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Ken Tucker

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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:41

Songs by Iris DeMent, Sunny War and Margo Price speak urgently to the current moment

Whether it's the folk-protest music of Iris DeMent, the cutting-edge blues of Sunny War or the hard-charging Americana of Margo Price, these three artists create music that stands out.

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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:05

Caroline Polachek's new album pulses with the sound of exhilaration and relief

Desire, I Want to Turn Into You was recorded during a time when many were emerging from pandemic isolation, and, intentionally or not, it taps into the upheaval and disorientation we've lived through.

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Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:33

Bob Dylan's 'Time Out Of Mind' remains eerie and vital in a newly released version

Columbia Records' new release provides an extensive look at Dylan's 1997's Grammy-winning album. This package of five CDs offer a wealth of new ways to experience some of Dylan's most moving music.

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Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:53

Dazy's exhilarating 'OUTOFBODY' sustains its quality all the way through

Virginia-based musician James Goodson — aka Dazy — sings most often in a voice that's high and urgent. His version of power pop is noisy, ragged, full of feedback and clatter — and irresistible.

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Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:15

SZA sends out a powerful 'SOS,' mixing pop, hip-hop and R&B

SZA sings and raps fluidly on her latest album, which features frequent medium tempos and romantic imagery that harken back to Luther Vandross, Minnie Riperton and the "Quiet Storm" era of 1980s R&B.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
08:51

Beyoncé and Wet Leg top Ken Tucker's round-up of 2022's best music

Beyoncé and Wet Leg top Ken Tucker's round-up of 2022's best music

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:05

These three new songs will help you grapple with romances of the past

After a decade, Caitlin Rose is "Getting It Right." Weyes Blood's "It's Not Just Me, It's Everybody" is an ethereal ballad. And Carly Rae Jepsen and Rufus Wainwright duet in "The Loneliest Time."

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:45

How country music allowed Jerry Lee Lewis to vary his wild-man persona

Lewis came up in rock, but proved his country chops on the 1968 album Another Place, Another Time. The music suited his piano style, and the lyrics fit the emotions he brought to every performance.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:07

Taylor Swift's 'Midnights' mixes late-night dreaminess with steely control

Swift's new album, which chronicles 13 sleepless nights scattered throughout her life, includes a bracing amount of clear-headed thoughts about love and life as a pop star.

Review
Exclusively on
Due to the contractual nature of the Fresh Air Archive, segments must be at least 6 months old to be considered part of the archive. To listen to segments that aired within the last 6 months, please click the blue off-site button to visit the Fresh Air page on NPR.org.
09:00

Singer-songwriter Ashley McBryde gives voice to an imaginary town on 'Lindeville'

McBryde mixes passionate music with novelistic details on a concept album about the inhabitants of a small rural town, named after the songwriter Dennis Linde.

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