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Music Features

Wednesday

Hear the piano thought to be too perfect by Beethoven

Nannette Streicher Piano Kimberly Junod/WXPN hide caption

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Kimberly Junod/WXPN

World Cafe Words and Music Podcast

Hear the piano thought to be too perfect by Beethoven

WXPN

To find out what made Nannette Streicher's pianos so special, World Cafe visited the Museum of Science and Technology in Vienna, where a couple of her pianos still survive.

Piano Maker Nannette Streicher on World Cafe

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Monday

Hear a mini-concert by '90s-inspired supergroup My Ugly Clementine

My Ugly Clementine Franz Reiterer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Franz Reiterer/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe Words and Music Podcast

Hear a mini-concert by '90s-inspired supergroup My Ugly Clementine

WXPN

For the World Cafe's Sense of Place: Vienna series, we knew there would be lots of Classical music. But it turns out, there's also a thriving indie music scene.

My Ugly Clementine on World Cafe

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Friday

Holly Herndon: How AI can transform your voice

Holly Herndon performs at TED2022: A New Era in April, 2022 in Vancouver, Canada. Ryan Lash / TED hide caption

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Ryan Lash / TED

TED Radio Hour

Holly Herndon: How AI can transform your voice

Artist Holly Herndon created an AI clone of her voice that can sing in any languages and in any tone. In her music, Holly shows how AI can enhance the power and artistry of the voice.

Holly Herndon: How AI can transform your voice

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New Selena album 'Moonchild Mixes' sparks voice-aging debate
Warner Music Latina

Music News

New Selena album 'Moonchild Mixes' sparks voice-aging debate

Some fans of the late singer have taken to social media to denounce the use of digital technology to make her sound older.

New Selena album 'Moonchild Mixes' sparks voice-aging debate

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Thursday

Against the odds: How Blondie shattered the conventions of punk and pop

Debbie Harry and Clem Burke, 14th Street, NYC, circa 1976. Courtesy of Chris Stein hide caption

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Courtesy of Chris Stein

Against the odds: How Blondie shattered the conventions of punk and pop

From unreleased music to promotional flyers, photos, a mirrored dressing room sign, and even a stray Andy Warhol print, Blondie's out with a new box set, Blondie: Against The Odds 1974-1982.

Against the odds: How Blondie shattered the conventions of punk and pop

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Friday

Wednesday

A new label revives forgotten female composers' music

From left to right: Geneviève Laurenceau, David Kadouch, Fiona McGown and Héloïse Luzzati perform at the July 2022 edition of the music festival Un Temps pour Elles. Alexis Lardilleux/La Boîte à Pépites hide caption

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Alexis Lardilleux/La Boîte à Pépites

Deceptive Cadence

A new label revives forgotten female composers' music

The new record label La Boîte à Pépites is dedicated to raising the profile of female composers whose works have been neglected.

A new label revives forgotten female composers' music

Listen · 7:06
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Sunday

Friday

How a Grammy-winning Pueblo musician influenced the soundtrack for 'Prey'

The heroine of Prey, Naru, is played by Amber Midthunder. David Bukach/Hulu hide caption

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David Bukach/Hulu

Culture

How a Grammy-winning Pueblo musician influenced the soundtrack for 'Prey'

Prey, the new prequel to the 1987 blockbuster Predator streaming on Hulu, features a sophisticated soundtrack influenced both by Native cultures and video games

How a Grammy-winning Pueblo musician influenced the soundtrack for 'Prey'

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Monday

Lauv longs for the happiness of childhood on 'All 4 Nothing'

Ari Leff a.k.a. Lauv Lauren Dunn/Ari Leff hide caption

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Lauren Dunn/Ari Leff

Music

Lauv longs for the happiness of childhood on 'All 4 Nothing'

One of pop music's main advocates of normalizing mental health issues, Lauv released a new album on Friday; it's called All 4 Nothing.

Lauv longs for the happiness of childhood on 'All 4 Nothing'

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Thursday

Interpreting the music of Julius Eastman, Wild Up honors the composer's vastness

What Wild Up unearths on Julius Eastman, Vol. 2: Joy Boy is more than just music, it's a set of relations and modes of comporting in the world that risk trading fleeting, worldly praise to regain the eternal soul. Ron Hammond hide caption

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Ron Hammond

Review

Interpreting the music of Julius Eastman, Wild Up honors the composer's vastness

The feat the Los Angeles group Wild Up achieves in interpreting the music of Julius Eastman is the refusal to attempt impersonation — the musicians make him their muse without fetishizing him.

Wednesday

On 'Take It Like a Man,' Amanda Shires takes aim for the heavens

Amanda Shires' new album, Take It Like a Man, is her finest release, encapsulating much of what makes Shires an artist deserving of the word "singular." Michael Schmelling/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Michael Schmelling/Courtesy of the artist

On 'Take It Like a Man,' Amanda Shires takes aim for the heavens

On Shires' latest record, her songwriting is more fearless and vulnerable than ever – but as always, it's a reflection of an artist focused intently on community, equality and inclusivity.

After a pandemic disruption, Newport Jazz Festival makes a poignant, euphoric return

Samara Joy performs at the 2022 Newport Jazz Festival, which spanned from July 29 to July 31, in Newport, R.I. Ozier Muhammad for NPR hide caption

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Ozier Muhammad for NPR

The Picture Show

After a pandemic disruption, Newport Jazz Festival makes a poignant, euphoric return

The festival's first full edition in two years — and its first since the death of co-founder George Wein — saw dynamic performances from Newport veterans alongside glowing debuts from newcomers.

Reimagined for a new era, boleros become songs of gendered rebellion

A generation of contemporary artists are drawing on the lessons of the past to reimagine the classic bolero. Left to right: Olga Guillot, La Lupe, and Doris Anahí Victor Bizar Gomez for NPR hide caption

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Victor Bizar Gomez for NPR

Reimagined for a new era, boleros become songs of gendered rebellion

A new wave of artists are reimagining the classic bolero, rising above its gendered tropes and sharpening its quietly feminist rebellion for the contemporary moment.

Reimagined for a new era, boleros become songs of gendered rebellion

Listen · 8:01
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Monday

Revolutionary Fun: Why we can't stop talking about Beyoncé's 'Renaissance'

Renaissance, Beyoncé's seventh full-length solo album, mines a liberating history of dance music, from Donna Summer-sampling disco to modern Chicago house. Carlijn Jacobs/Via Parkwood Entertainment hide caption

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Carlijn Jacobs/Via Parkwood Entertainment

Review

Revolutionary Fun: Why we can't stop talking about Beyoncé's 'Renaissance'

The era-defining star's seventh album sparks a conversation about the infinite possibilities of dance music, the difference between fun and pleasure and why disco is always political.