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NPR&B: Public Radio Gets Sexy With 24/7 Streaming R&B Channel  It's called 'I'll Take You There,' and it will make your workday one hundred percent smoother. by Liam Mathews If you work in front of a computer all day, you probably have your earbuds in all day, too. But you're listening to the same boring Spotify playlists and the crap you've had in your iTunes since college. The radio has too many commercials and is too repetitive, and Pandora's algorithm just doesn't quite get you. Enter "I'll Take You There," aka NPR&B, the sexy antidote to the same old-same old. Yes, that NPR, which was never your source for soulful sounds until now. "I'll Take You There" is curated and hosted for NPR Music by Jason King, a faculty member at the [...]...

We see Bono's face before we hear a soul singer sing, but other than that prizing of current fame over timeless r&b, Greg "Freddy" Camalier's engaging new doc Muscle Shoals stands as a winning tribute to the coastal Alabama studio, musicians, and engineers who laid down some of the greatest pop tracks of the late '60s and early '70s: Wilson Pickett's "Land of 1,000 Dances," the Staple Singers' "I'll Take You There," and Percy Sledge's "When a Man Loves a Woman." The film and the principals—Fame Studios founder Rick Hall, Jerry Wexler, members of the rhythm section, even Aretha herself—indulge in myth-making, citing some spirit hauled up from Alabama river mud that made these white musicians play so "greasy" and "funky" (Aretha's words!). But with music this rich and ...

Chicago — In a family of vocalists, it was Cleotha Staples' smooth and velvety voice that helped set apart the sound of the influential and best-selling gospel group The Staple Singers.

Staples, the eldest sister and member of the group her father Roebuck "Pops" Staples started in the 1940s, died Thursday at age 78. She was at her Chicago home and had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for the past decade, said family friend and music publicist Bill Carpenter.

The group included sisters Pervis, Yvonne, Mavis and Cynthia, but Cleotha was the backbone, defining herself by being the "strong, silent type," said Carpenter, author of "Uncloudy Day: The Gospel Music Encyclopedia."

"When she was young they used to call her granny because she acted like a granny in terms of being wise and always sure of the best thing to do," Carpenter said.

Mavis Staples credited her father's guitar and Cleotha's voice...

Immediately after watching this week's episode of Misfits, I bought stock in Kleenex, poured myself a glass of wine and called Ae headquarters.

"Can I just put up a bunch of pictures of shirtless Future Simon and call it a day? How about I just write love Shakespearian-like sonnets? That would be good, right? What if I just--"

"What if you just recap the show?"

Ugh! Fine! I'll recap this week's episode, but I'm not happy about it. Don't get me wrong. It was a strong episode… Too strong. As in, I want to find series creator, Howard Overman, and lay into him in a way that would even get Ianto Jones fans to say, "Dude, it's only a television show."

The episode begins just where we left off. Future Simon, in shirtless (yummmmm!) glory, stares at the series of countdown clocks. Alisha walks up behind him and implores him...

ABC announced Thursday that "Revenge" is returning Sun., Sept. 30, and on a visit to the show's stately Grayson Manor set today, cast members and creator Mike Kelley talked about what fans should expect from Season 2.

"Dynamics have shifted, plots are coming fast and furious, and it's going to be utterly twisted and darker and deeper than even last year, if that's possible," Gabriel Mann said. "And the more twisted, the better!" Can't argue with the crafty Nolan Ross on that one.

But what fans love about the soap is that there are always more grounded, serious scenes mixed in amongst the cocktail party backstabbing and meticulous revenging. This season, the soap is all about "whether you have a hand in choosing your own destiny or whether it's something that's already laid out for you," Kelley said.

Here are the highlights of what Mann and Kelley said during a group set...

ABC announced Thursday that "Revenge" is returning Sun., Sept. 30, and on a visit to the show's stately Grayson Manor set today, cast members and creator Mike Kelley talked about what fans should expect from Season 2.

"Dynamics have shifted, plots are coming fast and furious, and it's going to be utterly twisted and darker and deeper than even last year, if that's possible," Gabriel Mann said. "And the more twisted, the better!" Can't argue with the crafty Nolan Ross on that one.

But what fans love about the soap is that there are always more grounded, serious scenes mixed in amongst the cocktail party backstabbing and meticulous revenging. This season, the soap is all about "whether you have a hand in choosing your own destiny or whether it's something that's already laid out for you," Kelley said.

Here are the highlights of what Mann and Kelley said during a group set...

Gil Kaufman and James Montgomery debate which 'Then and Now' hits the 'Idol' top seven should tackle.

By Gil Kaufman and James Montgomery

Jessica Sanchez performs on "American Idol"

Photo: Fox

The "American Idol" top seven took on current hits last week, and look how well things turned out! Uh, wait, never mind.

Anyway, after Jessica Sanchez escaped elimination thanks to the judges' save (which officially marked the first time this season they've actually done something right), "Idol" producers decided to up the ante for Wednesday night's (April 18) show by letting the contestants sing both a #1 from the past decade — since it worked so well before — and a classic soul tune.

Yes, it's "Then and Now" week on "Idol," which, come to think of it, is a pretty apt way of viewing the show's steady decline. It also means we're going to see the usual front-runners strut their stuff: Sanchez will dominate a Beyoncé hit,...

'VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul' featured performances by Kelly Clarkson, Florence Welch, Jessie J and many others.

By Jocelyn Vena

Jennifer Hudson,Kelly Clarkson and Mary J Blige perform onstage during VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul

Photo: Larry Busacca/ Getty Images

New York — Glittering clothes, big voices and sassy songs about love, loss and everything in between ruled the night during "VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul." The concert was filled with booty-shaking, sing-along performances from Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Florence and the Machine, Jennifer Hudson, Jill Scott, Jessie J and others, who rocked the Hammerstein Ballroom for the show, which aired Monday night (December 19) on VH1.

With an assist from the night's house band the Roots, it all kicked off with Hudson, Clarkson and Blige channeling the Supremes for "You Keep Me Hangin' On," before launching into a medley of their own tracks, "Spotlight," "Real Love" and "Since U Been Gone."

The...

Epic Records will release the soundtrack to Showtime’s “The Big C” on June 7. The show stars Laura Linney as a patient with cancer, so it makes sense that Epic, Showtime, and Sony Pictures Entertainment, which produces the series, will donate 100% of the net profits from the soundtrack sales to Stand Up To Cancer. The non-profit raises funds for cancer research. The set features previously released tunes from Sara Bareilles, Franz Ferdinand, Modest Mouse, and Delta Spirit, among others. Track listing: 1. I'll Take You There (The Staple Singers) 2. Sunshine Goodtime (Minnutes) 3. Katherine Kiss Me (Franz Ferdinand)...

Ozzy Osbourne and Yusuf Islam stunned fans at an ironic, star-studded political rally in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, October 30 when they took the stage to perform a surprise show for 200,000 peaceful protesters. American comedians Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert drew thousands to the U.S. capital as they poked fun at political extremists during the event, which featured a star-studded line-up of stage shows.

Philadelphia collective The Roots kicked off the three-hour demonstration with a 40-minute set, including a jam session with singer John Legend, who joined the band for live renditions of "Dear God 2.0", "Hard Times" and "Little Ghetto Boy" from their collaborative album "Wake Up!".

Soul great Mavis Staples also teamed up with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy for an acoustic version of their collaboration "You Are Not Alone", while rocker Sheryl Crow was accompanied by Kid Rock on the piano for her performance, which featured a video-taped verse from embattled rapper T.

The Roots, Sam Waterston, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and more attend 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.'

By Mawuse Ziegbe

Steven Colbert and Jon Stewart at the "Rally to Restore Sanity And/Or Fear" on Saturday

Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Images

In between performances from music titans such as Ozzy Osbourne and the O' Jays during Saturday's (October 30) "Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear," "The Daily Show" host Jon Stewart, conservative caricature Stephen Colbert and a cast of funnypeople quipped about everything from Chilean miners to the "Real Housewives of New Jersey." Despite the deluge of laughs, the event's overall message could possibly be summed up by the groovy mantra of the O' Jays feel-good classic "Love Train": People all over the world, join hands.

Philadelphia collective the Roots kicked off the three-hour live event with a 40-minute set packed with a bunch of the band's notable jams.