There are good songs, and then there are feel good songs. Public radio music stations specialize in the latter, especially new tracks by emerging artists that make you stop what you’re doing and smile. Nearly everyone could use a potent dose of positivity after 2023, so we asked NPR Member stations to share the songs that made their DJs feel …
Five Jimmy Buffett Ballads you Shouldn’t Ignore
Like so many Florida kids, I came of age to a steady calypso-influenced soundtrack of “Boat Drinks” and “Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes.” I was heartbroken to wake up on Saturday morning to the news that, after having battled skin cancer for the past four years, Jimmy Buffett has died. He was 76. Growing up here in Jacksonville, I …
Five Essential Mdou Moctar Tracks
Currently on a tour of North America, Tuareg musician Mdou Moctar will visit the Bier Hall inside Intuition Ale Works on Tuesday, May 2 as part of our JME Presents Music Discovery Series. If you’re unfamiliar with Moctar (pronounced em-dew mock-tar)’s work, the singer, songwriter, actor and activist is best known as something of a guitar hero. Moctar taught himself …
Marc Bolan and T. Rex Blended the Visionary with the Saccharine
A deep dive into the glam-rock pioneer's varied catalog
There are so many alleged geniuses in music that the field has grown fallow. Marc Bolan wasn’t a genius. But judging by his body of songs, and the overall harvest, he was absolutely guided by a conditional brilliance. Equal parts Bob Dylan, Chuck Berry and John Keats, the late UK glam god seemed to misplace the stolen promethean fire of …