Reverbiage: Stories from NPR tagged 'sly'

At 72, Veteran Musician Scores in a New Scene

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:07:00 EDT

Best known for his sly, sexy party anthems, 72-year-old Andre Williams toiled in the music industry trenches for decades, battling homelessness and addiction along the way. Now he's been rediscovered by young white rockers.

Writing On The Sly, Nathanial Rich's Secret Debut

Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:13:00 EDT

It took over five years for Nathanial Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.

After Taking Fire, Palin Gives Some Back

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:45:00 EDT

Sarah Palin's speech didn't really prove whether the 44-year-old former small-town mayor deserved the job of vice president after just 21 months as Alaska governor. But John McCain's running mate did show she knew how to take a punch, and how to deliver one, with a sly grin.

Progressive Rock Gets Mordantly Witty

Mon, 04 Jun 2007 16:44:00 EDT

Porcupine Tree mixes the virtuoso musicianship of progressive rock with modern electronic and guitar effects. The title of its song "Sentimental" takes a sly jab, given its bleak surroundings on Fear of a Blank Planet, the band's saga of numbed-out teens of the future.

Sly and The Family Stone's 40 Years of Music

Fri, 18 May 2007 15:20:00 EDT

Soul power-funk band Sly and The Family Stone are celebrating their fortieth anniversary with a brand new box-set featuring the group's first seven albums. Rose Stone and Larry Graham, two of The Family Stone's original members talk about the band's unique contributions to popular music.

Humorist Sends Dispatches from "Up" South

Thu, 10 May 2007 14:10:00 EDT

Humorist and writer Roy Blount Jr. has spent years exploring the rocky relationship and stereotypes between the North and the South. His latest book is a collection of witty and sly observations as a Southern white guy "living pigeon-holed" up North.

Fountains of Wayne: Sly Pop for Everyday People

Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:32:00 EDT

Fountains of Wayne's immensely catchy pop-rock songs come with a powerful undercurrent of sly cynicism, but also a keen understanding of everyday people and the way they live. The band's new album is titled Traffic and Weather.

Lily Allen: Sly Lyrics in a Cockney Accent

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 14:55:00 EDT

Lily Allen's ska-infused pop music has officially achieved ubiquity: She's gone from a buzzed-about underground sensation to a mainstream darling in the span of only a few months. Her sly lyrics and joyful energy have helped make her a star.

Sly Stone: After the Last Hurrah

Fri, 23 Mar 2007 16:57:00 EDT

By the time 1974's Small Talk came out, Stone was viewed as a has-been -- a young, brilliant innovator burnt out by drugs and megalomania. A fresh visit to Small Talk, though, counters that assessment, as evidenced by the wry "Wishful Thinkin'."

Erin McKeown: Lively, Funny Flair

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 11:18:00 EST

A gifted singer/songwriter with a deft touch on the guitar, mandolin, piano and banjo, McKeown calls herself a mix between Django Reinhardt and G. Love. But even that description only scratches the surface of her music's sly lyrics and rip-roaring swing.

Erin McKeown in Concert

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 11:06:00 EST

Extra Effort and an 'Ooh-Ooh' Chorus

Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:18:00 EST

The Shins' fine new Wincing the Night Away is built of the same solid stuff that made its predecessors famous: lush pop melodies, rich harmonies, vaguely obtuse lyrics, and sly, sideways hooks. It also features a gorgeous, brightly swooning ringer in "Phantom Limb."

Dennen's Earnest Message Eased by Funky Groove

Tue, 14 Nov 2006 11:27:00 EST

The songs on Brett Dennen's new CD, So Much More are mostly delicate '70s folk tunes with sensitive, earnest lyrics. But Dennen's soulful vocal delivery and some sly, understated funky grooves keep the whole thing from turning into Dan Fogelberg or Bread.

The Lemonheads: Warm, Colorful Power-Pop

Thu, 02 Nov 2006 15:14:00 EST

Evan Dando recently re-formed his celebrated band The Lemonheads to record a new self-titled album. The new incarnation, which includes the rhythm section from California punk band The Descendents, picks up where he left off, trafficking in the sly, winsome pop that made Dando omnipresent 15 years ago.

Love, Humor and a Sly Sucker-Punch

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 18:17:00 EDT

With a versatile mixture of catchy melodies, lush harmonies and lazy organs and horns, The Long Winters' members craft clever, shimmering pop. Few of the group's songs stray from topics revolving around love gone wrong, but singer-songwriter John Roderick rarely takes the expected road.

Anti-Consumerism in an Accessible Package

Mon, 15 May 2006 17:53:00 EDT

The London duo Johnny Boy releases a single that's as catchy as its title is long. With a sound rooted in '60s pop, the result is an underground rock masterpiece: Sly and timeless, it works on multiple levels.

Jamie Lidell: Next Wave of Funk

Mon, 01 May 2006 15:52:00 EDT

Jamie Lidell's goal is to reinvent electronic music, to add a little soul and turn it into "music for a little living and a little loving." He has drawn comparisons to Prince, Sly and the Family Stone and Little Richard. Though classified as an electronica artist, Lidell actually ranges from funk to pop to beat boxing.

Sly Stone Rumored to Make Grammy Bow

Wed, 08 Feb 2006 00:00:00 EST

Rock-funk icon Sly Stone has been notoriously elusive since his career fizzled in the 1970s, in part due to both his drug abuse and the public's changing taste in music. But the musician is rumored to show up at the Grammy Awards Wednesday night, where his music will be honored. Karen Grigsby Bates looks back at Sly and the Family Stone's impact on popular music.

Mitch Hedberg, a Sly, Shy Comic Presence

Sat, 02 Apr 2005 00:00:00 EST

The comic from St. Paul, Minn., used a stoner persona to deliver subtle, wry observational comedy. He made frequent appearances on late-night TV shows. He was shy and battled stage fright, and was once arrested for heroin possession. His death at 37 was reportedly due to heart failure.

The Beat Goes on for Reggae's Sly and Robbie

Wed, 10 Nov 2004 00:00:00 EST

Day to Day producer Christopher Johnson profiles reggae music legends Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, the drum and bass rhythm team that kept the beat for countless reggae artists as well as their own bands. The duo celebrates the 25th anniversary of their record label Taxi, and are marking their long musical partnership with a U.S. tour.