Graduation': Phoebe Bridgers On 'Punisher'

5:35am June 22, 2020

The LA singer-songwriter talks about her second solo album, which includes guest appearances from peers like Conor Oberst, copying ideas from her heroes and the way lyrical specificity mimics poetry.

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Sudan Archives plays a Tiny Desk concert.

Music & Culture

Sudan Archives: Tiny Desk Concert

5:04am June 22, 2020

by Bob Boilen

Sudan Archives draws inspiration from Irish and African traditional music. Watch her channel both in this Tiny Desk concert.

Tom Petty posed in New York in 1976. On Saturday, Petty's estate issued a cease-and-desist order to the Trump campaign after it used his song at a rally.

Tom Petty's Family Doesn't Want Trump Using His Music For A 'Campaign Of Hate'

5:26pm June 21, 2020

by Christianna Silva

Tom Petty's family issued a cease-and-desist notice to the Trump campaign after the president played "I Won't Back Down" at his rally in Tulsa, Okla.