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Billie Eilish, Beth Gibbons, Rapsody and the best albums out now

Billie Eilish finally remembers who she is

Billie Eilish's third album, created as always alongside her brother and collaborator Finneas, is titled Hit Me Hard and Soft. William Drumm/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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William Drumm/Courtesy of the artist

Billie Eilish finally remembers who she is

May 17, 2024 • Speaking alongside brother/collaborator Finneas, Eilish says she discovered a new self-awareness on Hit Me Hard and Soft, after years of seeing herself through others' eyes.

Hear the interview 7:02

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The Philharmonik Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Meet the 2024 Tiny Desk Contest winner

Every year thousands of musicians enter NPR's Tiny Desk Contest. This year's winner was announced Wednesday — an artist called The Philharmonik, with a song called "What's It All Mean?"

8 Tracks: What was the Steve Albini sound? Almost everything

Artists like Superchunk, Neurosis, Pixies, Low, Mogwai and Joanna Newsom came to recording engineer Steve Albini when they had something righteous or defiant to proclaim. Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty hide caption

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Brian Cassella/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty

8 Tracks: What was the Steve Albini sound? Almost everything

If an artist was willing to confront their truths, Albini was ready to take them into the gaping maw. The recording engineer, who died last week, left an indelible mark on how we hear music.

Kathleen Hanna on life as a 'Rebel Girl,' and the joy of expressing anger in public

"When I first started being in Bikini Kill, I thought of myself as a feminist performance artist who was in a punk band," Kathleen Hanna says. Rachel Bright/Ecco hide caption

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Rachel Bright/Ecco

Kathleen Hanna on life as a 'Rebel Girl,' and the joy of expressing anger in public Fresh Air

The Bikini Kill frontwoman pioneered the "riot grrrl" movement in the 1990s. "I thought of myself as a feminist performance artist who was in a punk band," Hanna says.

Composer Erik Satie. Henri Manuel/Wikimedia Commons hide caption

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Henri Manuel/Wikimedia Commons

NPR Classical

A birthday salute to Erik Satie. Hear chilled out tracks and odd confections from the quirky Frenchman who gave us "Furniture Music," a forward-looking precursor to all things ambient.

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Comic book artist Daniel Warren Johnson (Murder Falcon, Extremity) illustrates the music of Viking's Choice. Horns up! Daniel Warren Johnson hide caption

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Daniel Warren Johnson