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Music Features

Monday

Feminist Punk Band Gets Next Gig: Russian Courtroom

Members of the feminist punk band Pussy Riot, Nadezha Tolokonnikova (left), Yekaterina Samutsevich (center) and Maria Alyokhina, at a hearing in Moscow court on Monday. Andrey Smirnov/Getty Images hide caption

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Andrey Smirnov/Getty Images

The Record

Feminist Punk Band Gets Next Gig: Russian Courtroom

Three members of the band, which staged a protest of Vladimir Putin in a Russian Orthodox cathedral in February, face up to seven years in prison. They pleaded not guilty on Monday.

Feminist Punk Band Gets Next Gig: Russian Courtroom

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Friday

The Race To Create A Music Superlabel Still Faces Hurdles

Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group Lucian Grainge (left) and Roger Faxon, the CEO of EMI Group, testify during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Universal's proposed merger with EMI. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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The Record

The Race To Create A Music Superlabel Still Faces Hurdles

A proposed merger between EMI and Universal is drawing the scrutiny of regulators in the U.S. and Europe.

The Race To Create A Music Superlabel Still Faces Hurdles

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Do You Really Know What Live Is?

Nils Lofgren, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Van Zandt performing in Paris earlier this month. David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns via Getty Images hide caption

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David Wolff-Patrick/Redferns via Getty Images

The Record

Do You Really Know What Live Is?

On stage, boy bands, DJs and even rock bands make sometimes mysterious use of technology. When even Bruce Springsteen is using canned sounds in his latest tour, it's time to ask: Are the machines used to create music on stage extension of their human masters? Or vice versa?

Thursday

Saturday

Nashville's Love For Lionel Richie Runs Deep

Kenny Chesney (left) performs with Lionel Richie at an April 2 event called Lionel Richie and Friends in Concert in Las Vegas. Other performers at the concert included country stars Tim McGraw, Jason Aldean, The Band Perry and Rascal Flatts. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Record

Nashville's Love For Lionel Richie Runs Deep

One of pop's greatest crossover artists, Lionel Richie's latest album is a collection of his biggest hits sung as duets with some of Nashville's biggest stars. It's the biggest-selling new album of 2012, but a quick look at the charts shows there are plenty of other country songs made in his image.

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Kitty Wells, Pioneering Country Singer, Dies

A studio portrait of Kitty Wells in the mid-'70s. Frank Driggs Collection/Getty Images hide caption

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Frank Driggs Collection/Getty Images

The Record

Kitty Wells, Pioneering Country Singer, Dies

Wells sang about the real problems of postwar life and the sad side of domesticity.

Kitty Wells, Pioneering Country Singer, Dies

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Sunday

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott On Covering Def Leppard

Joe Elliott fronting Def Leppard in London last year. Jo Hale/Getty Images hide caption

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Jo Hale/Getty Images

The Record

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott On Covering Def Leppard

The frontman says he's laughing more than crying as the band re-records its hits for online retail.

Def Leppard's Joe Elliott On Covering Def Leppard

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Saturday

He Keeps fun. Running

Shane Timm tunes Jack Antonoff's guitar on the stage at Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn before a fun. show in June. Mito Habe-Evans/NPR hide caption

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Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

The Record

He Keeps fun. Running

Guitar technician Shane Timm is one of the many people who make the band fun.'s tour possible. Timm is in charge of the 45 pieces of musical equipment that travel with the band on its summer tour.

He Keeps fun. Running

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Friday

You Can't Always Get What You Want: On Music And Expectation

The singer and songwriter Frank Ocean, whose first full-length studio album, Channel Orange, was released on iTunes this week. Nabil Elderkin/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Nabil Elderkin/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

You Can't Always Get What You Want: On Music And Expectation

New album releases are a little like birthdays: what you hope for isn't always what you get. But being aware of your own expectations can help you listen to music on its own terms.

Tuesday

My American Dream Sounds Like Rubén Blades

Blades, shown in 1970. Echoes/Getty Images hide caption

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The Record

My American Dream Sounds Like Rubén Blades

For Robin D.G. Kelley, Blades' 1984 song "Buscando America" echoes his mother's experience of coming to this country, and exposes the painful struggle that is the cost of fulfilling the American dream.

My American Dream Sounds Like Rubén Blades

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Monday

Essence In New Orleans: A Festival That Knows Its Audience

Mary J. Blige performs during the 2012 Essence Music Festival at Louisiana Superdome on July 7. Erika Goldring/Getty Images hide caption

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Erika Goldring/Getty Images

The Record

Essence In New Orleans: A Festival That Knows Its Audience

Gospel, R&B, politics, family and commerce (and 400,000 fans) all merge at a music festival in New Orleans.

Essence In New Orleans: A Festival That Knows Its Audience

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Friday

Conquering Reverb: Behind Recorded Music's Oldest Sound Effect

Reverb is a natural phenomenon, but sound engineers have been finding artificial ways to reproduce it since the 1940s. niknikon/iStockPhoto.com hide caption

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The Record

Conquering Reverb: Behind Recorded Music's Oldest Sound Effect

Reverb is a natural phenomenon, but for more than 60 years, sound engineers have found artificial ways to recreate it in music.

Conquering Reverb: Behind Recorded Music's Oldest Sound Effect

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