Featured Videos
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Title Tracks Live At WAMU
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Thaylobleu Live At WAMU
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More Humans Live At WAMU 88.5
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Laney Jones And The Spirits Live At The Wilderness Bureau
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Mount Moriah Live At The Wilderness Bureau
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Sun Club Live At The Wilderness Bureau
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Watch: Two Inch Astronaut Detonates At WAMU 88.5
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Bayonne Live At The Wilderness Bureau
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Possessed By Paul James Live At WAMU
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Mellow Diamond Live At The Wilderness Bureau
Near and Far
Music Takes Center Stage In Oscar-Nominated Documentaries
For this year’s Academy Awards, three documentaries — 20 Feet from Stardom, The Square and The Lady in Number 6 — use musicians’ lives and experiences to frame some very big ideas.
And The Oscar Goes To … Mr. ‘Star Wars’ Or Arcade Fire?
If there’s ever a stereotypical bunch of contenders for the Best Original Score Oscar, the class of 2014 definitely isn’t it. Meet them — and see the haunting short that’s a companion to Gravity.
First Listen: Calle 13, ‘Multi_Viral’
The controversial Puerto Rican rap duo returns with its most introspective album to date — and guests including WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.
A Rational Conversation: What’s With All The Drummers Leading Late-Night Bands?
Robin DiMaggio, who leads The Arsenio Hall Show band, says drummers, who have to be ambidextrous to play their instrument, can drive the music and multitask like champions.
Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can’t Stop Playing
Download new music from British rock behemoths Elbow, folk prodigy Parker Millsap, intense indie-songwriter Angel Olsen, svelte Irish singer Hozier, Chilean rapper Ana Tijoux, and much more.
Mapping Differences In America’s Musical Tastes, State By State
If you’re in the Pacific, there’s a better chance you’re nodding along with Cat Power rather than grooving to Fantasia — but that reverses if you’re across the country in the South Atlantic.
Paco De Lucia, Modern Superstar Of Flamenco, Dies
Traditional flamenco is a singer’s art, born in the cradle of Roma culture in Spain. De Lucia was neither a singer nor Roma, which makes his accomplishments all the more extraordinary.
A Session with Grandkids
Watch as Vivian McConnell’s powerful voice fills an Adams Morgan back alley during a beautiful performance of ‘Timeshare’.
New Mix: The Walkmen’s Hamilton Leithauser, The Faint, Perfect Pussy
Bob and Robin kick off the show in raucous fashion before settling into a zen-like state. The mix includes song premieres by the former lead singer of The Walkmen and Syracuse upstarts Perfect Pussy.
Recommended Dose: The Best Dance Tracks Of The Month
All Songs Considered’s favorite electronic jams from February include a legit underground anthem, African field recordings, and yet another promising producer from Detroit.
Beck’s Long Balancing Act
Reflecting on a career that has long synthesized old and new forms, the versatile musician says engaging with everything may be the only way left to innovate.
Vertical Scratchers: Slashed Chords, Fractured Poetry
Daughter of Everything is a superb pop album with one foot in the past and another in the future.
Brass Bed: Tiny Desk Concert
The four guys in the Louisiana band buck a long streak of bad luck on the road and make it to the NPR Music offices for a memorable performance.
First Listen: Nothing, ‘Guilty Of Everything’
The Philadelphia noise-rock band’s debut full-length hits like a profoundly thoughtful, beautifully crushing wave of droning distortion.
First Listen: Diane Cluck, ‘Boneset’
Cluck’s songs unfurl in curlicues, not straight lines, as her voice contorts to mystical effect. On Boneset, she frequently channels the deified California songwriter Judee Sill.
Megaband Formed On Craigslist Becomes The Family Crest
There are big bands and then there are really big bands, like The Family Crest, which features around 300 players. NPR’s Rachel Martin speaks with lead vocalist Liam McCormick about the band.
Last Of The ‘Sound Of Music’ Von Trapps Dies At 99
Maria Von Trapp, the last of the seven-member Trapp Family Singers that inspired the play and film, died on Tuesday at her home in Vermont.
Fred Armisen’s Fake Bands (And Their Real Songs)
The Saturday Night Live alum’s sketches about fictional musicians strike a believable chord. Fitting, then, that the original songs he wrote for them are now getting a proper release.
Rail, Radio And Booze: A Look At Montreal Jazz History
Thanks to prohibition and trains, the Canadian city became known as a nightlife capital. A web documentary traces how Oscar Peterson and others emerged from the black neighborhood of Little Burgundy.
Remembering Buddy Esquire, The King Of Hip-Hop Flyers
Buddy Esquire, who died last month, produced hundreds of flyers for parties back in hip-hop’s primordial days — flyers that are some of the only surviving documents of that early scene.