Featured Videos
-
Title Tracks Live At WAMU
-
Thaylobleu Live At WAMU
-
More Humans Live At WAMU 88.5
-
Laney Jones And The Spirits Live At The Wilderness Bureau
-
Mount Moriah Live At The Wilderness Bureau
-
Sun Club Live At The Wilderness Bureau
-
Watch: Two Inch Astronaut Detonates At WAMU 88.5
-
Bayonne Live At The Wilderness Bureau
-
Possessed By Paul James Live At WAMU
-
Mellow Diamond Live At The Wilderness Bureau
Near and Far
In The Digital Era, Hit Songs Aren’t Everything
The Internet is the new frontier for song royalties. If ASCAP has its way, law will prevail, but some songwriters and publishers see the organization as a relic.
600 Year-Old Butt Song From Hell
While admiring Hieronymus Bosch’s painting The Garden of Earthly Delights, a music and information systems student at Oklahoma Christian University…
Sex, Drugs And Wandering Batons: Classical Musicians (Finally) Get Some Screen Time
A new TV pilot (Mozart in the Jungle) and released film (Grand Piano) attempt to pull the curtain back on the inner and outer lives of classical musicians. But maybe the most important achievement in both cases is to show that these players actually have lives offstage.
KCRW Presents: Future Islands
Watch the synth-powered Baltimore rock band perform “Seasons (Waiting on You)” for KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic earlier this month, with the aid of new drummer Mike Lowry.
Heavy Rotation: Shlohmo & Jeremih
Each month NPR Music asks public radio hosts and DJs to pick a favorite new song. Today we’ll hear from Jason King, host of I’ll Take You There, NPR Music’s new 24 hour Soul and R&B stream. He’s talking about his pick for Heavy Rotation: “No More” by Jeremih and Shlohmo.
Heavy Rotation: 10 Love Songs Public Radio Can’t Stop Playing
Download a Valentine’s Day edition of Heavy Rotation, featuring world premieres from R&B star Jeremih and dance duo The Juan Maclean, as well as music from Mary Lambert, Vampire Weekend and more.
Collecting Money For Songwriters, A 100-Year Tug Of War
ASCAP — the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers — was founded on Feb. 13, 1914, to protect its members’ copyrights by monitoring public performances of their music. It hasn’t been an easy century; in fact, just about every victory has come as the result of litigation.
Lake Street Dive: ‘Portraits’ Of Heartache
The band prides itself on technique over originality, but is nonetheless passionate about its craft.
Viking’s Choice: Psalm Zero Masters Its Own ‘Undoing’
One of the most oddly compelling heavy music albums of the year, so far, comes from an unlikely duo.
First Watch: The Moth & The Flame, ‘Winsome’
Watch ‘Winsome’ and witness a romance gone wrong between a mermaid and her human boyfriend.
Fiddler On The Slopes
One of the world’s most successful crossover musicians, violinist Vanessa-Mae, will fulfill a lifelong dream by skiing the women’s giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Sochi next Tuesday. Though she is British, she is one half of the Olympic team from Thailand.
World Cafe Next: Sekou Kouyate & Joe Driscoll
Not even speaking each other’s language, the two formed a band when they met at a European festival. Now, less than three years later, they’ve released an album of their music together called Faya. Hear and download two songs.
Beatles Fans Celebrate 50th Anniversary of Historic D.C. Concert
On February 11, 1964, roughly eight inches of snow covered the ground in Washington, and temperatures were bottoming out in…
Brazil’s Maria Rita Rediscovers Her Mother Through Music
Maria Rita may be the daughter of Ellis Regina, one of Brazil’s greatest singers, but she’s also a star in her own right. Host Michel Martin speaks to Rita about finding her own voice in the music world.
Song Premiere: Death, ‘North Street’
The Detroit proto-punk group Death had a short and mostly forgotten run in the 1970s, but its music has caught on in recent years. The band’s groundbreaking work is remembered on a newly released song, from an upcoming compilation of Death demos.
First Listen: Lost In The Trees, ‘Past Life’
The music Ari Picker makes with his band is masterful at eliciting sweeping emotional responses, and at ensuring that a single emotion never dominates any one piece. Past Life isn’t melancholy, and it isn’t upbeat. It’s both, and everything else besides.
First Listen: Lydia Loveless, ‘Somewhere Else’
The 23-year-old country-rock singer’s fine new album thrives on her iconoclastic vision. Along the way, the invokes the name and spirit of everyone from Steve Earle to French poet Paul Verlaine.
First Listen: St. Paul And The Broken Bones, ‘Half The City’
The band’s music doesn’t just mimic the soul sounds its members love; it regenerates the tradition. Half the City is the first major recorded statement from a band already growing into greatness.
First Listen: AJ Davila, ‘Terror Amor’
The garage-rock band Davila 666 is on a break, but its singer has a tremendous new solo album. Terror Amor stays close to AJ Davila’s garage-rock/doo-wop/punk roots, but dares to play with fun new elements.
First Listen: Angel Olsen, ‘Burn Your Fire For No Witness’
The singer’s new album is the musical equivalent of a deep, questioning stare from a lover. These are delicate songs, with lyrics stripped to their essence.