Tag: NPR

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Sting And Shaggy: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Watch Sting And Shaggy play “Englishman in New York”, “Don’t Make Me Wait” and “Shape of My Heart/Lucid Dreams” at the Tiny Desk. Watch Tiny Desk Concerts ONE WEEK before they go on YouTube at https://www.npr.org/tinydesk Follow NPR Music: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nprmusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nprmusic July 10, 2019 | Josh Rogosin — Sting and Shaggy might not be the most likely musical pairing. But one thing is certain, they love playing each other’s music. On a bright autumn morning, the legends arrived at the NPR Music office bleary-eyed yet excited to play for the diverse staff of Shaggy and Sting fans. What [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Betty Who: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Watch Betty Who play “Taste”, “Friend Like Me” and “I Remember” at the Tiny Desk. More from NPR Music: Tiny Desk Concerts: https://www.npr.org/tinydesk Twitter: https://twitter.com/nprmusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nprmusic June 26, 2019 | Josh Rogosin — One of my favorite things about Tiny Desk concerts is that artists are often inspired to experiment. Betty Who was in town recently for a three-night residency at D.C.’s famed 9:30 Club where her sound was larger than life. The subwoofers cranked out backing tracks you could feel in your gut and dancers flanked the pop star, punctuating every pulsating beat. But she began her Tiny [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

IDLES: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Watch Idles play “Never Fight A Man With A Perm”, “Mercedes Marxist” and “I’m Scum” at the Tiny Desk. June 18, 2019 | Bob Boilen — My first time seeing Idles ended with guitarist Mark “Bobo” Bowen frenetically dancing on a bar, his guitar still keeping time, until the swinging neck suddenly shattered some low-hanging, glass lighting fixtures. The band’s set at South by Southwest was fierce and I knew it’d be a challenge trying to figure out how to bring that cathartic rage behind my desk. There was talk for a while of some members of the band strapping [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Sesame Street: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Watch the Sesame Street Muppets play a Tiny Desk Concert. Watch Tiny Desk Concerts ONE WEEK before they go on YouTube at https://www.npr.org/tinydesk Follow NPR Music: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nprmusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nprmusic June 10, 2019 | Bob Boilen — This just in: The Muppets have arrived at NPR! The news has stopped!Count von Count and the NPR kids count us down: 5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1! And there they are at the Tiny Desk: Big Bird, Bert and Ernie, Rosita, Abby Cadabby and Cookie Monster, all singing about a sunny day and how everything is A-OK. The Sesame [See More…]

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Kurt Vile: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Feb. 6, 2019 | Bob Boilen — Kurt Vile exudes a casualness at the Tiny Desk in his style and body language that is so unlike most anxious artists who come to play behind my desk. Sure, he’s done this Tiny Desk thing before, with Courtney Barnett. But even then, I remember thinking that he’s got something else on his mind — and it made me laugh this time around when Kurt played his opening tune, “Bassackwards,” and sang these words: “I was on the beach but I was thinking about the bay / Got to the bay but by [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

H.E.R.: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Dec. 12, 2018 | Bobby Carter — It’s been said that you only get one chance to make a first impression. In H.E.R.’s case, you get two. She stunned us as a special guest for Daniel Ceasar’s Tiny Desk concert earlier this year, in an appearance that showcased her vocal mastery. That earned her an invite to play again, front-and-center. She attacked her second go ’round with more fervor than the first, highlighting her skills as a multi-instrumentalist, maneuvering between acoustic and electric guitars, then the Fender Rhodes. While H.E.R. stands for “Having Everything Revealed,” she’s an artist who’s built [See More…]

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Florence + the Machine: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Oct. 16, 2018 | Josh Rogosin — Her nervousness was palpable and stood in stark contrast to her fully produced stage show. “I’m sorry I’m shy,” Florence Welch told the crowd of NPR family and friends gathered for her Tiny Desk performance. “If this was a big gig, I’d probably be climbing all over here and running around.” Opening with the song “June,” from Florence + the Machine’s 2018 album High As Hope, Florence performed with her eyes closed. By the end of the three-song set, she fully embraced the experience and gave in to the rapturous audience. Within seconds [See More…]

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Café Tacvba: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Oct. 12, 2018 | Felix Contreras — It’s appropriate that the pioneering Mexican band Café Tacvba (Tacuba) start its set with “Olita del Altamar” (“Waves from the High Seas”) from the group’s 2012 album El Objeto Antes Llamado Disco. It’s essentially an incantation of the magic that transpired during their performance behind Bob Boilen’s desk. The lyrics sing of the comings and goings of waves, symbolic of the passage of time and fueled by the Mexican folk rhythm son jarocho, a favorite of the band’s since their start almost 30 years ago. They then fast forward to “Diente de León” [See More…]

NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Mac Miller: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

Watch Mac Miller play “Small Worlds”, “What’s the Use? (Feat. Thundercat)” and “2009” at the Tiny Desk. Did you know you can watch new Tiny Desk Concerts on npr.org ONE WEEK before they go up on YouTube? Click here: https://www.npr.org/tinydesk Follow NPR Music: Twitter: https://twitter.com/nprmusic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nprmusic Aug. 6, 2018 | Bobby Carter — There was a shift in Mac Miller’s boisterous demeanor as he started the third of his three-song Tiny Desk set. It’s the first time he’s performed tracks from his new album, Swimming, in front of an audience. On “2009,” he rubbed his chin with clinched eyes, [See More…]

Music NPR Music Tiny Desk Concerts

Rakim: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert 0 (0)

June 25, 2018 | Abby O’Neill — It had been nearly a decade since Rakim released new music, but that drought ended Friday when the godfather of rap lyricism and one half of the revered duo Eric B & Rakim released a new song, “King’s Paradise.” The track was written for Season 2 of Marvel’s Luke Cage, which premiered on Netflix the same day, but it wasn’t entirely new to select NPR staff; they heard it days earlier when the God MC performed at the Tiny Desk. The New York rap icon wasn’t the only legend in the building that [See More…]