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Music Features

Saturday July 30, 2016

Come Together (Or Not): Music At The Democratic National Convention

Over 40 Broadway performers gathered to sing "What The World Needs Now Is Love" at the Democratic National Convention on Wednesday night. Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

The Record

Come Together (Or Not): Music At The Democratic National Convention

July 30, 2016 • A chaotic week of fractured loyalties surged into buoyant affirmations for Hillary Clinton's candidacy. But are all those left-leaning musicians just singing into an echo chamber?

Friday July 22, 2016

Cleveland, Rocked: Music At The Republican National Convention

As balloons fell after Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accepted his party nomination last night, the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want' rang through the arena. Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

The Record

Cleveland, Rocked: Music At The Republican National Convention

July 22, 2016 • Uncovering the layers of weirdness in the many fights over the ways music was employed as theater during this week's Republican national convention.

Thursday July 21, 2016

Do Everything Yourself: The Lessons Of Punk Renaissance Woman Vivien Goldman

David Corio/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Do Everything Yourself: The Lessons Of Punk Renaissance Woman Vivien Goldman

July 21, 2016 • Vivien Goldman, who has been a publicist, journalist, professor, author, playwright and back-up singer, is finally, at 64 years old, releasing an album of her own music and stepping to center stage.

Friday July 15, 2016

John Prine To Release New Duets Album, 'For Better, Or Worse'

John Prine. Joshua Britt/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Joshua Britt/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

John Prine To Release New Duets Album, 'For Better, Or Worse'

July 15, 2016 • The sequel to 1999's album of vintage country duets, In Spite Of Ourselves, will be out Sept. 30. Hear Prine sing the opening song, "Who's Gonna Take The Garbage Out," with Iris DeMent.

Wednesday July 13, 2016

Faith Under Fire: Jay Z's 'Spiritual' Is A Modern Song Of Sorrow

Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images

The Record

Faith Under Fire: Jay Z's 'Spiritual' Is A Modern Song Of Sorrow

July 13, 2016 • In Jay Z's latest song, released last week after the shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile, no amount of wealth or prestige allows him to forget that he is a black man, under threat.

Tuesday July 12, 2016

Maxwell performing on the opening night of Essence Festival July 1, 2016. Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for 2016 Essence Festival hide caption

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Bennett Raglin/Getty Images for 2016 Essence Festival

The Record

Essence This Time: A Festival Evolving

July 12, 2016 • The familial feeling at the annual New Orleans gathering comes partly from its perennial performers, but now, 22 years in, whose nostalgia is being served?

Monday July 11, 2016

With 'In My Room,' Jazz Phenom Jacob Collier Is Bringing Jubilation Back

Jacob Collier's multi-tracked YouTube covers, recorded and filmed in his room, showed musical sophistication and adventurousness. On his debut album, In My Room, he brings the same qualities to original songs. Retts Wood/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Retts Wood/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

With 'In My Room,' Jazz Phenom Jacob Collier Is Bringing Jubilation Back

July 11, 2016 • The YouTube star's virtuosic debut album, actually recorded in his room in the house where he was raised, reveals a young artist unafraid of gleefully trying it all.

Saturday July 9, 2016

I'm Giving You Everything: A Portrait Of The Writer As A Young Spice Girls Fan

The Spice Girls in 1997, about a year after the release of the group's debut single, which topped the U.K. pop charts for seven weeks. John Stanton/Getty Images hide caption

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John Stanton/Getty Images

The Record

I'm Giving You Everything: A Portrait Of The Writer As A Young Spice Girls Fan

July 9, 2016 • On the 20th anniversary of the release of "Wannabe," the single that launched the girl power juggernaut on the world, the writer Laura Snapes recalls her pre-teen obsession with the Spice Girls.

Tuesday July 5, 2016

Dev Hynes Wants To Know What It Feels Like To Be Free

Devonté Hynes on stage in March 2016. Hynes' third album as Blood Orange, Freetown Sound, was released on June 28. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images hide caption

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Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

The Record

Dev Hynes Wants To Know What It Feels Like To Be Free

July 5, 2016 • On Freetown Sound, his latest album as Blood Orange, the producer and singer Devonté Hynes has crafted an artistic persona that knits together the complications of an uncommon star.

Thursday June 30, 2016

A New Apple Patent Could Block Fans From Taping At Shows

Fans hold up their phones at a Childish Gambino performance in 2014. Ethan Miller/Getty Images hide caption

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Ethan Miller/Getty Images

The Record

A New Apple Patent Could Block Fans From Taping At Shows

June 30, 2016 • The technology giant now has a patent for a system that could prevent you from taking photos or recording videos in specific places, like concert venues or movie theaters.

Wednesday June 22, 2016

All The Way Live Or Else: The Perfection Of Van Morrison's 'It's Too Late'

Van Morrison live at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium on May 19, 1973 in Santa Monica, Calif. Ed Caraeff/Getty Images hide caption

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Ed Caraeff/Getty Images

The Record

All The Way Live Or Else: The Perfection Of Van Morrison's 'It's Too Late'

June 22, 2016 • Van Morrison's It's Too Late To Stop Now was released at the height of his powers. A newly expanded version of the album helps make the case that it's among the rock era's best live albums.

Tuesday June 21, 2016

Fans, Family And The Freakin' Weekend: What's Next In Nashville

Maren Morris, one of Nashville's rising stars, performs at Nissan Stadium on the opening night of the 2016 CMA Festival. John Shearer/Getty Images hide caption

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John Shearer/Getty Images

The Record

Fans, Family And The Freakin' Weekend: What's Next In Nashville

June 21, 2016 • Ann Powers and Jewly Hight, NPR Music's team in Nashville, dive deep into the country music industry's biggest annual party and report back on what's in store for the genre in the coming year.

Saturday June 18, 2016

I Was Born On The Dance Floor: A Playlist For Pulse

We asked eleven writers to share the songs that helped them make the dance floor home. Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images hide caption

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Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images

The Record

I Was Born On The Dance Floor: A Playlist For Pulse

June 18, 2016 • The mourning process reminds those who love to dance together that to gather on a dance floor is to open one's arms to life. We asked 11 writers to share the club song that changed their lives.

Tuesday June 14, 2016

The Los Angeles producer and DJ Dâm-Funk's entry in the DJ-Kicks series of mixes, released last month, revives a hypnotic, synth-based early-1980s variant of funk known as "boogie." J3/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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J3/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

Dâm-Funk's Time Machine Boogie

June 14, 2016 • A new album by the L.A.-based producer and DJ rescues a vintage style of D.I.Y. synth-based funk from slipping through history's cracks.

Thursday June 2, 2016

In A Genre Crowded With Bros, Cam Lifts Off

Cam's debut album, Untamed, featuring the hit "Burning House," was released in December. "There's this fear that if you are who you are, it's not gonna work out," she says of Nashville's tendency to iron out imperfection. Ninelle Efremova/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Ninelle Efremova/Courtesy of the artist

The Record

In A Genre Crowded With Bros, Cam Lifts Off

June 2, 2016 • The rising star, whose "Burning House" was the biggest country song by a female solo artist in 2015, talks about being taken seriously while breaking into a genre that's dominated by men.