nprmusic:

We’re happy to announce that Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds will kick off NPR Music’s opening night showcase at SXSW!

Photo: Cat Stevens

Kenyan rap, often called Sheng after a specific dialect, occasionally slips into the American mode, but generally sticks to Swahili. Muthoni (The Drummer Queen) and Octopizzo are formidable in both languages, lunging and stalking over a smeary, funky-drummer, triphoppin’ groove, jazzed with psychedelic synthesizer stabs.

Some more music for your Monday. Check out the rest of “The Drummer Queen Who Runs Nairobi Dancefloors” by Vivien Goldman on NPR Music. -L

Photo courtesy of the artist.  

nprmusic:

Jose James’ fourth album skirts categories with ease, fitting in with current R&B innovators like Frank Ocean or Miguel, yet maintaining a strong awareness of a lineage that stretches from Ray Charles to Marvin Gaye to Lou Rawls to Maxwell.

Stream No Beginning No End now.

Music for your Monday -L

nprmusic:

Whether you’re having turkey, turducken, tofurkey or fish tacos, Thanksgiving is about family, food and the soul-deadening stress of logistics. So here’s a mix designed to help you keep your mind on the bonding-fueled feast that justifies it all.

Subscribe to Songs For Stuffing on Spotify or Rdio.

Illustration: Paulo Lopez/NPR

“Stripped of an electric guitar and moody reverb, Metric singer Emily Haines and guitarist James Shaw perform a version of ‘Synthetica’ pretty enough to challenge the sweeping sunset behind them.”

(Source: npr)

Per @Mikekatzif: We discussed. We argued. We cried a little in [a] bathroom stall. Lotta great songs.

So, without further ado, here it is, NPR Music’s 100 Favorite Songs Of 2011

Photo: Shahin Edalati, ACD, Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners

Biophilia, Björk’s latest and most ambitious project yet, began as a collection of songs written around themes of nature, science and humanity’s relationships to both. For most artists, that’d be a lofty enough concept on its own. But Björk heavily researched astrophysics, string theory, neurology, biology and other areas where science and music meet. Her big ideas didn’t stop there.

Listen to the album: First Listen: Björk, ‘Biophilia’

Photo credit: Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin

For a jazz fan, patriotic music might conjure thoughts of loud, brassy marching-band fare, uneven performances at sporting events, or simply Kate Smith. For those just getting acquainted with jazz, the notion of the art form expressing nationalistic jubilation might seem at odds with its reputation for complexity and cool.

Five Platters For Your Fourth Of July Picnic : A Blog Supreme

Last summer, thirty composers were accepted into the Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute, a creative partnership between Columbia University’s Center for Jazz Studies and the American Composers Orchestra. The idea was to give composers coming from the jazz tradition access to orchestral writing techniques. Of those initial participants, eight were eventually selected to have their pieces performed in public readings by the ACO.

The Jazz Composers Orchestra Institute: Live In Concert : A Blog Supreme : NPR

What Music Makes You Proud Of Your Homeland? : NPR

In honor of this country’s day of pride — what song makes you feel proud to be an American? Or a Nebraskan? Or French? Or short?