National Public Radio Inc.

Amazon Swallows Up Audible

Trans Fat Ban on the Table in King County

Live Music Tonight: Decemberists, Nada Surf

SW Truancy Story Honored

2 Best jokes about Seattle

Letters to the Editor

If everyone gets busted eventually, it is hard to envision how marijuana has become our No. 1 cash crop in this country.

Fake Anthrax Envy

If everyone gets busted eventually, it is hard to envision how marijuana has become our No. 1 cash crop in this country.

Another Crosscut Cutback

Deputy editor Lisa Albers is scaling back to a contractual relationship with the web-only news source, which is making the transition from for-profit to non-profit status. Here's what she had to say in her farewell note, which comes two days after editor Chuck Taylor's: "Following up on Chuck's me ... More >>

Uptight in the Army?

Deputy editor Lisa Albers is scaling back to a contractual relationship with the web-only news source, which is making the transition from for-profit to non-profit status. Here's what she had to say in her farewell note, which comes two days after editor Chuck Taylor's: "Following up on Chuck's me ... More >>

Stephin Merritt

Thoughts on love songs and why they’re boring

An Acoustic Evening with Nada Surf

Wednesday, January 30

At Least One of Shankar's Girls Followed Papa's Lead

On her latest recording, Rise, Anoushka Shankar infused ancient raga melodic forms with subtle keyboards, electronic effects, and other non-traditional instruments.

This Week's Critics' Picks

Tavis Smiley, 49 Up, and the Kirov Orchestra top our list.

Talk of the Radio

Plus: a progressive blog is upgraded, a map plots a plot, and more tales of cops.

Well Read, Well Fed

Our suggestions for books for cooks that aren't necessarily cookbooks.

Left Side of the Dial

Our suggestions for books for cooks that aren't necessarily cookbooks.

Rewind Unwinds

Our suggestions for books for cooks that aren't necessarily cookbooks.

News Clips— Needle Exchange

Our suggestions for books for cooks that aren't necessarily cookbooks.

How To Write an Annoying Holiday Card

35 surefire tips for maximizing seasonal irritation to friends and family.

". . . we will be there with signs covered in bacon to demand real support for the arts, not symbols of corporate sponsorship on every street corner. . . ."

35 surefire tips for maximizing seasonal irritation to friends and family.

The rest of us considered

35 surefire tips for maximizing seasonal irritation to friends and family.

Multi-multitasking

Ever more still isn't more than enough.

Steal this plate

Ever more still isn't more than enough.

Ten years after

Ever more still isn't more than enough.

Radio Revolution or Airwave Anarchy?

NPR and the broadcast barons fight the FCC's attempt to make pirate radio legit and let a thousand stations bloom.

Web Bites: Stinging Nettle Eating, License to Booze

Saturday's Weekend Edition on NPR had a great little story and sound bite from the World Stinging Nettle Eating Championship in Marshwood, England. I was once told by a chef that you shouldn't eat stinging nettles uncooked, and curiosity got the best of me for about five seconds--disgusting. How som ... More >>

Happy Monday: 24 Free MP3s From the New NPR.org

Chris KornelisThis is me trying to salvage a pic of Fleet Foxes from REVERBfest 2007. Fleet Foxes plays the "Newport Fucking Folk Festival" on Saturday.​There's a lot of talk swirling around about NPR's revamped online presence at NPR.org. I wasn't a regular before this morning, but if we're g ... More >>

NPR Locks Chris Walla and J. Robbins In a Room With a Picture of a Cat, Asks Them To Write a Song

​The result of this Project Song installment is "Mercury," a track that sounds very Death Cab, but not nearly as affected or tortured as the process would suggest. Walla and Robbins were shown a variety of pictures and words and asked to pick just one of each to be the basis for their song. ... More >>

Keep 'Em Flying: Drive-Through Coffee on Green Lake

​Starbucks and Peets are the big contenders for the yet-to-be-caffeinated around early morning Green Lake, but even at 6:30 in the morning, a quick stop for coffee can wrankle due to scant curbside parking. Keep 'Em Flying Espresso hopes to prove that there is plenty of coffee business to go a ... More >>

A.M. Music News: Gorillaz Bruce Willis, and a $25 Million Payday

​-- YouTube: The video for the new Gorillaz song, "Stylo," co-stars Bruce Willis. The new record, Plastic Beach, hits stores on March 9. You can hear it all on NPR. -- NYT: The feds say four dudes in New Jersey made $25 million in a ticket re-sale scheme. -- NME: Iran music journalist Behran ... More >>

Stream She & Him's Entire Sophomore Album Volume Two at NPR

She & Him's album will be released on March 23, but you can stream the whole thing now at NPR. ​NPR is giving She & Him fans (and Zooey Deschanel detractors) the chance to hear the band's new album, Volume Two, a week before its release date. This latest collaboration between M. Ward and Des ... More >>

A.M. Music News: Green Day, Wolf Parade, Violent Femmes, and Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me: ZZ Top!

​-- NPR: ZZ Top's gonna play "Not My Job" on NPR's Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me! this weekend. -- Pitchfork: Wolf Parade's playing the Showbox on July 27. -- MyFoxDetroit: Fences at the Detroit ballpark sponsored by Jack White have been vandalized. That's just some tame shit. -- Spinner: Wo ... More >>

Branding the Bottle

​-- NPR: ZZ Top's gonna play "Not My Job" on NPR's Wait, Wait ... Don't Tell Me! this weekend. -- Pitchfork: Wolf Parade's playing the Showbox on July 27. -- MyFoxDetroit: Fences at the Detroit ballpark sponsored by Jack White have been vandalized. That's just some tame shit. -- Spinner: Wo ... More >>

A.M. Music: Silly Love Songs, Isaac Brock, Crystal Castles, Interns Behaving Badly

-- Pitchfork: Isaac Brock's project Ugly Casanova and The Shins' James Mercer both contribute to the soundtrack for the film, 180° South, out June 22. Check out the trailer above. -- Wall Street Journal: Sir. Paul McCartney's taking "Live and Let Die" and the rest of his post-Beatles catalogue aw ... More >>

NPR Has Nothing But Love for Seattle's Ivan & Alyosha

Photo by Jenny Jimenez​ Seattle pop outfit Ivan & Alyosha has found a much-deserved ally at NPR. Earlier this week, "Easy to Love," the band's catchy, singalong single from last year's EP The Verse, The Chorus, was featured on NPR's Song of the Day podcast. Here's a glowing recommendation for ... More >>

Stream New Pornographers' Upcoming Album, Together, at NPR

​ What indie musician isn't on the New Pornographers' latest album? Together, slated for May 4 release on Matador, features guest spots by Beirut's Zach Condon, St. Vincent's Annie Clark, Okkervil River's Will Sheff, and the horn section from the Dap-Kings. The result is a collection of layere ... More >>

Stream the Entire New LCD Soundsystem Record, This Is Happening

​NPR's keeping busy today. James Murphy's newest electro-pop opus, This Is Happening, will be released on May 18, but NPR just made the entire album available for streaming. Thankfully it's sounding a lot more interesting and listenable than the annoying, throwaway first single, "Drunk Girls." ... More >>

Reverb Questionnaire: NPR's Michele Norris On The Jackson 5, Steely Dan, and the Other "Stairway to Heaven"

2007 NPR by Stephen VossMichele Norris appears with Rosanne Cash at 8 p.m., Saturday, May 1, at The Moore. Tickets are $35 and $45 via STGPresents.org.​Michele Norris' may be the most popular voice in the city of Seattle. If there are radios in this town that her soothing voice doesn't inhabit ... More >>

Free Stuff: Win Tickets to See Ivan & Alyosha at the Tractor This Thursday

Jenny Jimenez​Ivan & Alyosha have been getting lots of love from NPR, among others, for their easygoing pop songs, as heard on their debut record, The Verse, The Chorus. This Thursday, the boys will perform at the Tractor with The Nine Tailors and Pickwick. This is one of those bands you shoul ... More >>

A.M. Music News: Pearl Jam's Bootlegs, Interpol's Bassist(s), The Black Keys' Brothers

Renee McMahonFrom the Sasquatch! 2009 archives.​-- New York Times: On Sasquatch! "The West Coast's best answer to Bonnaroo, the lineup for the Sasquatch! Festival ... seems to get more impressive (and envy inducing) each year." -- NME: Interpol bassist Carlos Dengler has quit the band. The ba ... More >>

A.M. Music News: R.I.P. Lala, Blitzen Trapper's New Record, Lil Wayne, Phil Spector's Comeback

Blitzen Trapper's new record is streaming on NPR until June 8.​Lala: Lala's officially dead! NPR: Blitzen Trapper's Destroyer of the Void is now streaming in its entirety! MTV: F you, prison! Weezy's still putting out new music videos! Watch "Get A Life." Paste: Phil Spector's 29-year-old ... More >>

A.M. Music News: Rihanna Bails, Dark Night of the Soul Surfaces, Radiohead Surprises, and Deftones Tour

​ -- Live Nation: Rihanna has canceled her scheduled concert at the White River Amphitheatre for this Friday, July 2. Live Nation cites "production changes" for the cancellation. Read: Not enough of us were willing to shell out $25-$100 to see Ke$ha flail around on stage. I'm proud of you, Sea ... More >>

A Menomena Update Download "Taos," Another New Track off Mines

​Thanks to Stereogum, you can now download my favorite track off Menomena's forthcoming Mines. "Taos" is wailing, explosive, and bluesy -- it puts me in the mind of the Black Keys' Brothers, which is definitely a good thing. Here's the dish on Mines: -- The official release date is July 27 ... More >>

Macy Gray's Sellout, Leonard Cohen In Bird On A Wire, Scorsese/Jagger's Rock Epic, and NPR Music's New iPhone App

​-- NPR Music: Listen to critic Robert Cristgau review Macy Gray's The Sellout. -- NPR: NPR Music launched an iPhone/iTough app today. Lotsa streams, interviews, tracks, shows, etc. -- NME: Bird On a Wire, the previously-unreleased documentary following Leonard Cohen on his 1972 European tou ... More >>

NPR: Music's Loveline

Why public radio's become the go-to spot for bands to hook up with paying customers.

Today's Paper: Pizza Fest, Cornbread Fest, The NPR Gravy Train, and Other Comfort Foods

Sebastian MlynarskiPhosphorescent plays an 8 p.m. show at the Croc with J Tillman and a 3 p.m. in-store at Capitol Hill's Sonic Boom on Saturday, July 31. ​For those of you who prefer to keep your fingers clean and read the paper online (right over here), this week's music section includes: - ... More >>

It's Gettin' Hot in Here: U.S. Spice Consumption On the Rise

​This morning I heard an NPR story that piqued both my interest and my palate (not to mention my desire for tacos for lunch): the U.S. is getting spicier every year. According to this piece by Andrea Hsu, the consumption of spices in the United States has grown "almost three times as fast as t ... More >>

The Inescapable Egg Recall

​There is just no way to get away from the egg recall these days. Top of every newscast, bottom of every talk show, online and in the papers, it's just eggs, eggs, eggs and more eggs. Like this afternoon. I'm driving into the office and, like the good, soft and pasty liberal that I am, I'm li ... More >>

There Is Enough Free Music Streaming Right Now to Explode Your Head

​Apparently August has been renamed "Give Away Your Awesome Music For Free!" month, because the Internet is teeming with free streaming music. I know this happens all the time (MySpace, Facebook, bandcamp, blah blah blah), but right now, that music actually good, and most of it is coming court ... More >>