Music Features : NPR

Mark Hollis And Talk Talk's Brilliant, Nuanced, Stubborn Visions

Mark Hollis, photographed in 1998, the year his self-titled solo album was released. The singer and songwriter died in February 2019. Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Paul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images

Mark Hollis And Talk Talk's Brilliant, Nuanced, Stubborn Visions

February 28, 2019 • Fame in hand, Mark Hollis led Talk Talk away from the '80s pop-rock that had made them and got weird, crafting two albums of intricate, desolate beauty. Afterwards, he ditched the machine completely.

How Ludwig Göransson Helped Orchestrate America's Conversation On Race In 2018

Ludwig Göransson composed Black Panther's original score. Austin Hargrave/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Austin Hargrave/Courtesy of the artist

How Ludwig Göransson Helped Orchestrate America's Conversation On Race In 2018

February 23, 2019 • The Swedish composer is the link between Childish Gambino's "This is America," the Grammys' song and record of the year, and Black Panther, now an Oscar winner for best original score.

The 2019 Oscars' Best Original Song Nominees, Cruelly Ranked

Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga perform "Shallow" in A Star Is Born. It's likely to win Best Original Song at the Academy Awards this Sunday, but should it? Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Warner Bros. Pictures

The 2019 Oscars' Best Original Song Nominees, Cruelly Ranked

February 23, 2019 • It's wrong to use the Academy Awards' celebration of excellence as an excuse to nitpick others' creative output. So let's do this.

A Thousand People In The Street: 'For What It's Worth' Captured Youth In Revolt

Stephen Stills (left) performs with Buffalo Springfield on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images hide caption

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CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

American Anthem

A Thousand People In The Street: 'For What It's Worth' Captured Youth In Revolt

February 20, 2019 • Though often associated with the Vietnam War, Buffalo Springfield's signature song was inspired by a confrontation back home, which erupted on a few famous blocks in Los Angeles.

A Thousand People In The Street: 'For What It's Worth' Captured Youth In Revolt

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From Funerals To Festivals, The Curious Journey Of The 'Adagio For Strings'

Dutch superstar DJ Tiesto (seen here performing in Miami in February 2019) released a massively popular electronic reworking of Samuel Barber's Adagio for Strings in 2005. Paras Griffin/Getty Images for E11EVEN Miami hide caption

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Paras Griffin/Getty Images for E11EVEN Miami

American Anthem

From Funerals To Festivals, The Curious Journey Of The 'Adagio For Strings'

February 13, 2019 • How did Samuel Barber's stirring, lush work for strings — music that has become America's semi-official music of mourning — morph into a beloved and endlessly remixed dance floor anthem?

From Funerals To Festivals, The Curious Journey Of The 'Adagio For Strings'

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The Grammys Don't Have A Hip-Hop Problem. The Grammys Have A Grammy Problem

Drake won the Best Rap Song Grammy for "God's Plan," which was the No. 1 song in America for 11 weeks in 2018. Speaking to his peers of the award, he said, "You don't need this." Emma McIntyre/Getty Images hide caption

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Analysis

The Grammy Awards

The Grammys Don't Have A Hip-Hop Problem. The Grammys Have A Grammy Problem

February 12, 2019 • The Recording Academy stepped up on Sunday, giving major awards to Childish Gambino, Cardi B and Drake, but these efforts might be too late to make up for decades of turning its back on the genre.

All The 2019 Grammy Winners Who've Stopped By The Tiny Desk

Kacey Musgraves made a point of showcasing her gentler side during her 2015 Tiny Desk Concert, but as it so often does, rowdiness prevailed in the end. Lydia Thompson/NPR hide caption

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Lydia Thompson/NPR

All Songs TV

All The 2019 Grammy Winners Who've Stopped By The Tiny Desk

February 11, 2019 • We're approaching 11 years and more than 800 concerts behind the Tiny Desk. Here's a look at the 2019 Grammy winners who've passed through our offices.

Cedric Burnside plays Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, Iowa on Dec. 1, 2018 in support of his Grammy Nominated "Benton County Relic." Clay Masters/Iowa Public Radio hide caption

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Clay Masters/Iowa Public Radio

Grammy-Nominated Blues Musician Cedric Burnside Remembers His Roots

IPR News & Studio One

February 10, 2019 • His album Benton County Relic was nominated for a Grammy this year in the Best Traditional Blues category and features lyrics about his poor upbringing in Mississippi.

Grammy-Nominated Blues Musician Cedric Burnside Remembers His Roots

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Ariana Grande's Songwriters On The Making Of 'thank u, next' Album

Ariana Grande's fifth studio album thank u, next marks a turning point for the young star. Some of her closest collaborators explain why. Theo Wargo/Getty Images hide caption

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Music Interviews

Ariana Grande's Songwriters On The Making Of 'thank u, next' Album

February 9, 2019 • Ariana Grande's thank u, next shows a musical turning point for the young star. Grande's producers and songwriters share the studio stories that helped make the album.

Ariana Grande attends Billboard's 2018 Women in Music event on Dec. 6, 2018 in New York City. Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Billboard hide caption

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Mike Coppola/Getty Images for Billboard

Ariana Grande's Road To 'thank u, next'

February 7, 2019 • Grande has transformed in the public eye, from a wunderkind with a mighty voice to a figure whose every move seems to redefine what pop stardom can look like. Here's how it happened.

Tierra Whack's Labor Of Self-Love, From Car Wash To Critical Mass

Nick Canonica/Courtesy of the artist

The Grammy Awards

Tierra Whack's Labor Of Self-Love, From Car Wash To Critical Mass

February 6, 2019 • A misplaced Grammy nomination meets classic blaxploitation as hip-hop's rising star recalls the watershed period in her journey to self-discovery.

Buddy Holly's Classmates Remember The Pioneer 60 Years After 'The Day The Music Died'

Buddy Holly poses for a portrait circa 1958. On the 60th anniversary of his death, Holly's Lubbock, Tx. classmates remember the young talent. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Music Interviews

Buddy Holly's Classmates Remember The Pioneer 60 Years After 'The Day The Music Died'

February 3, 2019 • Lubbock, Texas, hasn't always been fond of its best known son, Buddy Holly. But 60 years after his death, the town has a park with a bronze statue of him, and a street and a museum named after him.

Buddy Holly's Classmates Remember The Pioneer 60 Years After 'The Day The Music Died'

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The Power Of Gospel Gets Explored In A New Documentary Series

The Dixie Hummingbirds Ellen Miller/WXPN hide caption

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Ellen Miller/WXPN

Music

The Power Of Gospel Gets Explored In A New Documentary Series

February 1, 2019 • Behind musical legends like Aretha Franklin, Elvis Presley and Ray Charles is one timeless genre that spans across lifetimes: gospel music.

Oh Yes Son, They're Talking To You: 20 Years Of 'No Scrubs'

TLC at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The trio won in the best group video category, beating boy-band juggernauts 'NSync and the Backstreet Boys. Henny Ray Abrams/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Henny Ray Abrams/AFP/Getty Images

American Anthem

Oh Yes Son, They're Talking To You: 20 Years Of 'No Scrubs'

February 1, 2019 • TLC's 1999 smash was a song women loved about the men they wouldn't put up with. Two decades later, fans still take its message to heart when scrubs run amok.

Oh Yes Son, They're Talking To You: 20 Years Of 'No Scrubs'

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The Unlikely Success And Down-To-Earth Soul Of James Ingram

James Ingram, performing in 2004. Adam Bettcher/WireImage for The Lippin Group hide caption

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Adam Bettcher/WireImage for The Lippin Group

The Unlikely Success And Down-To-Earth Soul Of James Ingram

January 31, 2019 • The gifted songwriter and singer wasn't a born superstar — but became something of a sleeper hit on the strength of his singing, songwriting and history-making collaborations.

Thursday February 28, 2019

Saturday February 23, 2019

Wednesday February 20, 2019

A Thousand People In The Street: 'For What It's Worth' Captured Youth In Revolt

Wednesday February 13, 2019

From Funerals To Festivals, The Curious Journey Of The 'Adagio For Strings'

Tuesday February 12, 2019

Monday February 11, 2019

Sunday February 10, 2019

IPR News & Studio One

Grammy-Nominated Blues Musician Cedric Burnside Remembers His Roots

Saturday February 9, 2019

Thursday February 7, 2019

Wednesday February 6, 2019

Sunday February 3, 2019

Buddy Holly's Classmates Remember The Pioneer 60 Years After 'The Day The Music Died'

Friday February 1, 2019

Oh Yes Son, They're Talking To You: 20 Years Of 'No Scrubs'

Thursday January 31, 2019