Rock : NPR

Welles and his band inside the World Cafe Performance Studio. Galea McGregor/WXPN hide caption

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Galea McGregor/WXPN

XPN

June 15, 2018 • Jeh-Sea Welles has the look, the voice, the licks, the hooks and the attitude of a real rock star.

Welles on World Cafe

26:13

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Material Girls, Atlanta's Fabulous Glam-Punks, Force A 'Residual Grimace'

Material Girls' Leather comes out July 2. Rick Campbell/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Rick Campbell/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Material Girls, Atlanta's Fabulous Glam-Punks, Force A 'Residual Grimace'

June 15, 2018 • Material Girls' glam-soaked, goth-smeared rock and roll struts and stumbles like a fish-netted pair of legs breaking in new heels.

Empath's 'Polyfoam' Turns Field Recordings Into Hazy Noise-Pop

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Courtesy of the artist

Empath's 'Polyfoam' Turns Field Recordings Into Hazy Noise-Pop

June 15, 2018 • "Polyfoam" starts as a dreamy, jangly pop song, then dives into a sonic abyss.

New Music Friday For June 15: Six Albums You Should Hear Now

Christina Aguilera's Liberation comes out June 15. Luke Gilford/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Luke Gilford/Courtesy of the artist

New Music Friday For June 15: Six Albums You Should Hear Now

June 15, 2018 • This week's essential new releases include Christina Aguilera's powerful Liberation, SOPHIE'S trippy, futuristic debut, Lincoln Park co-founder Mike Shinoda's emotional solo record and more.

New Music Friday For June 15: Six Albums You Should Hear Now

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Elvis Presley's Longtime Drummer, D.J. Fontana, Has Died

Drummer D.J. Fontana (far right), on stage with Elvis Presley during the singer's landmark 1968 comeback TV special. Fontana died Thursday at age 87. NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images hide caption

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NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

Music Articles

Elvis Presley's Longtime Drummer, D.J. Fontana, Has Died

June 14, 2018 • The drummer who laid down the sound of rock and roll on tunes like "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Jailhouse Rock" died Wednesday at age 87. He had been the last surviving member of Presley's 1950s band.

Dawes' Passwords comes out June 22. Magdalena Wosinska/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Magdalena Wosinska/Courtesy of the artist

Review

First Listen

First Listen: Dawes, 'Passwords'

June 14, 2018 • Dawes returns once again to its greatest specialty: smooth and ingratiating California folk-rock that never bothers to hide its big, beating, bleeding heart.

First Listen: Dawes, 'Passwords'

51:34

Peter Hook Steven Baker/Courtesy of teh artist hide caption

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Steven Baker/Courtesy of teh artist

World Cafe

Peter Hook On World Cafe

XPN

June 13, 2018 • Few musicians have more of a signature sound or personality than Hook. Hear a live performance and interview with the post-punk pioneer.

Peter Hook On World Cafe

40:46

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Melody's Echo Chamber Makes Psychedelic Music For An Enchanted Planet

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YouTube

All Songs Considered

Melody's Echo Chamber Makes Psychedelic Music For An Enchanted Planet

June 13, 2018 • Melody Prochet's wildly imaginative "Cross My Heart" is set to a surreal animation like something out of a Moebius comic strip, bubbling vegetation, cosmic deer and glowing ocarinas included.

Muncie Girls' Pop-Punk Blast 'Picture Of Health' Is Absolutely Fetching

Muncie Girls' Fixed Ideas comes out Aug. 31. Robin Christian/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Robin Christian/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Muncie Girls' Pop-Punk Blast 'Picture Of Health' Is Absolutely Fetching

June 13, 2018 • For Fixed Ideals, out Aug. 31, the U.K. pop-punk trio sharpens its sound by slowing down (just a smidge) to make a bigger impact.

Cumulus' 'Retreat' Is A Catchy Reminder That You Deserve Respect

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Review

All Songs Considered

Cumulus' 'Retreat' Is A Catchy Reminder That You Deserve Respect

June 12, 2018 • Cumulus is working on its second record right now, but today offers a hook-filled anthem about consent.

Rayland Baxter Realizes His 'Strange American Dream'

Rayland Baxter Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

Rayland Baxter Realizes His 'Strange American Dream'

XPN

June 12, 2018 • A song written around the time of the 2016 election captures Baxter's mindset; somewhere between a sense of childlike wonder and disbelief at the good and evil of the country.

Watch The Shacks Perform Live For WGBH's Front Row Boston Series

The Shacks performed an 11-song concert at WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio. WGBH hide caption

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WGBH

Slingshot

Watch The Shacks Perform Live For WGBH's Front Row Boston Series

WGBH Radio

June 12, 2018 • The Shacks make woozy rock reminiscent of The Zombies. Watch an intimate concert recorded inside WGBH's Fraser Performance Studio.

New Mix: M. Ward, David Bowie Saxophonist Donny McCaslin, Sad Baxter, More

Clockwise from upper left: Donny McCaslin, M. Ward, Sad Baxter, Angelo De Augustine, Sorry Courtesy of the artists hide caption

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All Songs Considered

New Mix: M. Ward, David Bowie Saxophonist Donny McCaslin, Sad Baxter, More

June 12, 2018 • This week's show features exhilarating art-rock from saxophonist and Bowie backer Donny McCaslin, subtle shade from M. Ward's surprise album, buoyant, heartwrenching pop from Sad Baxter and more.

New Mix: M. Ward, David Bowie Saxophonist Donny McCaslin, Sad Baxter, More

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Watch This 8-Year-Old Girl Crush Led Zeppelin's 'Good Times Bad Times'

Yoyoka Soma, an 8-year-old drummer from Japan, loves herself some John Bonham. Vimeo hide caption

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Vimeo

All Songs Considered

Watch This 8-Year-Old Girl Crush Led Zeppelin's 'Good Times Bad Times'

June 11, 2018 • Yoyoka Soma played the song for the Hit Like A Girl drumming contest. She didn't take home the gold, but she's clearly winning at life.

Spiritualized Announces First New Album In Six Years, Shares Two Songs

Spiritualized's J Spaceman. Juliette Larthe/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Juliette Larthe/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Spiritualized Announces First New Album In Six Years, Shares Two Songs

June 11, 2018 • J. Spaceman made his new Spiritualized album, And Nothing Hurt, entirely in his east London home. But the first two singles, "A Perfect Miracle" and "I'm Your Man," sound every bit as grand.

Fleetwood Mac's 'Forgotten Hero,' Guitarist Danny Kirwan, Has Died

An undated portrait of Danny Kirwan, a guitarist during Fleetwood Mac's earliest years. Kirwan died at age 68 on June 8. RB/Redferns/Getty Images hide caption

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RB/Redferns/Getty Images

Music Articles

Fleetwood Mac's 'Forgotten Hero,' Guitarist Danny Kirwan, Has Died

June 11, 2018 • The guitarist who helped define the band's early, bluesy sound, but who was fired from the band in 1972 and was homeless for many years, died Friday at age 68.

'Just Around The Corner': Hozier Shares Details Of His Upcoming Record

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Jokko/Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

'Just Around The Corner': Hozier Shares Details Of His Upcoming Record

XPN

June 11, 2018 • The Irish singer-songwriter talks about the follow-up to his 2014 self-titled debut and shares lyrics from a forthcoming single.

Hozier Interview On World Cafe

8:42

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Remembering The Engineer Who Created Rock's Unmistakable Fuzz

The Rolling Stones performing in Berlin in 1965. The band's 1965 hit "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" made heavy use of Glenn Snoddy's fuzz tone. Keystone/Getty Images hide caption

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Keystone/Getty Images

Music

Remembering The Engineer Who Created Rock's Unmistakable Fuzz

June 10, 2018 • Glenn Snoddy, who died May 21, invented the distinctive fuzz tone adopted by The Rolling Stones, Iron Butterfly, The Guess Who and more.

Remembering The Engineer Who Created Rock's Unmistakable Fuzz

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Music Interviews

Neko Case On 'Hell-On'

June 9, 2018 • NPR's Scott Simon talks to singer Neko Case about her new album Hell-On.

Neko Case On 'Hell-On'

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Remembering Anthony Bourdain's Love For Music

Chef Anthony Bourdain speaks at New York Society for Ethical Culture in Oct. 2017. Bourdain died at age 61 on June 8. Craig Barritt/Getty Images hide caption

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Craig Barritt/Getty Images

World Cafe

Remembering Anthony Bourdain's Love For Music

XPN

June 8, 2018 • Hear the master chef and truth-telling enthusiast talk about the music he holds close during this 2007 interview.

Anthony Bourdain On World Cafe

10:24

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