Sep 30th, 2008 · Sometimes the best moment of an in-studio performance is the soundcheck. To warm up, Calexico riffed on a Pavement cover for 15 spooky minutes before offering up two very different versions of songs from the Tucson band's new album, Carried to Dust.
Sep 26th, 2008 · Chick Corea has been a major force in music for nearly 40 years. His inventive improvisations and musical ideas have made him one of the most important figures in modern jazz. On this 1987 program, recorded at Corea's Madhatter studio, Marian McPartland plays the Fender Rhodes and Corea plays his KX5 synthesizer in "Crystal Silence."
Sep 26th, 2008 · Australian singer Nick Cave and and his band, the Bad Seeds, are best known for angry, twisted, ballad-like lyrics. Their 2008 album, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!!, was inspired, in part, by the Biblical story of Lazarus. It is Cave's 14th studio album.
Sep 19th, 2008 · The movie business is betting on 3D to keep people coming to theaters. It's going to be expensive to get the necessary digital equipment into the thousands of movie theaters across the country. So, Dreamworks Animation head Jeffrey Katzenberg is leading the charge to get studios to help pay the price.
Sep 18th, 2008 · Jesse Harris came to prominence when pop-jazz singer Norah Jones enjoyed a breakthrough hit with his song "Don't Know Why." Along with having a knack for melody, Harris also sports his own distinctive voice. He performs selections from his seventh studio album, Feel, during his visit to Mountain Stage.
Sep 18th, 2008 · In 1923, four brothers formed a motion picture studio that still thrives today: Warner Bros. Film reviewer Richard Schickel has written a book and produced a documentary for PBS, You Must Remember This, to celebrate 85 years of Warner Bros. movie history. Schickel walks through the famous WB back lot with Renee Montagne. Many of the studio's most famous movies were shot on that lot.
Sep 14th, 2008 · The all-male vocal quartet, which draws its name from the supreme rulers of yore, has been selling out Irish stadiums with harmony-drenched folk songs. Now on tour in North America, the group visits NPR for a studio performance and interview.
Sep 12th, 2008 · In Hollywood, it's not true that "you're only as good as your last picture." Some movie stars who don't fill seats are still highly sought after and highly paid. Forbes magazine is out with its list of the most overpaid stars. Oscar winner Nicole Kidman gets top billing for 2007. She earned studios just $1 for each dollar she was paid. By comparison, Vince Vaughn brought in nearly $15 for each dollar he was paid.