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Music Features

Monday

Thursday

The Grateful Dead Tribute On Mountain Stage
Brian Blauser/Composite by Alexis Palmer/Mountain Stage

Mountain Stage

The Grateful Dead Tribute On Mountain Stage

In celebration of the Grateful Dead, hear these performances from Catherine Russell, Joan Osborne and Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams, live on Mountain Stage.

The Grateful Dead Tribute On Mountain Stage

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Wednesday

Tuesday

'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' The Anthem For A Generation That Didn't Want One

Kurt Cobain in the studio with Nirvana in late 1991. Michel Linssen/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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Michel Linssen/Redferns/Getty Images

American Anthem

'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' The Anthem For A Generation That Didn't Want One

Nirvana's culture-shifting hit mocked mainstream rock songs and wound up becoming one. But in his very ambivalence about success, Kurt Cobain captured something essential about growing up.

'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' The Anthem For A Generation That Didn't Want One

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Monday

Wednesday

Wrangler On His Booty: Lil Nas X On The Making And The Magic Of 'Old Town Road'

"I never want my name to be more hot because of controversy than my music," Lil Nas X says. "It's like a blessing and a curse." Eric Lang/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Eric Lang/Courtesy of the artist

Music Interviews

Wrangler On His Booty: Lil Nas X On The Making And The Magic Of 'Old Town Road'

The artist behind the country-trap hit, who celebrated his 20th birthday and topped the charts this week, is less beholden to any genre than he is to the shape-shifting nature of online identity.

Beyond The Summer Of Love, 'Get Together' Is An Anthem For Every Season

The Youngbloods circa 1967. Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images hide caption

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

American Anthem

Beyond The Summer Of Love, 'Get Together' Is An Anthem For Every Season

The song was everywhere during the 1967 gatherings in San Francisco. After it was used in a public service announcement, it became an anthem for the rest of the world.

Beyond The Summer Of Love, 'Get Together' Is An Anthem For Every Season

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Sunday

Aretha Franklin's 'Amazing Grace' Gets LA Premiere In The Church Where It Took Place

Viewers find their seats inside The New Temple Missionary Baptist Church for the LA screening of Amazing Grace. Tim Greiving/NPR hide caption

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Tim Greiving/NPR

Aretha Franklin's 'Amazing Grace' Gets LA Premiere In The Church Where It Took Place

In 1972, the Queen of Soul recorded a live album at the New Temple Missionary Baptist Church in LA. After her death, the film has been released and was screened at the same church it was filmed.

Aretha Franklin's 'Amazing Grace' Gets LA Premiere In The Church Where It Took Place

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Thursday

Greatness Is Not A Given: 'America The Beautiful' Asks How We Can Do Better

A view of Pikes Peak from the Carroll Lakes, circa 1925. Katharine Lee Bates' trip up the Colorado mountain inspired her poem "America," later to become the song "America the Beautiful." Harry L. Standley/Courtesy of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum hide caption

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Harry L. Standley/Courtesy of the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum

American Anthem

Greatness Is Not A Given: 'America The Beautiful' Asks How We Can Do Better

Written by a feminist poet who struggled with bouts of depression, the song is an aspirational counterpoint to "The Star-Spangled Banner" — calling on America to use its riches for the common good.

Greatness Is Not A Given: 'America The Beautiful' Asks How We Can Do Better

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A Band Rebuilds In New Orleans After A Man-Made Catastrophe

After facing a calamitous scandal that cast doubt on its very future, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra has returned with new leadership and a new album, featuring songs by its city's patron saint of rebirth, Allen Toussaint. Katie Sikora/courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Katie Sikora/courtesy of the artist

Music News

A Band Rebuilds In New Orleans After A Man-Made Catastrophe

WBGO

In 2016, the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra faced a scandal that cast doubt on its very future. The road to recovery has been, in the words of the group's new CEO, "a tightrope walk."

Tuesday

Sunday

In New Orleans, 'Indian Red' Is The Anthemic Sound Of Tradition

Mardi Gras Indian Big Chief Monk Boudreaux (right) and members of his Golden Eagles tribe in March 2019 in New Orleans. Erika Goldring/Getty Images hide caption

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Erika Goldring/Getty Images

American Anthem

In New Orleans, 'Indian Red' Is The Anthemic Sound Of Tradition

African-Americans in the city have paraded in spectacular regalia inspired by Native American motifs for more than a century. The song of the Mardi Gras Indians exudes joy, defiance — and mystery.

In New Orleans, 'Indian Red' Is The Anthemic Sound Of Tradition

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Friday

As 'Gully Boy' Inches Indian Hip-Hop Into The Mainstream, Its Underground Soldiers On

Ranveer Singh, one of the stars of the recent film Gully Boy, at a publicity event in Mumbai on Jan. 9, 2019. The film has put a spotlight on Indian hip-hop, to the chagrin of some working in it. Sujit Jaiswal/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Sujit Jaiswal/AFP/Getty Images

As 'Gully Boy' Inches Indian Hip-Hop Into The Mainstream, Its Underground Soldiers On

A new Bollywood hit may have been based on their lives, but the rappers and producers of India's hip-hop underground saw no money, and little exposure, from it. And they don't seem to care.

Tuesday

What Does 'Born In The U.S.A.' Really Mean?

Bruce Springsteen onstage during the Born in the U.S.A. Tour in 1984. Shinko Music/Getty Images hide caption

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Shinko Music/Getty Images

American Anthem

What Does 'Born In The U.S.A.' Really Mean?

It's not enough to say the Bruce Springsteen hit is misunderstood. Its contrasts — between grim verses and a joyous chorus, damning facts and fierce pride — are what give it its anthemic power.

What Does 'Born In The U.S.A.' Really Mean?

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