Music Reviews : NPR

Song Of The Day

Medeski Martin and Wood: Introducing Jazz

January 31, 2008 • With a frenzied organ groove, the song repeatedly stops and starts on a dime, like a dance-crazy game of musical chairs. It's from an album of music for kids, but adults should appreciate it, too.

'Where's the Music?' by Medeski Martin and Wood

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Unwelcome Spirits Haunt 'The Bedlam in Goliath'

January 29, 2008 • When The Mars Volta purchased a ouija board in a Jerusalem curio shop and began to use it, the band had no idea how much it would affect its recording. Listening to The Bedlam in Goliath, the paranormal talk might not seem like such a publicity stunt.

Unwelcome Spirits Haunt 'The Bedlam in Goliath'

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Rock from the Beijing Underground

Fresh Air

January 29, 2008 • When British musician and record producer Martin Atkins visited Beijing in 2006, he wasn't sure what kind of music scene he'd find. As it turned out, the sounds emerging from the Chinese underground were surprisingly familiar. Milo Miles reports.

Rock from the Beijing Underground

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Song Of The Day

Giving the 22nd Century a Soundtrack

KEXP

January 29, 2008 • In "None Shall Pass," underground rapper Aesop Rock comes off as a hip-hop fortuneteller, announcing what will happen in a distinctly combative way. He issues a dire warning amid thick production and sick sampling, but it's the listener's job to figure it out.

None Shall Pass

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Music

Death Cab Redux and Willie's 1,473rd

January 29, 2008 • Here's a look at a few CDs that hit stores today, including debuts from Vampire Weekend and Kate Walsh, a solo project from Chris Walla of Death Cab for Cutie, and the 1,473rd album from Willie Nelson.

Death Cab Redux and Willie's 1,473rd

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Music Interviews

Assisted Listen: The Magnetic Fields' 'Distortion'

January 29, 2008 • Stephin Merritt and The Magnetic Fields have quietly made some of the most groundbreaking pop music in recent history. LD Beghtol, who sang and played on the Fields' epic 69 Love Songs, presents a guide to the band's new record, Distortion.

Assisted Listen: The Magnetic Fields' 'Distortion'

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World Cafe

Eugene McGuinness: Lively Pop Melodies

XPN

January 28, 2008 • The 21-year-old's songs are infused with wry humor and a bit of swagger. McGuinness breathes fresh life into topics that would otherwise seem mundane, like procrastination, rainy English weather, and monsters under the bed.

Eugene McGuinness: Lively Pop Melodies

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Taking a 'Good Look' at the Fleshtones

Fresh Air

January 28, 2008 • Some call them garage-rockers, but the Fleshtones, who actually got their start in a Queens basement, don't stop there. They add in overtones of R&B, rockabilly and even surf to create a sound they like to call "Super Rock." Fresh Air's rock critic takes a good look at their latest album, Take a Good Look.

Taking a 'Good Look' at the Fleshtones

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Patricia Brooks: A Singular Singer Remembered

Fresh Air

January 25, 2008 • In 1971, critics hailed soprano Patricia Brooks' recital debut as groundbreaking. A new CD release provides a rare document of a performer who demonstrated a rare mix of talents.

Patricia Brooks: A Singular Singer Remembered

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Song Of The Day

The Cops and a Rhythmic Call for Revolution

January 25, 2008 • The Cops' "Modern Black Flats" is the sound of righteous indignation — a sinewy, seductive bit of rage against the corrupt machinations of commerce that's as danceable as it is incendiary. Throughout the song, the band gives "Modern Black Flats" a sonic fury to match the lyrical one.

Modern Black Flats

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If It Bleeds, It Leads on a New Box Set

January 24, 2008 • The Grammy-nominated People Take Warning! collects historical songs of murder and disaster during a fertile era for blues and country music: 1913-38. With its cautionary title against the looming industrial age, these musicians took the sensationalism of calamity to song.

If It Bleeds, It Leads on a New Box Set

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Song Of The Day

A Small Slice of Life, and Perhaps Pie

January 24, 2008 • Greta Gertler was making her living as a waitress when she met her band, The Extroverts. Her experience in the service industry might explain the food-inspired Edible Restaurant, brought to delicious fruition in "Veselka."

'Veselka' by Greta Gertler and the Extroverts

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Music Interviews

Unclassifiable Musician Baby Dee Is Now 'Safe'

January 22, 2008 • Safe Inside the Day is the latest record from transsexual harpist and pianist Baby Dee. The songs tell the many stories of Dee's life, including her stints in freak shows at Coney Island and playing organ at a South Bronx church.

Unclassifiable Musician Baby Dee Is Now 'Safe'

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Song Of The Day

Making 'History' with Familiar Ingredients

January 22, 2008 • The Bell's wiry guitar-rock recalls many of the bands that came up in the wake of, or were contemporaries to, Echo and the Bunnymen. The group's debut CD, Make Some Quiet, draws on these influences, while also recalling the post-punk pop of Interpol.

World Cafe

Black Joe Lewis: Rough-Hewn Blues

XPN

January 22, 2008 • Lewis skillfully combines Southern gospel funk, soul, and Texas blues. Lewis' raw and emotional vocals are reminiscent of James Brown and Lightning Hopkins, both of whom Lewis admires.

Black Joe Lewis: Rough-Hewn Blues

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