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Music Features

Wednesday

Tuesday

Why we still love Green Day

Green Day's latest album, Saviors, arrived as the group is celebrating the 20th anniversary of American Idiot and 30th anniversary of Dookie. Alice Baxley / Apple Music/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Alice Baxley / Apple Music/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Why we still love Green Day

With Green Day's stellar new album, Saviors, the 20th anniversary of American Idiot and 30th anniversary of Dookie, NPR's Daoud Tyler-Ameen, Stephen Thompson and Robin Hilton look at the band's legacy.

Why we still love Green Day

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Wednesday

With Pitchfork in peril, a word on the purpose of music journalism

Unionized staff picket outside the Condé Nast offices in New York on Jan. 23. The company is merging the popular digital music publication Pitchfork with the men's magazine GQ, which has triggered anger over the resulting layoffs and concern for the outlet's future. Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

With Pitchfork in peril, a word on the purpose of music journalism

At its best, the influential online music pub — which Condé Nast announced last week will be folded into GQ — created a rare and precious space to slow down, pay attention and really listen.

Wednesday

What did the beginning of time sound like? A new string quartet offers an impression

The Takács Quartet — left to right: Edward Dusinberre, Harumi Rhodes, Richard O'Neill and András Fejér — collaborated with composer Nokuthula Ngwenyama (center) to premiere her composition Flow. Cal Performances hide caption

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Cal Performances

Deceptive Cadence

What did the beginning of time sound like? A new string quartet offers an impression

Nokuthula Ngwenyama's Flow is on a 13-city tour of performances by the celebrated Takács Quartet.

What did the beginning of time sound like? A new string quartet offers an impression

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Thursday

For Dry January, we ask a music critic for great songs about not drinking

Pink's 2009 pop hit "Sober" may be the best known song about sobriety. She's shown above at The BRIT Awards in London in 2019. Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images hide caption

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Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

Culture

For Dry January, we ask a music critic for great songs about not drinking

Plenty of songs celebrate drinking. But what about music that finds joy in — well, not drinking? Music critic Sasha Frere-Jones reflects upon a few songs that have been meaningful to his sobriety.

For Dry January, we ask a music critic for great songs about not drinking

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Monday

Truth, forgiveness: 'Swept Away' is a theatrical vessel for Avett Bros' music

With songs by The Avett Brothers, Swept Away is inspired by the true story of an 19th century shipwreck in which seamen resorted to cannibalism to survive. Julieta Cervantes/Arena Stage hide caption

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Julieta Cervantes/Arena Stage

Music

Truth, forgiveness: 'Swept Away' is a theatrical vessel for Avett Bros' music

With songs by the Avett Brothers, Swept Away follows four men fighting to survive a shipwreck. The musical is inspired by the true story in which men resort to cannibalism to survive.

Truth, forgiveness: 'Swept Away' is a theatrical vessel for Avett Bros' music

Listen · 7:25
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Wednesday

People in prison explain what music means to them — and how they access it

Many states have introduced tablets into prisons, allowing users to do things like listen to music and send messages. Several incarcerated people told NPR that while the devices aren't perfect, the ability to stream music has been a game-changer. Sarah Gonzales for NPR hide caption

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Sarah Gonzales for NPR

People in prison explain what music means to them — and how they access it

Three people incarcerated at prisons across the U.S. spoke to NPR's Morning Edition about how music helps them reconnect with the past, endure the present and envision the future.

People in prison explain what music means to them — and how they access it

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Saturday

Herlin Riley: master of drums in the cradle of jazz

Herlin Riley performing at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana on April 30, 2011. Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Ebet Roberts/Redferns/Getty Images

Music

Herlin Riley: master of drums in the cradle of jazz

With a long career playing among jazz and R&B greats, he remains one of the most in-demand drummers in New Orleans.

Herlin Riley: master of drums in the cradle of jazz

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Friday

How Harry Belafonte's Caribbean roots helped him change America

Harry Belafonte, alongside Ed Sullivan, signs autographs for fans outside CBS Studio 50 in New York City, circa 1955. Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

How Harry Belafonte's Caribbean roots helped him change America

Since his death at 96, tributes to the singer and activist have centered his legacies in the U.S. But it's impossible to grasp Belafonte's larger meaning without first understanding his island roots.

In Memoriam 2023: The Musicians We Lost
John Rogers/Getty Images

Music

In Memoriam 2023: The Musicians We Lost

When artists die, it can feel impossible to imagine a world without their musical guidance. Yet it's also a moment to celebrate — not just their impact on culture but also inside ourselves.

In Memoriam 2023: The Musicians We Lost

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'Oh Me Oh My': Finding grace after something hellified (a New Year's story)
Courtesy of Lonnie Holley

It's Been a Minute

'Oh Me Oh My': Finding grace after something hellified (a New Year's story)

To close out the year, Brittany is sitting down with Lonnie Holley. He's a painter, sculptor, and musician who released his latest album, Oh Me Oh My, in early 2023. In it he sings of his difficult childhood growing up in Jim Crow Alabama where he was sold, beat, and effectively enslaved. But today he sings of hope. He's been on a journey to heal his pain, and the pain of the generations that came before and the ones that will follow. It's a story of gratitude.

'Oh Me Oh My': Finding grace after something hellified (a New Year's story)

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Saturday

Friday

In which we toot the horn of TubaChristmas, celebrating its 50th brassy birthday

Hundreds of musicians display their tubas after completing TubaChristmas Dec. 18, 2003, in Chicago. Tim Boyle/Getty Images hide caption

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Tim Boyle/Getty Images

Culture

In which we toot the horn of TubaChristmas, celebrating its 50th brassy birthday

Every year, musicians across the country gather for what has become known as TubaChristmas — concerts range from just a few tubas to hundreds of them. (The record is 835.)

In which we toot the horn of TubaChristmas, celebrating its 50th brassy birthday

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'Everyone walked away with part of themselves healed' – 'The Color Purple' reimagined

(L-R) Taraji P. Henson as Shug Avery, Fantasia Barrino as Celie and Danielle Brooks as Sofia in The Color Purple, a Warner Bros. Pictures release. Warner Bros. Pictures hide caption

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Warner Bros. Pictures

Culture

'Everyone walked away with part of themselves healed' – 'The Color Purple' reimagined

Blitz Bazawule's musical re-imagining of the 1982 Alice Walker novel The Color Purple finds new joy among the pain.

'Everyone walked away with part of themselves healed' – 'The Color Purple' reimagined

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