NPR Topics: Music

Listen to new music, podcasts, live concerts and studio sessions. Watch video sessions. Read interviews with musicians and music reviews. NPR covers the best new songs from rock, pop, folk, jazz, urban, world and classical music.

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Live Friday: Nada Surf In Concert

Mar 13, 2010 11:24pm

A former one-hit wonder made good, Nada Surf rebounded from an assortment of apparent career-killers to emerge in the '00s as a critically acclaimed and commercially successful powerhouse. Now more than 15 years into its career, Nada Surf has found its voice, and it's as confident as it is winningly...

Tammy Wynette: The 'Tragic Country Queen'

Mar 13, 2010 9:49pm

When Tammy Wynette died in 1998, she was known as the First Lady of Country Music. Her music expressed drama and, judging by Jimmy McDonough's new biography, there was no shortage of it in her own life. Read an excerpt from his book, Tammy Wynette: Tragic Country Queen, here....

Peter Gabriel: No Guitars, No Drums, All Covers

Mar 13, 2010 9:00pm

He's kicking off a concert tour with a full orchestra. The band he founded, Genesis, will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And, at age 60, Gabriel has just released Scratch My Back, on which he reworks great pop songs across the ages....

Who Needs Labels When You've Got ASCAP?

Mar 12, 2010 9:00pm

Many kids dream of being rock stars, but very few make it. Still, that isn't discouraging new songwriters. Two of the nation's largest performing rights organizations, ASCAP and BMI, say their membership has skyrocketed in the last decade....

Around The Jazz Internet: Week In Review

Mar 12, 2010 3:24pm

News and notes from around the Jazz Internet, including Miles Davis biopic info, best big band records, jazz Manouche, Steve Wilson and Pete Malinverni recorded, a Norwegian bassist in Texas, something about Mary Halvorson and a must-read Christian Scott interview....

Listen Up, You Twits: The Twitter Jazz Network

Mar 12, 2010 2:32pm

From the jazz blogosphere to the jazz micro-blogosphere — or perhaps the other way around. Enter Twitter Jazz Network, a group blog run by folks who are frequently talking about jazz on Twitter....

Delilah: The Song She Loves

Mar 12, 2010 2:00pm

If you've been driving down the interstate late at night, you may know the voice of Delilah. Every night, hundreds of thousands of people call in to tell her their story. Delilah, a true Queen of Hearts, listens, then plays a song to fit that person's situation. Jacki Lyden asks...

Clarence Bucaro On Mountain Stage

Mar 12, 2010 11:03am

The singer-songwriter hiked the Appalachian Trail and traveled around the world before trying his hand at music. His new album, 'Til Spring, draws upon a Jon Fante novel and a record by jazz pianist Bill Evans....

Frightened Rabbit: Inspired By Solitude

Mar 12, 2010 9:57am

The Winter of Mixed Drinks is the third album from the Scottish band Frightened Rabbit. Though dark, it's less melancholy than their previous records, and draws inspiration from the rural Scottish village where frontman Scott Hutchison penned its songs....

Jamie Cullum And 'The Pursuit' Of Jazz, New And Old

Mar 12, 2010 9:52am

The pianist and singer has sold more jazz records in the U.K. than any other British artist. His latest album, The Pursuit, features original songs, jazz standards and pop covers....

Meaghan Smith's Modern Vintage Sound

Mar 12, 2010 9:08am

The Canadian singer grew up watching old movies and musicals in London, Ontario. She took those influences and turned them into an album that sounds both old-fashioned and timeless. Its title is The Cricket's Orchestra....

Ted Leo And The Pharmacists On World Cafe

Mar 12, 2010 8:56am

The band's 1999 debut fused punk, reggae and dub music, but Leo has gone in several other directions since: He and The Pharmacists have crafted a contagious and infectious sound that also incorporates pop, rock, soul, folk and more....

Why The Shocking And Wrong 'Idol' Top Twelve Isn't All That Shocking Or Wrong

Mar 12, 2010 7:47am

Many found the four eliminations on Thursday night's American Idol very surprising. We didn't....

Loston Harris On Piano Jazz

Mar 12, 2010 7:05am

The singer and pianist began his musical study as a percussionist, but shifted to the piano after Ellis Marsalis overheard him tinkering at the keys. Today, the Loston Harris Trio is a mainstay of the Bemelmans Bar at Manhattan's Carlyle Hotel. On this episode of Piano Jazz, Harris and guest...

Venice Takes The Lead in Verdi's 'I Due Foscari'

Mar 11, 2010 9:00pm

Verdi's opera showcases the city of Venice's complex and lethal political history in a dramatic version of the life of 15th-century doge Francesco Foscari....