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With a sound that recalls classic pop songwriters like Francoise Hardy, chanteuse and multi-instrumentalist Keren Ann combines literate, worldly pop with delicate vocals and subtly catchy melodies. Hear an interview and in-studio performance.
Bryan Ferry and others have long attempted to reinvent the songs of Bob Dylan.
Handsome Furs' "Hearts of Iron" becomes more mysterious as it progresses over a hymn-like tune.
The Polyphonic Spree, Travis, More
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June 25, 2007 · By the end of last year, Voxtrot was a known quantity without having signed to a label or released a full-length CD. But that changed with the release of the band's self-titled debut. On it, Voxtrot crafts 11 catchy and memorable songs, buoyed by tasteful strings and piano.
June 25, 2007 · Richard Martin and his wife Meagan Hennessey grew tired of their favorite rock 'n' roll records. Now they scour flea markets and antique stores for old cylinders and 78s on their Archeophone label. Web Extra: Hear Pre-WWI Recordings
June 25, 2007 · Marva Whitney, who sang with the James Brown Revue in the late '60s and early '70s, took three decades to release a new album. Her new cover of Brenda Holloway's "Every Little Bit Hurts" hints at a rebuke of a music industry that turned its back on her when she and Brown parted ways.
June 25, 2007 · Almost 60 years ago, Virginia Ruda and her husband founded Ruda's Records and Polish Gifts in the Buffalo suburb of Cheektowaga, N.Y. Ruda says people in and around Buffalo are still crazy for Polka music, but mostly they get it on the Internet now.
June 25, 2007 · Madison, WI native Stephanie Rearick has more in common with Charles Ives than Fiona Apple. Full of discombobulated piano arrangements and dissonant harmonies, her music recalls the avant-pop of Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen.
June 22, 2007 · Richard Thompson has been making inspired music for forty years. A guitar virtuoso, early innovator of the British folk-rock movement, and one of the era's finest songwriters, his distinctive style as an artist has influenced two generations of musicians and poets.
June 25, 2007 · Forty years ago, broadcasters across the globe coordinated a live program to showcase the new capabilities of satellite-delivered television. "Our World" included features from throughout the world, and is best remembered for a live version of "All You Need Is Love," performed by The Beatles.
June 25, 2007 · Spelman College professor William Jelani Cobb and Loyola Marymount University visiting professor Michael Datcher discuss whether the violence in rap simply mirrors a mean-street reality or if it helped create it.
June 24, 2007 · Two new offerings show her versatility on clarinet and tenor sax. On Poetica, the Tel Aviv-born New Yorker leads a small jazz combo and a string quartet. Then there's Noir, a CD that celebrates a modified big-band sound. Web Extra: Songs from the CDs
June 23, 2007 · Doe just released A Year in the Wilderness, and recently sat down in the studio to play a few of his new songs. In between performances, he talks about the mythic qualities of the American West, as well as the differences between song lyrics and poetry.
June 23, 2007 · At age 18, Dominik Maican has already composed six symphonies, one of which has been recorded by the London Symphony. Although child prodigies are nothing new, Maican stands out as a composer of substance.
June 24, 2007 · On the evening of the longest day of the year, dozens of leading Bay Area musicians and their bands performed in an Oakland graveyard. It's the 10th anniversary of a celebration that has grown in popularity.
Erich Von Kneip and friends could be the pit orchestra of a musical set in the 1920s.
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Tell us your favorite Summer song and why you love it. Selected songs and stories will appear in our annual Summer music feature.
"Shadow Classics" showcases an overlooked rock, pop, soul, jazz or classical recording that critic Tom Moon feels should be discussed in the same breath as music's essential recordings.
From member station WXPN, host David Dye welcomes acts from the worlds of blues, rock, folk and alternative country.
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