NPR : World Cafe

Filed Under:

T-Bone Burnett On World Cafe

August 23, 2011
comments

Today's World Cafe guest is Grammy Award-winning producer and singer-songwriter T-Bone Burnett. Although he's been performing and producing since 1965, Burnett is perhaps best known these days for his role as music supervisor for the Coen Brother's 2001 film O Brother, Where Art Thou?

Burnett's soundtrack, which compiled originals and covers of folk and Americana music from the 1930, became a monumental bestseller and brought the music of the era, for the first time, into the contemporary mainstream. In 2001, it won the Grammy award for Album of the Year. It's now among the top 10 best-selling soundtrack albums of all time.

Today, the soundtrack is getting the 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition treatment with a bonus disk of material. To mark the occasion, David Dye spoke with Burnett about the process of revisiting and revamping the landmark record.

In this in-depth interview, among other topics, Burnett discusses working with the Coen Brothers and the influence Bob Dylan had on his approach to curating the soundtrack.

"[Dylan] was able to look at the beginning of the last century and compress those four decades into one — like compressing diamonds — an extraordinary explosion of rock'n'roll music. And he taught that to all of us," Burnett says.

Hear more, including songs from the O Brother, Where Art Thou? 10th anniversary re-issue, on today's World Cafe.

Copyright 2011 WXPN-FM. To see more, visit http://www.xpn.org/.

Arts & Culture

NPR

A Read Down Memory Lane: Lessons From Your Former Self

Writings from childhood — cards, stories and other notes — can hide for decades, like time capsules tucked away in boxes, old bedrooms, attics and journals. Writer Jim Sollisch talks about how old thank you notes from his youth foreshadowed his adult life.

Food

NPR

Inside A Tart Cherry Revival: 'Somebody Needs To Do This!'

The revival is partly based on the humble sour fruit's growing reputation as a superfood. And in Michigan, a scientist is on a quest to introduce a whole new world of hardier, tastier tart cherries by breeding American trees with ancestral varieties from Eastern Europe.

Politics

NPR

Srinivasan's Confirmation First For D.C. Circuit In 7 Years

The partisan war over judicial nominees has accelerated in recent years. It took nearly a year to win Senate confirmation for Sri Srinivasan to the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia, though he had no formal opposition.

Technology

NPR

3-D Printer Makes Life-Saving Splint For Baby Boy's Airway

A 3-D printer is being credited with helping to save an Ohio baby's life, after doctors "printed" a tube to support a weak airway that caused him to stop breathing. The innovative procedure has allowed Kaiba Gionfriddo, of Youngstown, Ohio, to stay off a ventilator for more than a year.

Leave a Comment

Help keep the conversation civil. Please refer to our Terms of Use and Code of Conduct before posting your comments.