Music Features : NPR

Lady Gaga Sells Latest Album Everywhere, And For Cheap

Lady Gaga performs in Carlisle, England in May 2011. Dave Hogan/Getty Images hide caption

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Dave Hogan/Getty Images

Lady Gaga Sells Latest Album Everywhere, And For Cheap

May 30, 2011 • Ann Powers says the 99 cents Amazon charged for Born This Way helps Gaga's "plan to dominate popular culture."

Lady Gaga Sells Latest Album Everywhere, And For Cheap

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Gil Scott-Heron, Poet And Musician, Has Died

Gil Scott-Heron in Harlem in 2010. Anthony Barboza/Getty Images hide caption

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Anthony Barboza/Getty Images

Gil Scott-Heron, Poet And Musician, Has Died

May 27, 2011 • The influential poet and musician is often credited with being one of the progenitors of hip-hop, and is best known for the spoken-word piece "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

Detroit Techno City: Exporting A Sound To The World

Carl Craig says he's always thought of his music as "a personal beautification of Detroit." Wills Glasspiegel for NPR hide caption

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Wills Glasspiegel for NPR

Detroit Techno City: Exporting A Sound To The World

May 27, 2011 • Today, most of techno's audience is in Europe. But its futuristic sound was nurtured by African-Americans in Detroit in the 1970s and '80s.

Detroit Techno City: Exporting A Sound To The World

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Danny Clinch/Courtesy of Pearl Jam

Eddie Vedder Talks About His 'Ukulele Songs'

May 25, 2011 • Pearl Jam's lead singer wrote the songs for a new album by himself over the last two decades.

Minor Threat performs in 1980. The group is one of the bootstrapping indie bands profiled in the book Our Band Could Be Your Life. Susie Josephson Horgan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Susie Josephson Horgan/Courtesy of the artist

Our Band Could Be Your Life, Still

May 23, 2011 • The decade-old book about bootstrapping indie rockers is still inspiring young musicians.

Our Band Could Be Your Life, Still

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Is The Internet Good For Musicians? Listen To Us Tangle Things Up For Planet Money

May 20, 2011 • Your editors co-host an episode of the Planet Money podcast dedicated to musicians and the Internet.

Lady Gaga. Mariano Vivanco hide caption

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Mariano Vivanco

Review

First Take: Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way'

May 18, 2011 • Ann Powers says Gaga's new album establishes her as a complex hybrid of pop star and protest singer.

The Allure Of The Murder Ballad: Ruth Gerson Does 'Delia's Gone'

Ruth Gerson. Lisa Mazzucco/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Lisa Mazzucco/Courtesy of the artist

The Allure Of The Murder Ballad: Ruth Gerson Does 'Delia's Gone'

May 17, 2011 • On her new album, Deceived, Gerson sings 11 songs about the bad things that happen to bad girls.

Ruth Gerson's "Delia's Gone" from 'Deceived'

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Cali Swag District Dancer And Rapper Killed In Los Angeles

M-Bone (far right) of Cali Swag District, was killed in a drive-by shooting on Sunday night in Inglewood, Calif. The other members of the group, from left to right: Jay Are, C Smoove and Yung. Courtesy of EMI hide caption

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Courtesy of EMI

The Record

Cali Swag District Dancer And Rapper Killed In Los Angeles

May 16, 2011 • Montae Talbert. who helped teach us how to Dougie, was killed Sunday night in a drive by shooting.

Cali Swag District Dancer And Rapper Killed In Los Angeles

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The Record

The Internet's Half-Million Dollar Man

May 16, 2011 • How singer-songwriter Jonathan Coulton made big bucks without the help of a record company.

Irresponsible Listening: A Fan's Confession

R. Kelly onstage at the 2011 Pre-Grammy Gala in February. Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images hide caption

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Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

The Record

Irresponsible Listening: A Fan's Confession

May 12, 2011 • Our critic wonders what to do when the same thing that draws you to a musician also repels you.

Footwork: Chicago Dance Music With A Need For Speed

A footworker dances at Battlegroundz. Wills Glasspiegel for NPR hide caption

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Wills Glasspiegel for NPR

The Record

Footwork: Chicago Dance Music With A Need For Speed

May 11, 2011 • Since the '90s, the dance style and music called Footwork have been livening up parties in Chicago.

Footwork: Chicago Dance Music With A Need For Speed

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Library of Congress Launches 'National Jukebox'

"Livery Stable Blues" by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band is considered to be the first jazz recording ever released. Recorded Sound Section, MBRS Division, Library of Congress hide caption

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Recorded Sound Section, MBRS Division, Library of Congress

The Record

Library of Congress Launches 'National Jukebox'

May 10, 2011 • The National Jukebox spins more than 10,000 recordings made between 1901 and 1925.

Library of Congress Launches 'National Jukebox'

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