Entertainment

NPR Topics: Pop Music

Pop Music

The Celtic Journeys of Loreena McKennitt McKennitt fell in love with Celtic music many years ago, but a late-'90s visit to Venice gave her a new appreciation for the wide reach of Celtic culture. Her new album is a concert recording from an unlikely Celtic outpost: Spain. She visits NPR for an interview and in-studio performance. Nickel Creek Farewell (For Now) Concert When Nickel Creek began as a bluegrass trio in 1989, its pre-teen members stunned audiences with their remarkable musical gifts. Since then, their sound has evolved into progressive acoustic music, but they're calling it quits. Hear Nickel Creek recorded live in concert in one of the band's final performances. Over the Rhine in Concert Over the Rhine has taken on a variety of forms since 1989, but it's now just the husband-and-wife duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist. Hear the bittersweet folk-pop band perform a concert from WXPN and the Whitaker Center in Harrisburg, Pa. Dreamy Vocals and Jarring Chords Collide In "Signing Off," the L.A. band Oliver Future performs an anthem of collective hope and universal despair. But, as with so much successful commentary about large-scale conflict, it allows the wide-angle shot of the battlefield to zoom in at eye level. Instrumental Hard Rock, Teasing as It Pummels Drawing from sources as disparate as Black Sabbath, the indie-instrumentalists in Tortoise and the self-flagellating noise-masters in Swans, the instrumental hard rock of Pelican's "Winds with Hands" whispers as much as it shouts. Orba Squara: Diving into Emotion Orba Squara burst onto the national music scene when its song "Perfect Timing" was featured in an iPhone TV commercial. Thrown into a whirlpool of popularity, the band has quickly leaped from anonymity to instant fame. Hear an interview and performance. Patti Scialfa Plays It as It Lays Best known as a backing vocalist for the E Street Band, and as Bruce Springsteen's wife, Patti Scialfa occasionally finds time to record and play her own music. Hear Scialfa perform songs from Play It As It Lays and give an interview on Words & Music from Studio-A on WFUV. Guy Capecelatro III: 'Theatre and Blue Eyes' Guy Capacelatro is a prolific, pop storyteller from Portsmouth, NH. He utilizes assorted instrumentation, a rotating group of singers, and folk storytelling to create off kilter songs. Devendra Banhart: Rolling 'Down Thunder Canyon' Banhart constantly adds new instruments and nuances to his songs, playing with their sound and texture. Yet if anything has remained unchanged, it's Banhart's distinct style and his unique voice. Hear an interview and performance. 'Come Down' to the Sound of Grunge Reborn The Valley's "Come Down" opens with a high-pitched charge right into a wall of guitars, and it's off from there. The words aren't complicated or particularly deep, but that's all right: Monster riffs are the draw here. It's Halloween, So Be of Good Cheer Pumpkins are on doorsteps. Movie screens are aglow with zombies and torture devices. Virtually every show on television has a Halloween theme. For one last day, Halloween is everywhere. But where's the Halloween music? Aaron Schroeder: 'Fake Crimes' Although Aaron Schroeder's wikipedia page jokes that he's inspired by traditional American grunge and modern hard rock, the Kennewick, WA songwriter actually creates brilliant pop rock with elements of folk, country, and glam. Jose Gonzalez: Acoustic Pop Gets Worldly With his tenderly plucked acoustic guitar and thoughtful lyrics, 29-year-old Jose Gonzalez is a rising star. He's attracted a worldwide audience to match his heritage: Born in Sweden to Argentine parents, Gonzalez is on his way to U.S. stardom. Hear an interview and performance. An 'Average Dance' That's Perplexingly Fun For all its whirling bits and pieces (cyclic banjo and accordion lines, ping-ponging toy synthesizer, overlapping vocals, a repeating bass line), "Earned Average Dance America" finds The Seedy Seeds generating a surprisingly cohesive sound. Saggy Pants Songwriter Sort of Says He's Sorry Dooney Da' Priest's rap song "Pull Your Pants Up" is meant to shame young men in Dallas from wearing saggy britches because the style makes them look like they're gay. Britney Spears Is So Back -- and Now It's Personal Test listen new music from Britney Spears, Kanye West and the new Bob Dylan biopic. Sea Wolf: Nostalgic, Yet Experimental Sea Wolf has a clear sense of nostalgia, at times recalling the likes of Mark Knopfler and Tom Petty. Still, the arrangements hint at a more experimental side, including cello and keyboard. Hear an interview and in-studio performance by Sea Wolf's Alex Brown Church. A Downcast 'Discussion,' with Stumbling Drums The track may be called "Our Discussion (of the Matter)," but the narrator of Nina Nastasia and Jim White's gorgeously turbulent song is mostly having a conversation with herself. White's arrhythmic drums only enhance the unsettled emotions in play. Cass McCombs: Eccentric and Tender Cass McCombs is an ingenious and unorthodox singer/songwriter. His influences range from The Velvet Underground to Morrissey, and his style blends folk and art-pop. Hear an interview and in-studio performance by the musician from WXPN. Krauss and Plant: Opposites Attract on a Sweet CD Producer T Bone Burnett found a surprisingly good fit when he matched wispy-voiced bluegrass vocalist Alison Krauss with hard-rock belter Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin fame). Their new CD, Raising Sand, has a relaxed, intimate feel.