The Music Of The 2019 Oscars; Mavis Staples On World Cafe

Plus, the story behind Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth"

Photographer/Source Another week, another award show. This time, it’s the Oscars. And even if you’re not a cinephile, there’s a lot of music to be excited about at this year’s ceremony. We’re looking forward to seeing Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga perform “Shallow” from A Star Is Born, which is nominated for Best Original Song – and it’s not the only song worth rooting for in a pretty stacked category, according to our colleague Stephen Thompson. If you want a deep dive on the musical moments from and inspired by the nominated films, we’ve got you covered. Terence Blanchard – whose score for BlacKkKlansman was nominated for an Oscar this year – talked to Jazz Night In America about writing "Blut und Boden (Blood and Soil)" for the film and collaborating with Spike Lee for the past 30 years. NPR Music's Rodney Carmichael wrote about how a Swedish composer named after Beethoven – that would be Ludwig Göransson, whose score for Black Panther is nominated for an Oscar – helped soundtrack the past year’s conversations about race in America. Roma director Alfonso Cuarón, who is up for Best Director, hand-picked artists to make music inspired by the characters from his film, and this week’s episode of Alt.Latino features a conversation with cinema music supervisor Lynn Fainchtein about that album. Curious about the three different pianists involved in making the music of the film Green Book (nominated for five awards)? We have an interview with Kris Bowers, the one of those three who performs all the on-screen music in the film. And if you want to be the most informed participant in your Oscars pool, Pop Culture Happy Hour’s Oscars preview episode is your guide to the night. We’re far from the shallow now, Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna Featuring While it's often recognized as an anti-war protest anthem, Buffalo Springfield’s "For What It's Worth" wasn't based on Vietnam; rather, it was inspired by a confrontation that erupted on a few famous blocks in Los Angeles. Elizabeth Rowe, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s principal flutist, has settled the gender pay-equity lawsuit she filed against the orchestra last July under the Massachusetts Equal Pay Act. This week, WXPN’s World Cafe featured interviews and performances from innovative guitar prodigy Gary Clark Jr. and the iconic singer and activist Mavis Staples. New Music You might hear some familiar names on this week’s episode of All Songs Considered: Your newsletter team co-hosted with Bob Boilen and played a spooky-suave new song from Palehound, Swedish shoegaze-pop from Westkust and a lovely new track from Aldous Harding. This week's Alt.Latino mix includes a self-loving R&B track by Noa Sainz, Tomasa del Real's heart-wrenching reggaeton and an electro-trap tune by La Dame Blanche.  Tiny Desk Amr Afilky/NPR Double bassist Scott Mulvahill has entered the Tiny Desk Contest every year, and he's always been one of our favorite entrants. Though he's never won, we decided to invite him to perform at the Tiny Desk anyway. Incoming Curious about how the NPR Music team prepares for SXSW? Or how we convinced Gregory Porter to sing for us on a vintage subway train? We're still taking your questions to answer in a future newsletter. One More Thing Shh! It’s Stradivarius season. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify! You received this message because you're subscribed to our NPR Music emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002