The job of a musician is changing as quickly as the industry. We talk to people who make music for themselves, for a living and for every reason in between.
by Ann Powers
Canadian pop Singer Emm Gryner has known astronaut Chris Hadfield for years, which made her a perfect collaborator on his cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity." It doesn't hurt that Gryner has worked with Bowie himself, as well.
by Sami Yenigun
The language used to translate sound into digital information celebrates its 30th anniversary. Today, MIDI is everywhere, including nearly every pop song on the radio and the fountain at the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas.
by Lizzy Goodman
Three heavily hyped new bands have little in common, except being led by women. How important is that?
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by Lars Gotrich
The guitarist, who died Thursday, understood that metal works in darkness, rooting for something, anything that makes sense of this ugly human existence. Hanneman channeled it into a band that exemplifies pain.
by Frannie Kelley
Erykah Badu is far from your average pop star. Answering questions on stage in New York recently, she was more like a guru: She drew the audience close, received love and handled awkwardness with ease.
by RJ Smith
The country singer began thrilled by the nightlife in the '50s, and was trapped in it by the '70s. Once a pariah in Nashville, he ended up a mascot who got respect.
by Charlie Kaplan
In front of a paying audience, Tyler answered the questions of rap journalist Elliott Wilson. Tyler's buoyancy contrasted with Wilson's laid-back style, and resulted in a conversation that was at turns intimate and crude.
by NPR Staff
The New York rapper's political and layered rhymes have been pegged as "conscious rap," a label that has now become pejorative. His latest album challenges that image, paying homage to old-school hip-hop and working with the present.
by Tom Cole
Richie Havens had a long career as a musician, but he's still most famous for one set he played to hundreds of thousands in New York in 1969.
by Frannie Kelley
A high-concept collaborative album by a veteran rapper and a film composer knits together hip-hop and soul music.
