Daily Newsletter, May 28, 2024

RISING APPALACHIA FOLK  & ANCHOR INDEPENDENT Doing a covers album is far from easy, as some might think. You don’t simply sit down or stand up and cover a song you want and/or love. An emotional connection to the song is not enough. You really have to understand the essence of a specific song, and […]

Whether you are a devoted fan, or just curious about the Beach Boys and music history, the new doc might be illuminating.

Since the dominance of album format took over sometime in the second half of the sixties, it has been a manner for rock critics to go beyond just criticizin

Today in musical birthdays: Lauryn Hill turns 49 (though she probably won’t show up until she’s 50), Lenny Kravitz is 60, Hank Williams Jr. is 75, Stevie Nicks turns 76, Guess Who drummer Gary Peterson hits 79 — and in the posthumous category, guitarist Mick Ronson would be 78, Levon Helm would be 84, Can […]

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While fans can't get enough of pop stars at stadium tours, things do not look so rosy for movie stars.

Examining the rich cultural heritage of Ghanaian highlife music, particularly the influence of Ebo Taylor, who modernised the genre throughout his long career.

The constant demand for pop stars to reinvent themselves is getting in the way of the actual music.

Each of the LPs that claimed the top spot had a story to tell. The year began and ended with The Beatles on top with a whole lot of Simon & Garfunkel in between

Long before he was ever a musician, Leonard Cohen was a writer. Intending first to be a poet and novelist, his writings are just as essential as his albums.

‘Uncanny’ AI music generators blur the line between creators and consumers. Will they turn music from high art to an everyday language? Listen to these AI-generated tracks and judge for yourself.

On our survey of the week's most exciting new albums, WRTI's Nate Chinen and NPR Music's Sheldon Pearce get all wrapped up in the amniotic embrace of a new album by a guru of the L.A. ambient-jazz scene.The new album by Carlos Niño & Friends is called Placenta. If you know anything about Niño, you'll probably be able to guess that the subject that title suggests — pregancy and childbirth — are taken very seriously. Those "Friends" are crucial too: Niño has become a central figure in a scene whose reverberations are starting to be felt well beyond the community itself, and are drawing more artists in. You can hear Niño on André 3000's flute album New Blue Sun, and André returns the favor here.Also this week: The fourth album by DIIV sees the indie rock group leaning into shoegaze-inspired sounds, and Andrew Bird creates an album in tribute to the "Golden Era" jazz tunes of the 1930s and '40s he heard on Sunday morning radio shows as a young adult in Chicago.Featured Albums:• Carlos Niño & Friends, Placenta• DIIV, Frog in Boiling Water• Andrew Bird Trio, Sunday Morning Put-On Other notable albums out May 24: • Tiny Habits, All For Something• Vince Staples, Dark Times• Alex Sipiagin, Horizons• Machinedrum, 3FOR82• Joshua Moshier, semipermanence• Nathy Peluso, Grasa

All three albums are now hailed as milestones in his dazzling career, and a marked influence on other artists, including King Crimson

Cameron Crowe's 'Almost Famous' may have taken certain creative liberties, but the genesis of the classic movie is rooted in fact. Read more here.

People have been telling me for years that I should write a book. And when a publisher recently offered me a deal, I seriously considered it. Then I decided I didn’t want to do a year’s work for the princely sum of $2,000. Guess I’m just lazy. Unlike these authors (who hopefully got a better […]