Studio Sessions/Interviews

Courtesy of the artist
Lucero On World Cafe
January 16, 2013 | WXPN · The popular Memphis rock band is featured in this installment of “Sense of Place.” Listen to a stripped-down set from Lucero, recorded live at Ardent Recording Studios.
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Courtesy of the artist
Rodriguez On World Cafe
December 17, 2012 | WXPN · The singer-songwriter achieved cult status in South Africa while remaining largely unknown in his hometown of Detroit. A quarter-century after Rodriguez had retreated from music altogether, two fans filmed a documentary trying to find the folk-rocker. He’s since been discovered at last in the U.S.
Windows Media
 

Courtesy of the artist
Jazz Man Maret Makes His Way On The Harmonica
October 9, 2012 | NPR · Swiss musician Gregoire Maret has redefined the role of the harmonica in modern jazz. After cutting his teeth as a sideman, he’s now taken center stage as a bandleader. Here, Maret discusses his self-titled debut album and his pursuit of a following for the jazz harmonica.
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Carpenter’s ‘Ashes And Roses’ Shaped By Grief
October 3, 2012 | NPR · Over the last few years, singer-songwriter Mary Chapin Carpenter’s life has been drastically transformed. In 2007, she suffered a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Her marriage ended soon after, and then her father died. She channeled her grief from those experiences into Ashes and Roses.
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Soweto Gospel Choir Offers Secrets To Their Sound
February 16, 2012 | NPR · For the last decade, the 26-member choir has captivated audiences including Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela. Their blend of high energy, languages and musical traditions has won them numerous awards and a loyal fan base. They’re now on a 43-city North American tour, and they stopped by for a performance chat with host Michel Martin.
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NPR
Sounds Of Blackness: Songs Of Hope In Hard Times
December 29, 2011 | NPR · The Grammy-winning group has been inspiring listeners for decades. In a performance chat with host Michel Martin, band members discuss their anniversary CD, which focuses on reconciliation and healing.
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Jake Shimabukuro Gives Ukelele A Chance To Shine
December 20, 2011 | NPR · Once known as a kitschy toy, the ukulele is now a hit with even the hippest musicians. Young people worldwide comb YouTube for instructional videos to learn to play the four-stringed instrument. And to ukulele fans, player Jake Shimabukuro is the big kahuna.
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Courtesy of the artist
k.d. lang On World Cafe
September 5, 2011 | WXPN · Hear a wide-ranging interview and live cuts from the singular singer-songwriter.
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Courtesy of the artist
Grey Reverend: Bedroom Ballads, Spare By Necessity
August 21, 2011 | NPR · The acoustic songwriter, born Larry Brown, developed his distinctive guitar style after losing muscle control in two of his fingers. He recorded his full-length debut, Of the Days, in the bedroom of his Brooklyn apartment.
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KEXP
Oh Land: Toe-Tapping Danish Pop
June 23, 2011 | KEXP · The singer-songwriter known as Oh Land wasn’t always an electro-pop star. In this session with KEXP, she plays a set of catchy songs and discusses her reincarnation from ballet dancer to musician.
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News

AFP/Getty Images
Obama Group’s Climate Push Puts President Under Scrutiny
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Organizing for Action — a group that formed out of President Obama’s re-election campaign — has focused its ire on Republicans it calls “climate change deniers.” But some environmentalists are frustrated with the president himself on issues like the Keystone pipeline.
 

Courtesy of the O'Brien family
Living In Two Worlds, But With Just One Language
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Elysha O’Brien calls herself a “Mexican white girl.” Not just because of her ethnically ambiguous appearance, she says, but also because she can’t speak Spanish. Fearing their children would experience discrimination if they spoke Spanish, her parents chose not to teach them their native tongue.
 

iStockphoto.com
Sick Inmates Dying Behind Bars Despite Release Program
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Federal prisoners can request compassionate release if they are terminally ill, but a recent investigation found that many die while their requests drift through the system. Now, prison leaders say they will simplify the approval process and start tracking requests electronically.
 

Arts & Life

Sony Pictures Classics
‘Before Midnight’: Jesse And Celine Are Older Now, And So Are We
May 23, 2013 | NPR · It took Jesse and Celine 18 years to find themselves back where they started in the lovely third installment of the series that began with 1995′s Before Sunrise.
 

AFP/Getty Images
Book News: Lydia Davis Wins Man Booker International Prize
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Also: Amazon to begin publishing fan fiction; Paul Ryan and Elizabeth Warren are writing books; Keith Richards’ exorbitant library fines.
 

Heartbreaking Choice Sets Siblings On Separate, Unequal Paths
May 23, 2013 | NPR · A poor father sells his daughter to a wealthy, childless couple, dividing her from her beloved brother and setting a chain of stories in motion in Khaled Hosseini’s And the Mountains Echoed. Moving and morally complex, this is the most ambitious book yet from the author of The Kite Runner.
 

Music

Courtesy of the artist
Viking’s Choice: The Man, The Machine, The ‘Melee’
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Mechanical engineer and sculptor Tristan Shone, who records as Author & Punisher, is a master of machines. He’s built a robotic entourage — throttles, knobs, rails and all — that responds to MIDI/USB controllers and makes for-real industrial doom metal.
 

Imani Winds: Tiny Desk Concert
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Imani Winds’ members play David to Igor Stravinsky’s imposing Goliath, as they shrink the massive Rite of Spring down to size in a rendition for just five wind instruments. The result is an epic in miniature — and a performance perfect for a Tiny Desk.
 

NPR Music
James Blake, Live In Concert
May 23, 2013 | NPR · Watch the singer perform 90 minutes of breathtakingly emotional music, recorded live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Unpredictable and often mysterious, Blake’s songs are intense and riveting, hopeful and thoughtful.
 

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