Bruce Warren : NPR

First Listen: Marissa Nadler, 'Marissa Nadler'

Marissa Nadler's new self-titled album comes out June 14. Courtney Brooke Hall/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtney Brooke Hall/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Marissa Nadler, 'Marissa Nadler'

XPN

June 5, 2011 • The Boston singer-songwriter's dreamy, fragile folk songs have earned her a small but fanatical following. Hear Nadler's new self-titled album in its entirety.

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Music

The Roots Picnic, In Concert

XPN

June 3, 2011 • ?uestlove and his crew are taking over Festival Pier in Philadelphia on Saturday for a series of live shows by some of their favorite artists. Hear sets by Nas, Esperanza Spalding, Ariel Pink and more, live as they happen.

First Listen: Paul Simon, 'So Beautiful Or So What'

Paul Simon's new album is So Beautiful or So What Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen

First Listen: Paul Simon, 'So Beautiful Or So What'

XPN

April 3, 2011 • When Paul Simon sings and plays, many languages are spoken: gospel, folk, soul, African, doo-wop, blues and American pop. But they're all synthesized into one of American music's most unmistakable voices. Hear Simon's new album in its entirety until its release on April 12.

First Listen: Kurt Vile, 'Smoke Ring For My Halo'

Kurt Vile's fourth studio album, Smoke Ring for My Halo, comes out March 8. Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy of Matador Records hide caption

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Shawn Brackbill/Courtesy of Matador Records

First Listen

First Listen: Kurt Vile, 'Smoke Ring For My Halo'

XPN

February 27, 2011 • The Philadelphia singer-songwriter leaves primitive arrangements behind on his dreamy new album. Hear Smoke Ring for My Halo in its entirety here until its release on March 8.

Rosanne Cash at the 2009 Americana Music Conference at The Renaissance Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee. Rick Diamond/Getty Images hide caption

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Rick Diamond/Getty Images

The Record

Three For Your Weekend: Philadelphia

July 16, 2010 • WXPN Program Director Bruce Warren picks three not-to-be missed shows in his hometown this weekend.

First Listen: Josh Ritter, 'So Runs The World Away'

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Sam Kassirer

First Listen

First Listen: Josh Ritter, 'So Runs The World Away'

XPN

April 25, 2010 • With each new album, the Oberlin-educated, Idaho-born singer-songwriter continues to develop his singular voice. So Runs the World Away, which can be heard here until its May 4 release date, defies categorization as much as it creates its own.

First Listen

First Listen: Dr. Dog, 'Shame, Shame'

XPN

March 28, 2010 • The Philadelphia band Dr. Dog makes the sound of tomorrow's classic rock today. The group's latest album evokes the past while still sounding new, and features crafty guitar lines alongside Dr. Dog's signature piano sound. Hear Shame, Shame in its entirety a week prior to its release on April 6.

First Listen

Exclusive First Listen: Norah Jones

XPN

November 9, 2009 • Jones' new album, The Fall, maintains her jazzy, sultry sound while pushing into more contemporary pop territory. It's a different direction for the singer, but suitable for old fans and newcomers alike.

Exclusive First Listen: Norah Jones

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Concerts

Os Mutantes In Concert

XPN

October 9, 2009 • In the mid-'60s, when the youth culture was turning on to the psychedelic sounds of the decade, Os Mutantes' members were stirring up their own counterculture revolution in their native Brazil. Now, the band is back with its first new album in 35 years and a full-on U.S. tour. Hear a concert, recorded at World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

Os Mutantes In Concert

1:27:54

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First Listen

Exclusive First Listen: Yo La Tengo

XPN

September 1, 2009 • One of America's most influential and captivating rock bands, Hoboken, N.J.'s Yo La Tengo celebrates its 25th anniversary with the release of Popular Songs, which continues the trio's tradition of balancing soft acoustic pop with dark, enthralling rock. Hear the album in its entirety here, for the week prior to its release on Sept. 8.

Exclusive First Listen: Yo La Tengo

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Review

Song Of The Day

Silky Strings and Girl-Group Rhythms

XPN

January 11, 2008 • In "Maybe Tonight," Nicole Atkins' robust, sultry voice conveys vulnerability and confrontation, seemingly without effort. Imagine if Patsy Cline led The Shangri-Las, or if k.d. lang had been raised on Bruce Springsteen and '80s hair-metal instead of country music.

'Maybe Tonight' by Nicole Atkins

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Review

Song Of The Day

Dead Confederate: The South Does It Again

XPN

December 19, 2007 • Dead Confederate's "The Rat" opens with a throbbing guitar blast over tribal rhythms before settling into a seductive but riotous groove. Like Radiohead's "Creep" or U2's "Bullet the Blue Sky," the song builds and bursts with passion.

'The Rat' by Dead Confederate

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Best Music of 2007

The Top 10 Debuts of 2007, from WXPN

XPN

December 19, 2007 • From French electronica and melancholy songwriters to worldly, eccentric indie-rock, here are 10 of this year's best debut albums, as chosen by Bruce Warren, executive producer of WXPN's World Cafe.

Review

Song Of The Day

A Joyous 'Trip' from Start to Finish

May 14, 2007 • Dr. Dog's "Worst Trip" combines classic rock with indie-pop and soul; its universal, accessible sound seems modern while recalling Todd Rundgren, The Band and The Kinks. Mostly, though, its captivating pop hooks and lush instrumentation lead back to the Beatles, and John Lennon in particular.

Review

Song Of The Day

A Compassionate Call to Come Back

April 27, 2007 • Much of the material on Lucinda Williams' West was inspired by the death of her mother, as well as a bitter breakup. The album's heartsick "Are You Alright?" functions as either a post-breakup lament or a tribute to a lost loved one, or possibly both.