We asked 25 people to tell us about a song that captures the sound of the present, speaks to where American culture is going, or otherwise evokes this moment in time. Here are their answers, including ...

"Of all nations," wrote Walt Whitman, "the United States with veins full of poetical stuff most need poets and will doubtless have the greatest and use them the greatest." This prediction in ...

I wouldn’t be here—in America, or inside my nervous system as it’s currently constituted—without American music. That’s no exaggeration. As a metalheaded, punk-rock-obsessed, hip-hop-curious English ...

Concordia University Irvine celebrates America's story in song across generations. From spirituals and hymns to Broadway and contemporary classics, America in Song: A Concordia Celebration explores ...

What is an “American song”? Simply defining this term raises a whole bunch of questions. Is an “American song” one that is about America? Is it one that played a role in American history, or one that ...

On the eve of America's 250th birthday, NPR's Juana Summers talks with NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Sheldon Pearce about songs that reflect the country's complex identity. In a country as ...

“Of all nations,” wrote Walt Whitman, “the United States with veins full of poetical stuff most need poets and will doubtless have the greatest and use them the greatest.” This prediction in ...