ABC Radio National

Features

• Tupac was one of the greatest rappers of all time, and here's why

  Wednesday 6 September 2017

  

  At 20, Tupac Shakur released his first album. By 25, he was dead. But in those five short years he cemented his legacy as of the most iconic figures in hip hop. L-FRESH the LION and Rosa Gollan explain.

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• American protest music flourishes under Trump

  Wednesday 16 August 2017

  

  How are American artists dealing with the Trump presidency? Composer and broadcaster Julian Day checks the temperature of the arts scene in the US.

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• Four songs that prove Jimi Hendrix was the ultimate guitar hero

  Wednesday 12 July 2017

  

  In the short 27 years Jimi Hendrix was alive, he made an astonishing contribution to the world of electric guitar playing. Here are four tracks that prove his genius.

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• Why Sgt Pepper was a decisive moment for Western civilisation

  Sunday 28 May 2017

  

  Most people who remember the 60s also recall where they were the first time they heard Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, writes Andrew Ford.

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• Ella Fitzgerald: 100 years of the first lady of song

  Monday 1 May 2017

  

  In a career that spanned six decades, Ella Fitzgerald recorded hundreds of songs, including definitive versions of many standards — but she was first and last a jazz singer.

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• As Womadelaide turns 25, what counts as 'world music'?

  Monday 6 March 2017

  

  Adelaide's pioneering music and arts festival has long celebrated international artists. But in an internet age, what's the point of the genre?

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• How Bob Brown and Tasmania's beauty inspired a concerto

  Saturday 18 February 2017

  

  Bob Brown recently helped inspire the creation of a brand new oboe concerto, premiering at the Sydney Opera House next week.

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• Angel Olsen embraces new sounds and life on the road

  Saturday 10 December 2016

  

  Angel Olsen's My Woman might be on everyone's best albums of 2016 list, but the US singer-songwriter isn't taking things as seriously as her lyrics suggest, writes Patrick Carey.

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• Exhibition of giant 1950s music machines opens in Melbourne

  Sunday 16 October 2016

  

  Legendary Australian composer Percy Grainger was known for his work in concert halls, but privately worked towards something more inclusive.

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• A tribute to jazz great Rudy Van Gelder

  Tuesday 6 September 2016

  

  In a year when the music world has lost Bowie and Prince, it's worth remembering the legacy of the iconic jazz engineer Rudy Van Gelder, who died recently aged 91. Mal Stanley recounts a career of Miles Davis and Charles Mingus collaborations that left an indelible mark on jazz music.

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