NPR Music - You Must Hear This

THE RECORD An Under-The-Radar Albums Preview For 2014 Here's a remedy to the new year's rush of overhyped albums by already famous musicians: a week-by-week selection of albums from worthy underdogs, up-and-comers and veterans Read this story

THE RECORD Loving Morrissey The Way We Used To, Despite Lacerating 'Autobiography' There's plenty of cruelty in the British songwriter's book, but he's unreservedly bighearted toward his favorite films, actors, TV shows and music, and he rhapsodizes over one LGBT icon after the other. Read this story

ALL SONGS CONSIDERED Ambien Dreams And Naked Desert Walks: St. Vincent On Her New Album Singer and guitarist Annie Clark shares exclusive previews of brand-new music and recounts how meeting a live rattlesnake and the specter of a dead political activist inspired her fourth LP. Hear the interview

A BLOG SUPREME The Drummer Who Invented Jazz's Basic Beat Faced with a rapid tempo one night, Kenny Clarke devised a new way to play the beat on the ride cymbal. His "spang-a-lang," and the rhythmic ideas it generated, wound up transforming the way we feel swing ever after. Read this story

FAVORITE SESSIONS KCRW Presents: Rokia Traore One of Mali's most revered voices recently visited KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., to play songs from her new album, Beautiful Africa. But she also includes a new song called "Mama" that hasn't appeared on any album — and you can watch her perform it right here. Watch the video