Music

David Bowie performing live in 1978. A new box set collects all of Bowie's albums released between 1977 and 1982.

Music & Culture

How 'Ashes To Ashes' Put The First Act Of David Bowie's Career To Rest

8:00am October 06, 2017

by Jason Heller

Following a decade of relentless self-reinvention, one song signaled the beginning of a new persona for the shape-shifting pop star: one known simply as David Bowie.

Lin-Manuel Miranda holds up the flag of Puerto Rico during a celebration in Vega Alta in August.

Music & Culture

Lin-Manuel Miranda Explains How He Made His New Benefit Song For Puerto Rico

11:43pm October 05, 2017

"Almost Like Praying" will raise money for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico. "I'd much rather be writing a song than jumping up and down and making noise," Miranda tells NPR.

Queue Listen Now

Authorities say the Las Vegas gunman may have considered other music festivals to target, including Chicago's Lollapalooza, shown here in July 2016.

Shooter May Have Considered Other Targets In Chicago And Las Vegas

7:27pm October 05, 2017

by Laurel Wamsley

The weekend before his brutal attack, Stephen Paddock rented a room above a different Las Vegas music festival. And a man with the same name booked a Chicago hotel room during Lollapalooza.

Music & Culture

'Familia' Affair: Paying Homage To Afro-Cuban Jazz Pioneers

4:53pm October 05, 2017

by Felix Contreras

Pianists Chucho Valdes and Arturo O'Farrill honor their fathers, Latin jazz greats Bebo Valdes and Chico O'Farrill, on a new album. Here, the younger O'Farrill discusses Familia on Alt.Latino.

Queue Listen Now

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Shopping, 'The Hype'

3:41pm October 05, 2017

by Karen Gwee

Shopping knows how to check itself, while also giving itself over to the groove. "The Hype" is the trio's first song since its 2015 album Why Choose.

Music & Culture

Singer/Songwriter Jhené Aiko Displays Her Ambition And Range On 'Trip'

1:37pm October 05, 2017

by Ken Tucker

Aiko created some of the music on Trip as a response to losing her brother to cancer. Critic Ken Tucker says the album features sorrow and grief — as well as an attempt to escape from sadness.

Queue Listen Now

In the musical KPOP, Ashley Park plays the Korean pop star Mwe, one of the show's emotional centers.

A New Musical — And Its Audience — Grapple With Asian Identity, Through K-Pop

1:36pm October 05, 2017

by Kat Chow

The show's plot and very existence provoke larger questions around race, representation and casting.

Music & Culture

First Listen: Carly Pearce, 'Every Little Thing'

12:36pm October 05, 2017

by Jewly Hight

In country music, the pendulum has always swung between the extremes of pop and twang. Every Little Thing is a reminder that nimble young music-makers can have it both ways.

R.E.M.'s Automatic For The People was released on Oct. 5, 1992.

Music & Culture

From The Archives: R.E.M. Talks 'Automatic For The People'

10:57am October 05, 2017

by Salvatore Maicki

On the album's 25th anniversary, we revisit the band's original interview with NPR, from 1992.

Kate Bush, Radiohead and Sister Rosetta Tharpe are all first-time Rock Hall nominees.

Music & Culture

Kate Bush, Radiohead, Sister Rosetta Tharpe Nominated For Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

10:23am October 05, 2017

by Lars Gotrich

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame announced its nominees for the class of 2018, presenting one its more sonically diverse group of first-time nominees.