Music Interviews

"I think we came about precisely from just goofing around and having fun," bassist Chester Hansen (second from right) says. "And we're still just goofin'."

Music & Culture

'We're Contemporary People': BADBADNOTGOOD's Mixed Bag Of Inspiration

5:31pm November 21, 2016

by NPR Staff

The Toronto jazz band is heavily influenced by today's hip-hop. "We came about precisely from just goofing around and having fun," bassist Chester Hansen says.

A Tribe Called Red's latest album is We Are the Halluci Nation.

Music & Culture

A Tribe Called Red Breaks Down Its 'Powwow-Step' Style

5:09pm November 20, 2016

by NPR Staff

A group of three indigenous DJs from Canada combines dubstep, hip-hop, and traditional powwow samples in its music. Bear Witness calls it "a very inclusive party that everybody showed up to."

Music & Culture

Music Moment: Lewis Del Mar

9:29am November 20, 2016

Danny Miller and Max Harwood form the music duo. Their song, Puerto Cabezas, NI, draws on Miller's trip to the Latin American town where his parents met. The trip helped him understand who he is.

Jarobi White and Q-Tip performing on Saturday Night Live on Nov. 12.

Music & Culture

'Musicians Don't Retire': A Tribe Called Quest On The Work Ahead

1:06pm November 19, 2016

by NPR Staff

The death this year of a founding member means that the group's long-delayed new album may really be its last. But as Q-Tip and Jarobi White put it, "Musicians don't retire."

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"We want so badly just to confess everything when we're deep inside of our drug use," Nina Diaz says. "We want so badly to get caught sometimes."

Music & Culture

Nina Diaz Is On The Other Side

8:12am November 19, 2016

by NPR Staff

The frontwoman for the punk band Girl in a Coma spent years battling addiction. Now, she's gotten sober and gone solo for her new album, The Beat Is Dead.

Metallica's new album, Hardwired...To Self-Destruct, is out now.

Music & Culture

Metallica's Lars Ulrich And James Hetfield Are In It For The Long Haul

8:05am November 18, 2016

by NPR Staff

Twelve years ago, a documentary showed Metallica close to imploding. Today, the band releases its 10th studio album — and its two main songwriters say they've learned a lesson in empathy.

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Middle Kids' "Edge Of Town" is one of the new songs featured in this segment with programmers from Unearthed on triple j Radio.

Music & Culture

Sense Of Place Sydney: New Music On triple j Radio

6:51pm November 17, 2016

by David Dye

"Our main motto is that we love music — particularly new music and particularly Australian music," says Lachlan Macara. He and colleague Dave Ruby Howe run triple j Radio's music-discovery site.

The 1975 is, from left to right, George Daniel, Ross MacDonald, Matty Healy and Adam Hann.

Music & Culture

Guest DJ: Matty Healy Of The 1975 On Making Music From Now On

4:22pm November 14, 2016

by Bob Boilen

The frontman for The 1975 says today's political climate has him thinking more seriously about writing songs that mean something.

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Sixteen-time Grammy-award winning British rock star, Sting has released his first collection of original songs in a decade. The album's entitled, 57th & 9th.

Music & Culture

'I Have A Purpose': Sting Talks About '57th & 9th' And Why He's Still Here

6:07pm November 13, 2016

by NPR Staff

After a decade, the singer-songwriter has a new album. He talks with NPR's Michel Martin about U.S. elections, Brexit, the Bataclan, the migrant crisis — and his own mortality.

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Baltimore Symphony Orchestra percussionist John Locke stands beside conductor Marin Alsop, who holds the giant hammer Gustav Mahler includes in his Sixth Symphony.

Music & Culture

Hammered: Pounding Out The Excess In Mahler's Sixth Symphony

8:42am November 12, 2016

by Marin Alsop

At a time when we have become imune to shock and where hyperbole rules, Marin Alsop argues that Mahler's Sixth Symphony provides the perfect soundtrack.