Micalyn

2023 marked the long-awaited arrival of De La Soul’s catalog to streaming services. In one of our favorite interviews of the year, De La Soul’s Maseo and Posdnuos join us to look back on their remarkable career, including 1989’s seminal album, 3 Feet High and Rising. Plus, in another highlight conversation, we’ll talk with Tom Rowlands of The Chemical Brothers to find out how they chase emotions through sound on their latest album, For That Beautiful Feeling. That’s coming up on World Cafe.

All Week on World Cafe, we’re revisiting our favorite interviews of 2023. Up next, what do Madonna, Queen, and Don McLean all have in common? “Weird Al” Yankovic has parodied them and countless others during his nearly 5-decade long career. Weird Al joins us to talk about his life, his career, his songwriting process, and the recent film, “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story.” Plus, Killer Mike talks about his album, Michael, which tells the story of how a young Michael Render, an all-American boy growing up in Atlanta, became the rapper known as Killer Mike.

Jim James loves Christmas music – it’s a love that he shares with his My Morning Jacket bandmates. This year the group released Happy Holiday! – a collection of Christmas song covers, both traditional and contemporary, along with some previously released and reworked original material. On the next World Cafe, Jim James talks about making the album and why sad music sometimes hits just right around this time.

They can throw, they can catch, they can tackle – and? They can SING! The Philadelphia Eagles have released their second holiday album, called A Philly Special Christmas Special. Produced by Charlie Hall of The War on Drugs, the record features Eagles offensive linemen Jason Kelce, Lane Johnson, and Jordan Mailata plus a slew of very special guests. Tune in to hear Charlie Hall and Jordan Mailata talk about Christmas spirit, how playing football compares to recording in the studio, and which guest singer gave Jordan stage fright. GO BIRDS! That’s on the next World Cafe.

There are a lot of “Best Of” lists floating around this time of year. But what if someone you trusted wanted to share their personal favorites – not an attempt at what is objectively “best” — but instead the moments that really moved them? On the next World Cafe, correspondent John Morrison does just that. His list covers a range of genres, including one piece of music he describes as “R&B beamed in from Saturn or Mars.”

These days, Petey has a major label deal and a million and a half TikTok followers who are fans of his funny homemade videos. It’s the kind of success he never thought he’d achieve. In fact, there was a time when he wasn’t sure he’d achieve anything. On the next World Cafe, Petey talks about how he got here, and he performs songs live from his new album, USA.