Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'electric'

Toyota Delays Mississippi Assembly Plant

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 06:43:00 EST

Toyota says it's suspending plans to produce its Prius hybrid car in the U.S. A plant is under construction in Tupelo, Miss., was to be the first to make the popular gas-electric hybrid in this country. But as auto sales plunged, Toyota has been scaling back production. Toyota will finish the building but won't install equipment.

Own Electric Car, But No Garage... Firm Has Answer

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 16:23:00 EST

In Silicon Valley, there are now enough fully electric cars to spark a new business: car-charging stations. One company is joining with the city of San Jose to offer car-charging outlets on streetlight poles, in parking lots and even on parking meters.

Can Plug-in Cars Energize The Auto Industry...

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 11:32:00 EST

Experts discuss the future of electric cars, and whether bailout money with "green strings" attached might jolt Detroit into focusing on plug-in and hybrid cars. Find out about Tesla's slick plug-in sports car and a hybrid handcrafted for even more savings at the pump.

Car Battery Needs To Keep Going And Going

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:00:00 EST

One of the buzzwords at the Los Angeles Auto Show is "electrification." It's a future where cars run solely on battery power. Paul Eisenstein of The Detroit Bureau, an independent auto news service, says that future is still a ways off. He tells Steve Inskeep that for electric cars to succeed, they'll need a battery that lasts for more than 100 miles before a recharge.

Cobalt Location A Problem For Lithium-Ion Batteries

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 06:00:00 EST

A rush to build electric cars could also mean a rush to get minerals that are produced in unstable parts of the world. Lithium-ion batteries require large amounts of cobalt, which comes primarily from the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo, Tibet and Siberia. Easing dependence on foreign oil could mean increasing dependence on foreign minerals — from even less reliable trading partners than the Persian Gulf states.

Electric Car Carries Clean-Energy Investors' Hopes

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:05:00 EST

Silicon Valley venture capitalists are investing in clean energy, with the electric car their vehicle of choice. While the economic meltdown has crimped immediate sales plans, electric-car manufacturers hope for a thin slice of the $25 billion auto industry bailout being considered by Congress.

Electric Car Manufacturer Hopes To Generate Sales

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:06:00 EST

Even as America's troubled auto industry seeks a handout from Congress, a relatively new car manufacturer that's tailored for the 21st century is trying to get traction. Tesla Motors Inc., in Silicon Valley, hopes its $110,000 Roadster will make inroads for a cheaper family sedan.

An Horse: 'Horizons'

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 20:52:00 EST

Australians Kate Cooper and Damon Cox make up An Horse. The two recently released their full-length debut, Rearrange Beds, on which they tackle a simple enough formula: drums, electric guitar, and failed relationships for lyrical fodder. It's dangerous territory for some bands. It's easy to turn those ingredients into melodrama or an exercise in the trite. But An Horse uses its confessional lyrics to create 10 immediately recognizable tunes, with toe-tapping beats. It's a combination that led the duo to opening spots on tours with Death Cab for Cutie and Tegan & Sara.

Drew Emmitt On Mountain Stage

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:49:00 EST

Combining wide-ranging influences like reggae and roots music into an electric/acoustic hybrid, the Drew Emmitt Band recently performed on Mountain Stage in an appearance recorded at the Morgantown, W.Va., campus of WVU. The band played music from Emmitt's latest album, this year's Long Road.

Free Your Guitar, Free Your Mind

Mon, 03 Nov 2008 12:08:00 EST

Rock music may give the electric guitar fire, but avant-garde jazz musicians often re-think the instrument beyond its basic, melody- and rhythm-based functions. Here are five musicians who eschew standard conventions and instead approach the guitar as a device of pure sound.

Struggling With Utility Bills

Sun, 26 Oct 2008 08:00:00 EDT

Squeezed by job losses and higher food and energy prices, an increasing number of people are having difficulty paying their gas and electric bills. Ann Thompson from member station WVXU in Cincinnati reports in many cases, services are shut off, creating new hardship for those already struggling.

Butterfly Boucher On Mountain Stage

Thu, 23 Oct 2008 11:34:00 EDT

Australian-born singer Butterfly Boucher was making instrumental music at the age of 10. Years later, she was performing all the instruments on her 2004 album, Flutterby. She recently stopped by Mountain Stage, this time armed with only her electric guitar, to perform a set that includes her first single, "I Can't Make Me."

Like A Fox: 'A Feeling That Launched A Thousand Wars'

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:50:00 EDT

Like a Fox is a psychedelic rock band based in Philadelphia and founded in 2004 by former Lenola singer Jay Laughlin. Its upcoming album Where's My Golden Arm? features 40 minutes of carefree, synth- and electric-guitar-driven music that's suitable for dancing along.

Eric Church On Mountain Stage

Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:51:00 EDT

North Carolina-born singer-songwriter Eric Church has quickly become one of the most popular young stars in modern country music. Church recently treated a Mountain Stage audience in Bristol, Tenn./Va., to a stripped-down acoustic performance of what is normally a loud, electric stage show.

Antics and Anguish: Puccini's 'La Boheme'

Fri, 10 Oct 2008 00:00:00 EDT

Electric passion becomes lasting love, and ends with desperate tragedy, in Puccini's La Boheme — maybe the greatest "date opera" in history — in a racy new production from the Washington National Opera.

Jesus H Christ, The Electric Mandolin, More

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 12:32:00 EDT

The hypnotic Canadian rock trio Land of Talk is about to release its debut full-length CD; we've got a sneak preview. For some, the first recordings of Creedence Clearwater Revival were flat, but newly-mixed versions of the albums let fans hear the band's music in rich fidelity. Hear "Born On A Bayou," from the reissued Bayou Country. Jesus H Christ and the Four Hornsmen of the Apocalypse make music that's irreverent to some, but hilarious to others. The band's new CD is Happier Than You. Also on the show: new music from Jesse Sykes, Ray LaMontagne and the remarkable mandolin playing of India's U. Shrinivas.

The People Behind Your Electronic Toothbrush

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:00:00 EDT

iPhones, electric toothbrushes, antilock brakes — all of these are products of a field called mechatronics, which combines physics, computer science and mechanical engineering. Students training in this difficult discipline at the University of Virginia get to have some fun, too; as a class project, they built electric guitars and robotic mice.

Betty Carter: Fiercely Individual

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:18:00 EDT

An electric performer, Carter was an irrepressible and incomparable practitioner of the jazz vocal tradition. For nearly 50 years, the intense vocalist blazed her own trail in jazz, powered by her passionate, intense singing.

Ray Wylie Hubbard On Mountain Stage

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 12:54:00 EDT

Blending humor with philosophical, introspective lyrics, Hubbard's album Snake Farm packs a gut-busting punch with its deep, swampy electric grooves. The songs spin stories of humility, persistence and religious curiosity. Hear the country-blues rocker play solo and acoustic while overlooking West Virginia's New River Gorge.

She & Him At The Newport Folk Festival

Sat, 02 Aug 2008 17:40:00 EDT

Technical difficulties didn't deter M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel from plugging on ahead, even if that meant plugging in an electric guitar instead of an acoustic guitar. And then Newport's infamous rain came downÂ� hard. But that didn't stop them either with special guest appearances from Jim James and Becky Stark.

GM Launches Partnerships For Electric Chevy

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:00:00 EDT

Deborah Amos has this morning's business news.

Gore: Reliance On Fossil Fuels Poses Threat To U.S.

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 14:21:00 EDT

The United States must commit to end its dependence on carbon-based fuels and switch to clean, renewable sources in the next decade, former Vice President Al Gore said Thursday. Gore challenged the nation to produce all its electric power from renewable sources in the next 10 years.

In One Ohio County, Golf Carts Patrol Streets

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 16:14:00 EDT

Some sheriff deputies in Fairfield County, Ohio, are using golf carts to save gas and money. Deputies in the community of Bremen (pop. 1,200) use the electric carts to patrol some neighborhoods. Deputies say the carts are not only more efficient, they also improve community-policing efforts. Mike Thompson reports from member station WOSU.

American Princes: 'Auditorium'

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:25:00 EDT

A trio of guitarists powers Little Rock band American Princes — a presence made immediately known on the group's fourth full-length record, Other People. The band's catchy rock sound is built upon a thick bed of layered electric guitars in swirling stereo. With competing vocalists Collins Kilgore, David Slade, and William Boyd taking turns singing lead and the constantly battling instruments, the sound is more chaotic than that of your average rock group, but it all seems to work with the band's on-edge energy.

Sam Phillips: Tiny Desk Concert

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:06:00 EDT

Not enough people have heard the music of Sam Phillips and we want to change that. Sam Phillips writes perfect under 3 minute mini drama's and shapes them into singable stories. We asked her to sing some of her songs and invited her to play an intimate concert at my desk. After hearing our Tiny Desk Concert with Laura Gibson she was eager to do it. Little did we know that our air conditioning would die on a record breaking heat wave of a day. Sam Phillips performs 4 songs with help from Erik Gorfain on electric guitar and his tiny cigarette boxed size amps. He also plays a Stroh violin. You have to see this contraption to believe it.