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Tania León Wins Music Pulitzer For 'Stride,' Celebrating Women's Resilience

Tania León is a Cuban-born American composer who won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize in Music for her piece Stride. Jack Mitchell/Getty Images hide caption

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Jack Mitchell/Getty Images

Tania León Wins Music Pulitzer For 'Stride,' Celebrating Women's Resilience

June 11, 2021 • The revered Cuban composer's winning piece was inspired by the life and struggles of Susan B. Anthony and her own poor mother and grandmother in Cuba.

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Hand-picked songs curated by the NPR Music staff

Roséwave: 102 Songs To Soundtrack Your Summer

It's not a genre; it's a lifestyle. Kara Frame/NPR hide caption

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Kara Frame/NPR

Roséwave: Back 2 Basic

Whether you're ready for Hot Vax Summer or preparing for a more cautious reentry to everyday life, roséwave understands. Here are 101 songs to soundtrack your summer, wherever you're at.

Disco Beethoven. Chris Sharron hide caption

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Chris Sharron

NPR Classical

This week's playlist is a dream come true, with composers from John Cage and Tōru Takemitsu to Ellen Reid and Franz Schubert writing music that evokes our mysterious nocturnal visions.

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

Viking's Choice

This week: Hailu Mergia's Ethiopian jazz-funk, Gumiho's amp-stacked pop-punk, Turnstile's hardcore jock jams, Alice Coltrane's divine voice, Panopticon's triumphant black metal.

Lars Gotrich/NPR

Press Pause

A regularly updated playlist that keeps track of new songs deemed absolutely essential by the NPR Music staff.

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How Japanese Breakfast Builds An Album, Sound By Sound

Michelle Zauner, the singer and creative driver of Japanese Breakfast, and Craig Hendrix, the band's drummer and co-producer. Daniel Fox/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Daniel Fox/Courtesy of the artist

How Japanese Breakfast Builds An Album, Sound By Sound

A look inside the dreamlike new album Jubilee and the rare partnership of Michelle Zauner and producer Craig Hendrix — equals in the studio, with battle-tested chemistry.

Floating Along In Uncertainty With Vijay Iyer

Vijay Iyer. Ebru Yildiz/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Ebru Yildiz/Courtesy of the artist

Floating Along In Uncertainty With Vijay Iyer

For the final entry in Morning Edition's Song Project series, Vijay Iyer wrote a rhizomatic, inviting — and not entirely placating — instrumental piece to encapsulate his past year.

Twee Your Mind: How Tiger Trap Taught Me That Tenderness Is Punk

Hearing Tiger Trap's self-titled debut, released in 1993, was a turning point for writer Maria Sherman. "Tiger Trap's tender pop was punk in a hushed tone," she says. "I was, and remain, hooked." Photo Illustration: Renee Klahr/NPR; Courtesy of Michael Galinsky hide caption

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Photo Illustration: Renee Klahr/NPR; Courtesy of Michael Galinsky