Nov 29th, 2008 · Part alt-country, part indie-rock, the band Delta Spirit burst onto the stage this year with its debut album, Ode to Sunshine. The album is packed with serious messages set to pop riffs, thrown together with everything but the kitchen sink, including the occasional percussive trash can lid. NPR's Scott Simon talks to front man Matt Vasquez and bassist Brandon Young about the struggles of the road and unusual album art.
Nov 18th, 2008 · To swipe the immortal lines uttered by Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon, a great mystery should take "the lid off life and let [you] look at the works." Maureen Corrigan's picks for the top five crime novels of the year do just that.
Sep 18th, 2008 · Based in San Diego, Delta Spirit has made its musical home somewhere between indie-rock and alt-country, with a foundation built on battle-cry vocals and unconventional instrumentation, even including trash-can lids. The band performs from its debut CD in a session on WXPN.
Jul 3rd, 2008 · It used to be a kids' prank, but manhole cover theft has become an expensive problem for cities such as Long Beach, Calif. Each lid weighs more than 200 pounds, but thieves anxious to capitalize upon the rising cost of scrap metal aren't deterred.
Jun 16th, 2008 · Where Yo La Tengo's "Tears Are in Your Eyes" possesses the heavy-lidded feel of shared sorrow (with a reassuring hint of optimism), Adem's cover opts for a tone of comparative comfort. His version also functions as a sort of Cliffs Notes to what Adem is all about: a figurative glass of warm milk for a world of nervous stomachs.
Feb 27th, 2008 · Visiting Congress to provide an update on the struggling U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said he expects very slow growth in 2008, but no recession. Bernanke is trying to avoid a recession while keeping a lid on inflation. But so far, he's not getting much help. Inflation is up sharply, and housing prices keep falling.
Sep 29th, 2006 · Nursultan Nazarbayev, the president of oil-rich and democracy-poor Kazakhstan, meets President Bush at the White House on Friday. Nazarbayev has been accused of rigging elections, keeping a tight lid on the media. But his country has considerable amounts of oil and is in a strategically valuable location for the U.S.
Aug 25th, 2006 · The backbeat of Gov't Mule's "Mr. High and Mighty" is a heavy-lidded blast of '70s stomp-rock -- Foghat's "Slow Ride" functions as a not-so-distant cousin. But rather than extol stoner virtues, the song expresses indignation over the doings of the craven and powerful.