This Song Is About You
Confessional songs are all over the pop charts, from Tyler, The Creator's Call Me If You Get Lost to Olivia Rodrigo's Sour. What do musicians who blend fact and fiction owe their real life subjects?
Music Features
Shemekia Copeland, Modern Guardian Of The Blues
Watch Shemekia Copeland play the 2021 Exit Zero Jazz Festival and, on our radio episode, get inside her eclectic sound and topical lyrics, connecting her to blues icons from Ruth Brown to Ma Rainey.
Funkadelic's 'Maggot Brain' At 50: R&B, Psychedelic Rock And A Black Guitarist's Cry
Aiming to make a record that fans would still listen to decades later, George Clinton and Funkadelic mixed R&B, psychedelic rock and a Black guitar hero's cry.
A Hip-Hop Artist In West Virginia Takes The DIY Approach To Get His Breakthrough
25-year-old rapper Shelem sees his latest project as an artistic watershed for him: The production is slick, it has a solid hook and the lyrics show a writer who's continuing to advance in his art.
Explaining 'Patria Y Vida,' The Song That's Defined The Uprising In Cuba
The song, released in February, packs in plenty of historical and current references. The Alt.Latino team translated and decode the lyrics.
Back Together And Blown Away: The Boston Symphony Orchestra Returns To Tanglewood
The Boston Symphony Orchestra recently returned to its storied summer home, Tanglewood, after the pandemic canceled last season. With reopening comes normalcy, as well as an opportunity for growth.
Rodrigo Amarante And His Great Musical Tantrum
NPR's Ailsa Chang talks to musician Rodrigo Amarante about his second solo album, Drama, which he says was inspired by a personal reckoning with his own understanding of manhood.
Re-Revising 'The History Of Jazz'
Ted Gioia first published his History of Jazz in 1997, updating it for the first time in 2011. This year he did so again, after a very important decade for the genre.
City Scenes From Mountain Stage: If You Build It, They Will Play
A carpenter brings music to his hometown with the ultimate DIY venue, West Virginia's Jerry Run Summer Theater.
From Haydn To Flying Lotus, Attacca Quartet Embraces Music Non-Stop
Known for its deft handling of canonical classics and contemporary music, the Attacca Quartet breaks new ground on a major-label debut featuring music by Flying Lotus, Squarepusher and other EDM acts.