Conversations at the World Cafe
Elbow: A 'Seldom Seen' Band Gets Heard
A sonically adventurous rock band from Manchester, England, Elbow has gone through its share of record labels on its way to cult stardom. Nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001, the group has since settled into a run of highly regarded albums, though it continues to hopscotch from label to label.
Season's Greetings With The Singing Saw
Although Julian Koster's choice of musical instrument is unusual, the songs he plays on it are not. Sometimes lonely and sometimes haunting, the songs on The Singing Saw at Christmastime are childlike, comforting, fresh and warm. Hear a session from WXPN.
Bela Fleck Gives Christmas A Flecktone Fervor
On Jingle All the Way, Bela Fleck and his band The Flecktones breathe new life into the Christmas canon, approaching classics like "What Child Is This" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" with their distinctive, genre-bending fervor. Hear the session from WXPN.
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Mary Chapin Carpenter's Christmas Special
A venerable and popular country-folk singer, Carpenter recently made a foray into holiday music, releasing an album of traditional and original Christmas music titled Come Darkness, Come Light. She plays holiday tunes in a session from WXPN.
Charlie Haden: Just A 'Rambling Boy'
Though Haden is best known for his jazz explorations, his latest effort, Rambling Boy, straddles Americana, folk and country. It's a return to his musical roots that brims with nostalgia for his days growing up in the American heartland. Hear a session from WXPN.
Frightened Rabbit: Emotional Scottish Rock
Slowly stepping into the public spotlight after years spent honing their style and sound, the Scottish indie-rockers in Frightened Rabbit make music marked by emotional lyrics, lush instrumentation and catchy melodies.
The Cure: Renewed And Rocking
With The Cure's renewed rock edge driven by original guitarist Porl Thomson, and signature keyboards and synths pushed to the background, the raw energy of 4:13 Dream is infectious. The band performs classics and new songs in a session from WXPN.
Department Of Eagles: Evocative And Nostalgic
Department of Eagles recently returned with its second album, In Ear Park. It's a stimulating and lively disc that conjures up precious childhood memories, evoking a sense of nostalgia, joy and, at times, melancholy. Hear a session from WXPN.
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Stereolab: Thought-Provoking Ear Candy
Stereolab has always toed the line between gorgeous melody and arty structure, as its members' tastes in conventionally cheesy pop music and hypnotic krautrock have demonstrated. Appearing on World Café for the first time, Stereolab performs material from Chemical Chords.
Steve Lillywhite On Morrissey's 'Vauxhall And I'
By the time Vauxhall and I came around in 1994, Morrissey had already wooed the world. His fourth solo effort marked a bit of a return to the jangly Smiths style, but as Morrissey has proved over and over again since then, he just keeps perfecting it.
Mercury Rev: The Lillywhite Session
With Snowflake Midnight, the psych-rock veterans in Mercury Rev embraced open-source technology, allowing them to experiment with audio effects designed by people around the globe. Steve Lillywhite produces the session from Avatar Studios in New York City.
Carrie Rodriguez Steps Out On Her Own
Rodriguez possesses remarkable skills on a slew of instruments, including the mandolin, fiddle and tenor guitar, and she's effectively proving herself as a singer-songwriter. She performs material from She Ain't Me in a session from WXPN.
John Mellencamp: Heartland Rocker Goes Folk
On Life, Death, Love and Freedom, iconic heartland rocker John Mellencamp distances himself from his musical brand and makes a turn toward rumbling folk and blues. With the help of producer T-Bone Burnett, Mellencamp created a new textured, acoustic sound.
Golden Animals: Into The Desert
After recording its debut EP, Golden Animals moved out west to house-sit for cult figure Gordon Kennedy, author of Children of the Sun. True to the band's biggest influence, The Doors' Jim Morrison, the new desert environs inspired a wealth of music.
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Ray LaMontagne: Among Friends
Though he remains a solo artist, LaMontagne branches out on his new album, Gossip in the Grain, taking some touring bandmates into the studio with him. In a session from WXPN, he reveals why he wrote a song about White Stripes drummer Meg White.
Etran Finatawa: Niger's Nomadic Blues
Etran Finatawa is a remarkable musical collaboration between members of two nomadic African cultures in Niger. With three songs exclusive to the Web, the group showcases its eclectic sound, which features a variety of modern and traditional instrumentation, strong polyphonic vocals and high tenor solos.
Joseph Arthur: Not 'Much To Hide'
Singer-songwriter Joseph Arthur has always followed an unconventional career path: The Grammy-nominated performer long ago began prolifically self-releasing his albums, many of which bear his own paintings as cover art. Hear Arthur in a session from WXPN.
Danny Goldberg: Among The Rock Greats
The new book Bumping Into Geniuses is a love letter to the music business. In an interview with host David Dye, author Danny Goldberg talks about shaping the public image of Kiss and how he managed Nirvana's popularity after the early-'90s "alternative" explosion.
Jessica Lea Mayfield: 'Heartfelt' Blasphemy
At 19, Mayfield has a mature sound that seems evolved beyond her years, and she's already attracted attention as a featured vocalist with her friends in The Black Keys. She performs music from debut album, With Blasphemy, So Heartfelt, in a session from WXPN.
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Old Crow Medicine Show: Return To Roots
Old Crow Medicine Show brings its rootsy back-porch sound to World Café, where it showcases songs from the new Tennessee Pusher. The disc takes a modern approach to Americana with gospel and rock overtones, but leaves the band's roots firmly intact.
