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Friday January 31, 2020

Primal Scream's 'XTRMNTR' Saw Our Future 20 Years Ago

Bobby Gillespie onstage with Primal Scream, circa 2000. Tabatha Fireman/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Tabatha Fireman/Redferns/Getty Images

NPR Music's 20|20

Primal Scream's 'XTRMNTR' Saw Our Future 20 Years Ago

January 31, 2020 • The Scottish band's 2000 album XTRMNTR isn't as well remembered as its thematic twin, Radiohead's Kid A. But its dark premonition of a world in socioeconomic crisis looks startlingly accurate today.

Monday January 27, 2020

The 2020 Grammys: How Much Weight Can One Awards Show Carry?

Four of the most-nominated artists at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards — (from left to right) Billie Eilish, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, and Finneas O'Connell — pose in the audience during the broadcast. Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy hide caption

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Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

The 2020 Grammys: How Much Weight Can One Awards Show Carry?

January 27, 2020 • In a ceremony that front-loaded performances by women and black artists, mixed messages sparked both cynicism and cautious hope.

Friday January 24, 2020

D'Angelo's 'Voodoo': 20 Years Later, How Does It Feel?

D'Angelo circa 2000. Mark Guthrie hide caption

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Mark Guthrie

NPR Music's 20|20

D'Angelo's 'Voodoo': 20 Years Later, How Does It Feel?

January 24, 2020 • Hailed as a neo-soul smash in 2000, D'Angelo's Voodoo now feels decades more lived-in than its peers. The album's engineer, Russell Elevado, says sounding "old" became the key to sounding timeless.

Thursday January 23, 2020

Torres Explains The Fear And Desire Behind Her Most Self-Determined Record Yet

Torres Michael Lavine/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Michael Lavine/Courtesy of the artist

Torres Explains The Fear And Desire Behind Her Most Self-Determined Record Yet

January 23, 2020 • Mackenzie Scott's fourth record, which came after a period of self-reflection and romantic pursuit, is fixated on desire. "I want people to understand that women can burn for each other," she says.

Wednesday January 22, 2020

The Experience In, And Of, David Olney's Beloved Songs

David Olney, performing in Denver, Co. on Apr. 23, 2015. Larry Hulst/Getty Images hide caption

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Larry Hulst/Getty Images

The Experience In, And Of, David Olney's Beloved Songs

January 22, 2020 • Olney had a gift for character — creating them in his lyrics, inhabiting them in his performances — and that literarily bent musical talent made him a fixture in Nashville for decades.

Tuesday January 14, 2020

The Past Year, And Decade, In Music Listening: Video Rules, The Boy's Club Remains

Two competing data firms, BuzzAngle and Nielsen Music, released reports in early Jan. 2020 detailing the many changes in listening over the past decade. Kirsty Lee / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm hide caption

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Kirsty Lee / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm

Music News

The Past Year, And Decade, In Music Listening: Video Rules, The Boy's Club Remains

January 14, 2020 • Two reports released recently shine a light on the decade-long trends shaping our relationships to listening, from the dominance of video to the vinyl "boom" that isn't quite.

Saturday January 11, 2020

Remembering Neil Peart, A Monster Drummer With A Poet's Heart

Neil Peart, of Rush, photographed in Cleveland on Dec. 17, 1977. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee died Jan. 7, aged 67. Fin Costello/Redferns hide caption

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Fin Costello/Redferns

Remembering Neil Peart, A Monster Drummer With A Poet's Heart

January 11, 2020 • "We're only immortal for a limited time." Peart, who died on Jan. 7, guided Rush through the decades with a pen, a massive drum kit and an openness towards life's many shades.

Tuesday January 7, 2020

Robin Pope/Getty Images/EyeEm

The Endless Potential Of The Pedal Steel Guitar, An Odd Duck By Any Measure

January 7, 2020 • The pedal steel guitar is, for many, inextricable from its roots in country music — but its well runs much deeper than providing some smooth twang.

Tuesday December 31, 2019

Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for Warner Music

In Memoriam 2019: The Musicians We Lost

December 31, 2019 • NPR Music celebrates the alt-rock heroes, Hollywood idols, Pulitzer-winning composers, jazz luminaries, cult legends, bold activists, old masters and rising stars the world lost this year.

In Memoriam 2019: The Musicians We Lost

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Monday December 30, 2019

The Woman Leading The Fiddle Revival In Country Music

Jenee Fleenor at the 53rd annual CMA Awards on Nov. 13, 2019 in Nashville, Tenn., where she was honored as the first woman to win Musician of the Year. Leah Puttkammer/Getty Images hide caption

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Leah Puttkammer/Getty Images

The Woman Leading The Fiddle Revival In Country Music

December 30, 2019 • Fiddler Jenee Fleenor is the first woman ever to win the Country Music Association's Musician of the Year Award. Her work is partly responsible for the instrument's resurgence.

The Woman Leading The Fiddle Revival In Country Music

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Monday December 23, 2019

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All Songs Considered

The All Songs Considered Holiday Extravaganza, 2019

December 23, 2019 • Taylor Swift, Jenny Lewis, Tarriona "Tank" Ball, Lucy Dacus and more special guests join hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton for their annual holiday party. What could possibly go wrong?

The All Songs Considered Holiday Extravaganza, 2019

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Thursday December 12, 2019

The Deceptive Ease Of Cole Porter: In-Depth With Harry Connick, Jr.

Harry Connick, Jr., onstage during a performance of his short-run Broadway show, A Celebration of Cole Porter. Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Matthew Murphy/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

The Deceptive Ease Of Cole Porter: In-Depth With Harry Connick, Jr.

WBGO

December 12, 2019 • "It's fascinating how this guy could be this master draftsman and do hyper-realistic paintings, and then the next he puts the ear on the back of the guy's head."

Wednesday December 11, 2019

Illustration: Belinda Kou for NPR