Music Features

Members of ÌFÉ perform at NuevoFest in Philadelphia

Music & Culture

Summer Latin Music Festivals Offer Music And Opportunity

11:41pm July 20, 2018

by Marisa Arbona-Ruiz

For Latinx musicians who have found themselves excluded from the stages of mainstream festivals, a growing range of festivals and tours catering to Latinx artists and fans is changing the game.

Drake's latest No. 1 hit "In My Feelings" shot to the top of the charts thanks to a viral dance challenge that had little to do with the rapper himself.

Music & Culture

Who's Entertaining Who?: How The Internet Picks Up Drake's Slack

10:53am July 20, 2018

by Sam Sanders

Drake's latest No. 1 hit "In My Feelings" shot to the top of the charts thanks to a viral dance challenge that had little to do with the rapper himself.

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (left) takes the oath of office in August 1993 as President Bill Clinton looks on. A new album, Notorious RBG in Song sets events from Ginsburg's life to music.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Life Immortalized In Song

9:35am July 18, 2018

by Nina Totenberg

Songs about the life and career of the Supreme Court justice, written in secret by her daughter-in-law, now make their debut on a very personal album called Notorious RBG in Song.

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The '80s VHS-style art for Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" as reimagined by YouTube user TRONICBOX.

Music & Culture

The Strange Magic Of YouTube's '80s Remix Culture

12:26pm July 17, 2018

by Annie Zaleski

Search the phrase "80s version" and you'll find dozens of present-day hits reworked with vintage synths and sax solos. Embedded in them is an emotional lesson on what's missing from the streaming era.

Sertanejo singer Marília Mendonça, 22, sings to a crowd of thousands at Expo Londrina, an agricultural fair in the southern Brazilian city of Londrina.

In 'Macho' Brazil, Fast-Rising Star Marília Mendonça Is Inspiring Women To Push Back

10:14am July 17, 2018

by Philip Reeves

Marília Mendonça has reclaimed Brazil's traditional genre sertanejo and created "feminejo," providing women with a voice in a traditionally macho society.

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Insects have been an inspiration in music for centuries, from classical composers to tough-as-nails metal bands.

Music & Culture

What's The Buzz? Insects Have Invaded My Music

9:28am July 16, 2018

Insects have been an inspiration in music for centuries, starring in pieces from "Flight of the Bumblebee" to Mastodon's "March of the Fire Ants."

Rodney Crowell, whose new album Acoustic Classics has the Nashville legend reinterpreting some of his catalog from a new vantage point.

Music & Culture

For Rodney Crowell, A Godfather Of Americana, The Work Is Never Finished

8:29am July 13, 2018

by Jewly Hight

At age 67, Rodney Crowell has become the literarily inclined elder statesman of the Americana scene. His new album, Acoustic Classics, is a look back at the songs of his career's many seasons.

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Iraqi-born, New Mexico-based composer and oud player Rahim Alhaj.

Music & Culture

Stories Of Wartime, Transformed Through Music

8:55pm July 10, 2018

by Anastasia Tsioulcas

Tortured and imprisoned under Saddam Hussein's regime, composer and oud player Rahim Alhaj — who resettled as a refugee in New Mexico — uses his work to tell true stories of Iraqis living through war.

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Music & Culture

'You've Got To Risk It': How Tragedy Inspired St. Louis Singer Tonina's Artistry

4:27pm July 09, 2018

by Allison Woodworth

Truly a rose grown out of the concrete, Tonina's artistry is a glaring reflection of her tumultuous journey told through unblemished vocal range and the sounds of intermingling cultures.

Officers of the 5th U.S. Cavalry near Washington, D.C., in 1865. Julia Ward Howe was inspired to write "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" after a visit with Union troops in the thick of the Civil War.

Music & Culture

One Song Glory

12:10pm July 04, 2018

by Andrew Limbong

The refrain — "Glory, glory, hallelujah" — shows up at labor protests, conservative rallies, church services and football games. It turns out the song, originally a war march, is flexible by design.

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