Did you know the melody to the Star Spangled Banner was once a British drinking song? In preparation for the Super Bowl, we uncover how the national anthem has been co-opted and reinterpreted by mega pop-stars. Our understanding of how this song sounds has been shaped by sporting events and the spin pop artists put on it has altered our conception of the nat ... Show More
Jun 9
Paul McCartney went back to Liverpool for something new to say
Boys of Dungeon Lane, McCartney's collaboration with producer Andrew Watt, arrived when McCartney was 83 and and he came out swinging: the opening track greets listeners with a dissonant, unresolved guitar chord that sets the album's tone. Harmonic instability runs through the en ... Show More
42m 8s
Jun 5
How a sci-fi dystopia became a personal utopia (ft. Arc Iris)
A sci-fi ballet imagined a 2080 where AI strips people of purpose, and the day before its New York premiere, an actual dystopia arrived. Arc Iris, the trio of Jocie Adams, Zach Tenorio and Ray Belli, built iTMRW as a concept record set in a future ruled by a mega-corporation that ... Show More
13m 2s
Jun 2
Why bands give us purpose (ft. MUNA)
A culture that rewards easily consumable individual identities produces plenty of pop stars and almost no bands. A significant exception: MUNA, the trio of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson. MUNA treats the band as a structure that grounds identity beyond the ego a ... Show More
52m 19s
Nov 2020
Afrobeats’ Global Takeover
Over the last several years, American listeners have grown more and more attuned to the sounds of West African pop music—also known as Afrobeats–whether it’s the swaggering Nigerian Afro-fusion of Burna Boy, the playfully genre-bending anthems of Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae, ... Show More
46m 39s
Mar 2021
March 10th - Bruno Mars & Anderson .Paak's Silk Sonic Added to Grammy Line-Up, Beyoncé's Supportive Message to Meghan Markle & U.S. Congress' #FreeBritney Request
Bruno Mars and Anderson .Paak get their Grammy wish, the United States Congress attempts to intervene in the #FreeBritney movement and Beyoncé sends Meghan Markle a special message. This is Billboard News Now, rounding out the top music news for Wednesday, March 10th. Learn more ... Show More
3m 35s
May 2011
Country Music : World War II
Country Hits from the war years. Songs include: There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere, Roses in the Snow, Born to Lose, Banjo Pickin Girl and Night Train to Memphis. Performers include: Roy Acuff, Cindy Walker, Bill Monroe, Bob Wills, Cowboy Copas and the Coon Creek Gir ... Show More
42m 40s
Feb 2021
BIG ENCHILADA 152: Murder Hornet Melodies
It’s been almost a year since we were warned about the evil murder hornets about to invade, stinging us, murdering us and stealing our daughters. It never happened. … just as the evil hornet masters wanted. And now that nobody seems worried about the impending buzzing onslaught, ... Show More
1 h