Music

A still from Japanese Breakfast's "In Heaven" video.

Music & Culture

Songs We Love: Japanese Breakfast, 'In Heaven'

9:48am May 17, 2016

by Marissa Lorusso

The lush dream-pop gem is a testament to Michelle Zauner's ability to layer mourning and beauty seamlessly. The video features bearded studs, "an invitation to my own personal heaven," she says.

Music & Culture

Viking's Choice: Lisa Prank, 'Take It All'

9:00am May 17, 2016

by Lars Gotrich

Seattle singer Robin Edwards makes bubblegum pop-punk for lovesick, rainbow-colored unicorns.

Music & Culture

Steve Kimock: Tiny Desk Concert

3:28pm May 16, 2016

by Felix Contreras

The veteran jam-rock guitarist's dedication to his instrument is matched only by his imagination. There's joy in hearing Kimock play acoustically, with no filter between his ideas and his fingers.

Music & Culture

World Cafe Next: Kyle Craft

2:08pm May 16, 2016

Craft's debut album, Dolls Of Highland, is influenced by Louisiana and David Bowie in equal measure. Hear two songs.

Queue Listen Now

Yuja Wang played a demanding program at Carnegie Hall, topped by four encores.

Music & Culture

Yuja Wang Plays Carnegie Hall

1:37pm May 16, 2016

by Tom Huizenga

Hear one of today's most charismatic pianists perform music with deep psychological — and physical — dimensions by Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms.

Queue Listen Now

Justin Martin's new song "Wet Cat (feat. Kill Frenzy & Ardalan)" is featured in this week's episode of Metropolis.

Music & Culture

Metropolis: 5/14/16

1:21pm May 16, 2016

KCRW's Jason Bentley spins music by Kaytranada, Bibio, James Blake and more in a two-hour EDM mix.

Chance The Rapper performs in October 2015, in New York City.

Music & Culture

Chance The Rapper's 'Coloring Book' Reveals Shades Of Gospel

7:52pm May 15, 2016

by Kiana Fitzgerald

The Chicago rapper's new mixtape, Coloring Book, walks a line between the secular and the religious, bringing gospel sounds to listeners who may not have darkened the doors of a church in a while.

Queue Listen Now

Jamala representing Ukraine performs the song "1944" at the Ericsson Globe on Saturday in Stockholm, Sweden.

A Heavy Dose Of Glitter, Pyrotechnics and Politics At Eurovision 2016

2:59pm May 15, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Ukraine's Jamala is this year's winner with a haunting song about the mass deportation of Crimean Tatars during World War II. Politics are never far from the surface at the European song contest.

Music & Culture

Tiny Desk Contest Stand-Out 'Seratones' Adjusts To Tour Life

7:58am May 15, 2016

Last year, NPR's Rachel Martin spoke to one of the bands that stood out in NPR Music's Tiny Desk Concert Contest: Seratones. A year later, the band is releasing its first album.

Library Of Congress Opens 'Jazz Singers' Exhibition

7:58am May 15, 2016

by Susan Stamberg

The new exhibition features the likes of Billie Holiday and other jazz greats, from the 1920s to today. Photos, papers, video and scores are on display and will travel to Los Angeles later this year.

Queue Listen Now