In Conversation With George Clinton
Watch the inimitable funk stalwart sit for not one but two interviews about his work and where it comes from. Along the way, he tells stories about his many decades in the music industry.
Tag: NPR
Banks: Tiny Desk Concert
On record, Banks is at the center of lavish productions, each suitable for throbbing remixes and banks of swirling lights. Here, though, she serves notice as a powerful singer in her own right.
T-Pain: Tiny Desk Concert
We asked the King of Auto-Tune if he’d grace the Tiny Desk without any embellishment or effects to show what’s really made his career: his voice, and those songs.
The Funky Tune That Was Too Big For Miles Davis
Trumpeter Wallace Roney played Davis’ understudy for many years. So it was fitting when he resurrected a long-lost orchestral composition that Wayne Shorter wrote for his mentor.
First Listen: Deerhoof, ‘La Isla Bonita’
Deerhoof has always toyed with the whimsical, but its 12th album feels like its most playful work yet. More relaxed than its predecessors, it retains the long-running band’s capacity to thrill.
First Listen: Bob Dylan, ‘The Basement Tapes Complete: The Bootleg Series Vol. 11’
Sample 12 selections from an ambitious six-disc box set of archival Dylan recordings. The recordings capture and reflect one of the most vivid chapters in American music.
First Listen: Les Sins, ‘Michael’
Toro y Moi’s Chaz Bundick makes overt advances to the dance floor on his first album as Les Sins. But he keeps his mind on pop music, too, as he doles out pleasures in three-minute bites.
First Listen: Neil Young, ‘Storytone’
Young recorded all of Storytone‘s 10 songs with either a 92-piece orchestra or an elaborate big band, but wisely includes beautifully stripped-down acoustic versions, too.
First Listen: Grouper, ‘Ruins’
Recorded with Liz Harris’ voice, a piano and not much else, Ruins achieves striking intimacy, its emotional heft commanding attention throughout.
Scott Walker + Sunn O))), ‘Brando’
Soused matches Walker’s spellbinding compositions and voice with Sunn O)))’s metallic abyss. Like the album, Gisèle Vienne’s short film is bewildering and fraught with terror that’s unspoken.
Doug Paisley Featuring Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, ‘Until I Find You’
Will Oldham may guest in this new song from rustic songwriter Doug Paisley, but the star of “Until I Find You” is visual artist Heather Goodchild.
Sleater-Kinney Reunites, Announces New Album
Eight years after going on indefinite hiatus, the trio is back. They’ll release a new album on Jan. 20 called No Cities to Love. Hear the song “Bury Our Friends” now.
First Listen: Daniel Lanois, ‘Flesh And Machine’
After four decades of making records, Lanois has decided to chase sounds that have never been. An otherworldly adventure, Flesh And Machine has no songs and no words, using voices only for texture.
First Listen: Restorations, ‘LP3’
With its roots in punk and heartland rock, LP3 is a rattling, unpinnable record that doesn’t know when to stop baring its soul.
First Listen: Daniel Lanois, ‘Flesh And Machine’
After four decades of making records, Lanois has decided to chase sounds that have never been. An otherworldly adventure, Flesh And Machine has no songs and no words, using voices only for texture.
Capricorn In Retrograde: Macon’s Endangered Musical History
The Georgia town was home to Otis Redding, Little Richard and Capricorn Records, a label that played a key role in the birth of Southern rock. Now, many of the city’s musical landmarks are threatened.
First Listen: Jessie Ware, ‘Tough Love’
Whether you use it as a balm or an echo chamber for your despair, Ware’s second album is a celebration of gloriously messy feelings, each tamed by her soft touch.
The Bots: Tiny Desk Concert
A Jimi Hendrix influence informs The Bots’ bluesy moments, both in the guitar and in Mikaiah Lei’s voice. There’s also a great rock-duo punch that recalls The White Stripes or JEFF The Brotherhood.
First Listen: ‘Master Mix: Red Hot + Arthur Russell’
The Red Hot Organization pays tribute to an inimitable character on a double-length tribute, with help from Robyn, Sufjan Stevens, Hot Chip, Phosphorescent, Blood Orange, Scissor Sisters and more.
First Listen: Thurston Moore, ‘The Best Day’
In the wake of Sonic Youth’s collapse, Moore’s new solo album is almost calming in its familiarity, particularly as it recalls a minor-key update of SY’s well-loved late-’90s salvo A Thousand Leaves.