Music & Culture

Music & Culture

The More, The Better: Repetition Propels Songs Up The Charts

12:37am February 12, 2015

It's an age-old question: What makes a hit song? NPR's Rachel Martin turns to USC professor Joseph Nunez for the answer. He says the secret formula may not be as complicated as we think.

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Australia To Compete In The 2015 Eurovision Song Contest

12:53pm February 11, 2015

by Jackie Northam

This is the first time an Australian will compete in the song competition that brings in nearly 200 million viewers. The big question is: who will represent Australia at the event in May?

Music & Culture

Tiny Desk Concert Judges To Announce Contest Winner

8:00am February 11, 2015

More than 400 performances since the Tiny Desk Concert series began, NPR Music on Thursday will announce the winner of the Tiny Desk Concert Contest to find a great undiscovered musician.

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Music & Culture

D'Angelo At The Apollo: We Were All Here Before

5:24pm February 10, 2015

by Jason King

The concert, like Black Messiah, was bulwark: it was a reminder that music's ability to bring people together to celebrate soulful feeling is, as Fela once remarked, a weapon of the future.

Shake, Rattle And Toll: Berkeley's Bells Play Sounds Of Earth

8:04am February 10, 2015

by Laura Sydell

In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the bells of UC Berkeley's Sather Tower were programmed to play a score composed in real time by the data from seismic shifts happening under the campus.

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Music & Culture

One Of Sam Smith's Grammys A Win For Tom Petty, Too

6:27pm February 09, 2015

by Elizabeth Blair

The four Grammys awarded Sunday night to Sam Smith are good news not just for Sam Smith, but for Tom Petty, too. Petty and another songwriter will get a quarter of the royalties from the hit, "Stay With Me." It's not the first time a pair of songs have striking similarities to one another.

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Music & Culture

The Rise And Fall Of Marion 'Suge' Knight

6:16pm February 09, 2015

David Greene talks to music journalist Alan Light about Marion "Suge" Knight's legacy in hip-hop music. The former CEO and co-founder of Death Row Records has been charged with murder.

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Sam Smith accepts the award for Best New Artist at the 2015 Grammy Awards.

Music & Culture

Sam Smith Wins 4 Grammy Awards, Including Song Of The Year

2:48pm February 09, 2015

by Jacob Ganz

The British singer also won Best New Artist and Record of the Year, for "Stay With Me." Beck won Album of the Year for his subdued, folky Morning Phase.

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