China: Culture American Rapper Eli Sweet Reflects On China August 5, 2008 • Atlanta native Eli Sweet moved to Chengdu, China, nearly two years ago to improve his Chinese and discover a new way of life. The energetic American raps in underground clubs with Chinese hip-hop artists. He says he encounters "an endless stream of adventure."
Studio Sessions Amos Lee At The Studio 4A 'Lodge' July 19, 2008 • Before pursuing a career in music, Lee was a Philadelphia schoolteacher. Then he started going to open-mic nights with a car stereo full of classic R&B records. He recently brought his folky, soulful style to NPR headquarters for a solo performance. Amos Lee At The Studio 4A 'Lodge' Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92691367/92705070" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Amos Lee At The Studio 4A 'Lodge' Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92691367/92705070" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Video Sessions Lang Lang: A Life In Music, So Far July 16, 2008 • Coming from meager beginnings in middle-class China, the 26-year-old superstar pianist describes his drive to be the best in the world — and the struggles along the way — in his new autobiography, Journey of a Thousand Miles. Lang Lang: A Life In Music, So Far Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92585171/92602949" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Lang Lang: A Life In Music, So Far Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92585171/92602949" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Bryant Park Project Video Playing For Brooklyn, The Headlights Shine July 16, 2008 • The band from Champaign, IL brings Phil Spector and his doo wop groups to mind as well as classic mid-90s indie rock bands. A video shoot with the band even revealed them to be five of the nicest people we could have hoped to meet. Playing For Brooklyn, The Headlights Shine Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92577680/92577664" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Playing For Brooklyn, The Headlights Shine Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92577680/92577664" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Video Sessions St. Vincent Wants You To 'Marry' Her July 10, 2008 • Annie Clark of St. Vincent stops by the BPP studios to play a few songs and talk about her music. Her debut album is Marry Me. St. Vincent Wants You To 'Marry' Her Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92398546/92398516" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
St. Vincent Wants You To 'Marry' Her Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/92398546/92398516" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Favorite Sessions Wu Han Plays Tchaikovsky, Month by Month American Public Media June 30, 2008 • In 1876, Tchaikovsky composed musical snapshots of each month of the calendar year for publication in a St. Petersburg magazine. Pianist Wu Han performs the entire cycle, and discusses the music with Performance Today host Fred Child in NPR's studio. Hear Wu Han's Studio Session: 'The Seasons' Part 1 (January-June)
Bryant Park Project Video The Quavers Bring 'Porch Techno' to America June 26, 2008 • The New Yorker describes the Quavers as moody and enchanting. The two Brooklyn musicians describe themselves as a "space-age Carter family." They stopped by The Bryant Park Project studios to demonstrate. The Quavers Bring 'Porch Techno' to America Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91906072/91906042" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Quavers Bring 'Porch Techno' to America Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91906072/91906042" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Bryant Park Project Video 'Peace, Happiness' and G. Love June 19, 2008 • Acoustic funk/soul singer-songwriter G. Love stops by The Bryant Park Project to talk and play music from his new album, Superhero Brother. He says the album was inspired by a recent trip to the slums of Rio de Janeiro. 'Peace, Happiness' and G. Love Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91681120/91681089" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
'Peace, Happiness' and G. Love Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91681120/91681089" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Bryant Park Project Video The New 'Flavors' of Alanis Morissette June 12, 2008 • Back with a new album, Flavors of Entanglement, Morissette talks about heartache and healing. After the painful breakup of her long engagement to actor Ryan Reynolds, Morissette has a lot to say — and to sing. The New 'Flavors' of Alanis Morissette Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91414838/91414792" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The New 'Flavors' of Alanis Morissette Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91414838/91414792" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Bryant Park Project Video Songwriter Hayden Travels 'Field and Town' June 9, 2008 • Toronto musician Hayden is known for his quirky sad songs and his latest album, In Field and Town, is full of them. The intimacy of the record extends to the liner notes, which are a reproduction of Hayden's own handwritten notebook. Songwriter Hayden Travels 'Field and Town' Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91303703/91303674" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Songwriter Hayden Travels 'Field and Town' Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91303703/91303674" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Video Sessions Sen. Lamar Alexander's 'Tennessee Waltz' June 6, 2008 • Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) made a musical splash Memorial Day weekend in a performance with the Memphis Symphony Orchestra; it was later posted in a video clip on YouTube. Alexander performed a few tunes at the piano in NPR's Studio 4A. Sen. Lamar Alexander's 'Tennessee Waltz' Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91242265/91248025" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Sen. Lamar Alexander's 'Tennessee Waltz' Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/91242265/91248025" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Favorite Sessions Ray Bonneville: True-to-Life Troubadour WKSU May 28, 2008 • Bonneville's songs are full of characters who stumble their way through a rough-and-tumble world of violence, hope, and despair. In four videos from Folk Alley, Bonneville stomps his cowboy boots on a piece of wood and tells his stories. Hear an interview and performance from Folk Alley
Bryant Park Project Video Mates of State 'Re-Arrange Us,' to Excellent Effect May 28, 2008 • In the past eight years, Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel have made five albums, married and had two children. The pair, who record as Mates of State, stop by the Bryant Park Project studios to play from their new album, Re-Arrange Us. Mates of State 'Re-Arrange Us,' to Excellent Effect Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90880038/90880010" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Mates of State 'Re-Arrange Us,' to Excellent Effect Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90880038/90880010" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Bryant Park Project Video Haunting Brit Kate Nash Rocks 'BPP' Jukebox May 22, 2008 • The English-Irish singer-songwriter stopped by the Bryant Park Project studios to play "Skeleton Song," one of the arresting pop songs off her debut album, Made of Bricks. Haunting Brit Kate Nash Rocks 'BPP' Jukebox Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90714095/90714072" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Haunting Brit Kate Nash Rocks 'BPP' Jukebox Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90714095/90714072" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Bryant Park Project Video Langhorne Slim Rocks Midtown Park May 21, 2008 • Singer-songwriter Langhorne Slim brings his country-punk sound to Manhattan. With help from the BPP, he and his band got permission to perform "Honey Pie" live in Bryant Park, one of Midtown's most beloved green spaces. Langhorne Slim Rocks Midtown Park Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90664438/90664390" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Langhorne Slim Rocks Midtown Park Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90664438/90664390" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript