Earth Day was yesterday and April is Water Month at MPR so we thought it was high time to listen to some water-related music. So for today's Coffee Break, what songs do you want to hear that mention a body of water?

This week's Album of the Week is 'Dirty Computer' from Janelle Monae. There are songs of self-acceptance, a delicate celebration of all things fem, and a funky Prince-inspired song about feeling real love -- and rumor is, he played synthesizer and produced the track.

Will Celebration return? It sure sounds like it, based on the questions that Graceland’s managing partner Joel Weinshanker asked attendees on Saturday — and the responses he got. “Who’s coming back next year?” he asked a full soundstage audience before the evening activities began at Paisley Park. Most hands shot up. “Okay,” he noted. “Next…

They’d passed all the preliminary rounds, and last night was the finale for five bands as they competed for the opening spot at Spring Jam tonight. Due to unfortunate (snow) circumstances earlier this week and the ground being too soft for the typically outdoor stage setup, it was moved inside to the Great Hall in Coffman this…

Of course Phoebe Bridgers‘s favorite place in Target is the candle aisle. She also likes the office supplies section, she told us at the Turf Club last night. But her music pairs so well with a lit wick: both intimate, warm, and lonely. After opening for Conor Oberst at the Palace last September, Bridgers made…

A recent Washington Post article reports on the unease surrounding “the prospect of turning Paisley Park into Minnesota’s Graceland.” When I read that, my first thought was: is that really a bad thing? Blatantly commercialized as Graceland is, it’s given Elvis Presley’s home the status of an iconic landmark — and it’s solidified the status…

When it comes to techno music, few, if any, names loom as large as that of Carl Craig. Alongside several peers from his native Detroit, Craig is considered one of techno’s pioneers, but one would be hard-pressed to name an electronic musician of any kind who can match the sheer volume and breadth of Craig’s…

Kimbra gets Prince. Since buying Musicology in a New Zealand record store, she’s released three of her own shape-shifting albums, including today’s Primal Heart. But she’s never lost sight of principles she learned from Prince — especially evolution, duality, and joy. You know her from “Somebody That I Used To Know,” the song that sent her and Gotye to…

Tomorrow is Record Store Day and as we prepare to celebrate our local record stores and small businesses, let's spend some time this morning listening to local musicians. So for today's 9:30 Coffee Break, what songs from Minnesota artists do you want to hear?

At the first of four sold-out shows at the Palace Theatre, Bon Iver and TU Dance — two local, nationally renowned performing arts powerhouses — performed something transcendent and deeply felt, a gripping blend of contemporary dance and music called Come Through. This project was commissioned by the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra’s Liquid Music. Upon…