Popular music

Listen to some of the songs that topped the charts around the world in 1968

August 10, 2018Commentary

1968 was a year of political upheaval and the music reflected the restless times. The World’s host Marco Werman went back and checked out the 1968 chart-toppers from the US, Japan, France and Brazil.

How Cajuns and Creoles reinvented rock ‘n’ roll — swamp style

March 9, 2015Music

Music, lyrics and video were already a perfect combination for the Internet generation when Cee-Lo Green wanted to drive people away from cat videos toward something they could own.

Why lyric videos have taken the music world by storm

March 9, 2015Music

South African artist Spoek Mathambo performs in 2011.

Want to find the best Afropop? It’s on Soundcloud — not an album

January 2, 2015Music

Modern salegy artist Aly Mourad performs at Jao's Pub in Antananarivo, Madagascar. Mourad blends traditional salegy with a more upbeat style.

Go inside salegy, the music that dominates Madagascar

December 18, 2014Music

JuJu is made up of Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara, the band's founding members.

The music of JuJu is where West African tradition meets English punk

November 6, 2014Music

The genre “world music” is hard to define: It covers a broad range of styles and is constantly evolving. Take, for instance, the Gambian-English band JuJu — they derive equal inspiration from traditional West African music as they do from classic punk.

Music heard on the air for May 9, 2014

May 9, 2014Music Heard on Air

These are the tunes played between segments on The World for May 9, 2014.