Essentials

First Listen

Tiny Desk

Laura Jane Grace of Against Me! (left) and Lauren Denitzio of Worriers, whose debut LP Imaginary Life was produced by Grace. Courtesy of the artists hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of the artists

Laura Jane Grace And Lauren Denitzio On Surviving In Punk

by Robin Hilton, Daoud Tyler-Ameen

August 7, 2015 • The outspoken leaders of the bands Against Me! and Worriers discuss gender identity in art, being a punk musician in 2015 and the new Worriers album Imaginary Life, which Grace produced.

Hear the conversation 21:17

NPR thanks our sponsors

Become an NPR sponsor

Dr. Dre's album Compton, his first release in 16 years, came out today. Scott Council/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Scott Council/Courtesy of the artist

After 16 Years, Dr. Dre Returns With 'Compton'

by Timmhotep Aku

August 7, 2015 • The producer behind the West Coast gangsta rap sound looks back over his career on a long-awaited album that sounds less like one man's vanity project than a grand group effort.

Hear the review 3:08

James Bay's debut studio album is called Chaos and the Calm. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of the artist

Songwriter James Bay On Making Music In A World Gone Dark

August 8, 2015 • Bay tells Weekend Edition about the bleak moment that inspired his song "Scars."

Hear the audio 3:12

Mick Fleetwood getting it done with Fleetwood Mac during a 2013 performance Bob King/Redferns hide caption

itoggle caption Bob King/Redferns

Name That Drum Fill

by Robin Hilton

August 7, 2015 • Look, we all have work to do. But it's the weekend, and this drum fill puzzler isn't going to quiz itself.

Songs We Love

Handpicked by NPR Music staff and public radio hosts

U.K. DJs Idjut Boys will release their new album, Versions, on August 28. Yaru Haruimai/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Yaru Haruimai/Courtesy of the artist

Listen Loading… 9:47 Idjut Boys Kenny Dub Headband

Playlist
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/428155804/428162874" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

Picked by Otis Hart

An entrancing requiem for a fallen friend by two world-class DJs.

Read more

William Schimmel distills Mahler's lengthy Ninth Symphony down to under seven minutes. Illustration by Joan Chiverton hide caption

itoggle caption Illustration by Joan Chiverton

Listen Loading… 6:40 William Schimmel & Wynton Marsalis Mahler 9

Playlist
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/427814263/427844509" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

Tom Huizenga Mito Habe-Evans/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

Picked by Tom Huizenga

An accordionist creates a daring, yet touching, distillation of Mahler's mighty Ninth Symphony.

Read more

The New York rock band Gold released a self-titled album in April. Carrie Jordan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Carrie Jordan/Courtesy of the artist

Listen Loading… 2:59 Gold Wake Of The World

Playlist
Embed
Embed <iframe src="http://www.npr.org/player/embed/427589306/427591380" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no">

Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

Picked by Mike Katzif

A potent punk reminder that, while life is good, it could be so much better.

Read more

More songs

First Listen

Hear upcoming albums in their entirety

cover

Midnight

On the singer's new album, pop-rock music gets a real kick in its cherry-red pants.

44:34 • Until Aug 14

cover

The Secret History, Vol. 1

A new collection of unreleased recordings from the early 1990s captures Pavement's rough charm.

1:38:19 • Until Aug 11

cover

The Colours Of Life

On his new album, the Montreal artist brings his diverse sounds together to form a sumptuous whole.

40:25 • Until Aug 14

cover cover hide caption

itoggle caption cover

Morning World

After recording albums in his bedroom, Teen Daze emerges as a full-fledged indie-pop frontman.

41:26 • Until Aug 14

cover

Dry Food

Ellen Kempner and her band document a fraught transition from childhood to adulthood.

28:36 • Until Aug 14

cover

High

The Australian band's soulful, Motown-worthy punk poetry is simple and direct on its second album.

28:49 • Until Aug 21

More albums

Most Popular

Music By Genre

Featured Radio Streams

KEXP.org

Seattle's renowned indie music station.

All Songs 24/7

Hosted by All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton

More stations

Videos

Watch live concerts, studio sessions and music documentaries

Tiny Desk Concert with Terence Blanchard. Lani Milton/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Lani Milton/NPR

Terence Blanchard Feat. The E-Collective

by Patrick Jarenwattananon

August 5, 2015 • The New Orleans trumpeter's funky new band creates dance music to ward off despair.

Watch the video 29:13

Hippo Campus performs live on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic. KCRW hide caption

itoggle caption KCRW

KCRW Presents: Hippo Campus

by Jason Bentley

August 6, 2015 • The band of young Minnesota art-school graduates performs "Dollar Bill" on Morning Becomes Eclectic.

Watch the video 4:06

Ashley Monroe performs live at The Greene Space in New York City. Ebru Yildiz/NPR hide caption

itoggle caption Ebru Yildiz/NPR

Ashley Monroe, Live In Concert

by Ann Powers

July 29, 2015 • Watch Ashley Monroe play songs from her new, breakthrough album, The Blade, live at WNYC in New York.

Watch the video 57:06

More videos

Video Series

NPR

Tiny Desk

NPR

Field Recordings

KCRW

Studio Sessions

Interviews

Conversations with emerging and essential artists

August 4, 2015 • [Idiosyncratic records] make you want to ... make an even better record that sounds like you.

Hear the show 46:28

Sylvan Esso

Sylvan Esso. Elizabeth Weinberg/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Elizabeth Weinberg/Courtesy of the artist

August 2, 2015 • I was basically saying, hey, look, I'm gonna just fight the system.

Hear the interview 9:59

2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell

Courtesy of Amistad

More interviews

Music Radio

Continuous radio streams

Rock

All Songs 24/7

A mix of old favorites and new music from NPR's All Songs Considered.

The Current

New music and the music that inspired it, from local to legendary. From Minnesota Public Radio.

Eclectic24

KCRW's 24/7 music channel, curated by Morning Becomes Eclectic.

KEXP

Dedicated to music and discovery, from indie rock to Afropop.

opbmusic.org

Portland's mix of Pacific Northwest artists and the best new music.

WFUV

New York City's premier public radio music station.

WNKU

Public radio that rocks, covering Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and West Virginia.

WXPN

Philadelphia's top music source, and producer of World Cafe.

R&B

I'll Take You There

Everything from early doo-wop to contemporary slow jams, hosted by Jason King.

Classical

WQXR

New York's world-renowned classical music station.

Q2

WQXR's channel devoted to music from living composers.

Classical MPR

Minnesota Public Radio's classical music channel.

Jazz

Jazz24

From the classics to today's best, spiced with blues, funk and Latin.

WBGO

The jazz source for more than 30 years, and co-presenter of Jazz Night In America.

Latin

Alt.Latino Radio

Hosted by Felix Contreras and Jasmine Garsd, NPR's Alt.Latino spins Latin rock, hip-hop and psychedelic cumbia.

Folk

Folk Alley

Bringing you the best in folk music since 2003, presented by WKSU.

ThistleRadio

A Celtic roots music channel, brought to you by The Thistle & Shamrock.

More stations

Articles

In-depth stories, artist profiles and music lists

A mural asserts local music pride in Bristol, Va., one of the stops along The Crooked Road — a trail that connects music venues through the mountains of the state. Desiré Moses hide caption

itoggle caption Desiré Moses

We're Off To See Appalachia: The Crooked Road Links Rural Music Communities

by Desiré Moses

August 7, 2015 • The Crooked Road is a 333-mile driving trail in Southwest Virginia, along which a rich music community has been able to thrive and draw visitors from all over the country.

Hear the story 5:27

Drake performs at Finsbury Park in London, England in June. Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill recently accused Drake of using ghostwriters, spurring the two to release diss tracks aimed at each other. John Phillips/Getty Images hide caption

itoggle caption John Phillips/Getty Images

All Things Considered

Stakes Is High: Drake Ghostwriting Accusations Matter More Than You Think

by kris ex

August 5, 2015 • With the notion of authorship dispatched as silly and inconsequential, the way has been paved for even greater corporate influence over hip-hop.

Read the essay

French rapper Abd Al Malik's film May Allah Bless France! tells the story of a teenager finding music and Islam. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of the artist

All Things Considered

'May Allah Bless France!' Tells The Story Of France's Hip-Hop Gatekeepers

August 7, 2015 • Rapper Abd Al Malik, who grew up in the depressed suburbs of France, has turned his story into a soaring film memoir.

Hear the audio 8:01

Documentation of Roman Totenberg's Stradivarius violin. The instrument went missing after one of Roman's concerts but was rediscovered more than three decades later. Courtesy of the Totenberg family hide caption

itoggle caption Courtesy of the Totenberg family