World Cafe

Bob Mould has been writing protest songs and hardcore anthems for over 30 years, but took a sidestep last year with Sunshine Rock, an ode to his musical youth. His new album Blue Hearts is a return to protest music and captures the rage that the Husker Du singer felt while writing the album. On today’s show, Mould explains why he has good reason to be angry, and he shares home recordings. Tune in!

Elvis Costello's new album was recorded in Helsinki and Paris, and that change in locales is palpable.

As a pianist finishing her final year at Boston’s Berklee School of Music, native Austinite Jackie Venson made a life-changing observation: guitar players were having a lot more fun. Watch a social distancing pop-up performance for KUTX 98.9 via NPR Music Live Sessions.

On today's encore session, we revisit our conversation and live performance of new songs and an old favorite from The Indigo Girls! Hear the complete session via NPR Music.

Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of The Indigo Girls are not only accomplished and beloved songwriters, they’re also long-time activists for causes ranging from gun control to indigenous rights, and more recently, the removal of confederate monuments something that Amy, who was raised in the South, says she didn’t always understand. Today, we revisit their recent session, where they talk about their activism, as well as the stories behind the songs on their first album in five years, Look Long. Plus, Indigo Girls perform new music and an old favorite. Tune in.

There's an electrical change in tempo compared to Nina Simone's original, yet the cutting message remains the same. Hear the premiere of Kelsey Waldon's 'Mississippi Goddam' from her forthcoming EP!

Producer Ani DiFranco, songwriter Zoe Boekbinder, and formerly incarcerated writer Nathan Jackson Brown talk about bringing the stories from inside New Folsom Prison to the world.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer is a counterculture icon. Listen to a wide-ranging interview on World Cafe.

The rock band Algiers has a reputation for being a firebrand. But that wasn't the case on 'There Is No Year'.

Hey, it's your host Raina Douris! Here's what's up this week on the World Cafe. 10/26 - The Prison Music Project 10/27 - Elvis Costello 10/28 - Algiers 10/29 - The Indigo Girls... 10/30 - @Bob Mould Catch the archives at worldcafe.org

Algiers have a new record, called 'There Is No Year'. And despite the album’s title, it was actually recorded before 2020 But the themes resonate deeply with this moment in time. Today, singer Franklin James Fisher and guitarist Lee Tesche stop by to talk about the music with host Stephen Kallao. We’ll find out how Mysophobia, which means hatred of sound, plays into the record, and how working remotely has been part of the band’s creative process for a long time, even before Covid-19. Plus, Algiers perform live. Tune in!

Like Katie Pruitt's ace guitar work and that muscular yet weightless voice, these songs inspire with their easy largesse.

On this edition of World Cafe Show & Tell, Don Bryant shares an old poster from the Manhattan Club, which brings back memories of performing at various clubs in NYC, sharing the stage with Willie Mitchell's Band.