Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
March is Women's History Month!

NPR CEO Appreciates The Unique Sound Of Future's 'Look Ahead'

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Finally today it's time for the regular feature we call In Your Ear. These past few weeks we've been bringing you the favorite music of members of the TELL ME MORE team. Our next guest is not technically a member of our team, I guess you could say we're a member of his. We're talking about NPR's president and CEO, Jarl Mohn. You heard my conversation with him at the top of the program today as we said he's a longtime media executive including stints at MTV and VH1, but before that he was a DJ. So, you know we had to asked him what's on his playlist.

JARL MOHN: Hi. This is Jarl Mohn, I'm the president and CEO of NPR and here are three tracks that are playing in my headphones these days.

(SOUNDBITE OF FUTURE SONG, "LOOK AHEAD")

MOHN: The first one is Future, hip-hop track "Look Ahead."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOOK AHEAD")

FUTURE: (Singing) Never sacrifice who you are. Never. Then you turn yourself into a star. Turn myself into an avatar. Future. Put the OG in my 'gar. Take a penitentiary chance. That's a change, eat shrimp, caviar.

MOHN: I think the production values are fabulous. It's a very unique track, it doesn't - to me, it doesn't sound like anything else I've heard.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LOOK AHEAD")

UNIDENTIFIED SINGER: (Singing) While they laugh and shake their head, still we coming in. Now the people know where we go, go, go. We go, go, go.

MOHN: Another song in my ear is Black Keys and "Heavy Soul."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEAVY SOUL")

THE BLACK KEYS: (Singing) Hear her calling. Come to me. Thoughts of her, won't let me be.

MOHN: I like this particular track. It was in a movie I just saw recently. And it really got my attention. I love The Black Keys for some odd reason, all though now that I'm listening to the song I know it's them, when it went by on the movie I didn't realize who it was.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "HEAVY SOUL")

THE BLACK KEYS: (Singing) Your heavy soul, darlin'. Your heavy soul, darlin'. Your heavy soul, darlin'.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LEFT HAND FREE")

ALT-J: (Singing) Hey shady baby I'm hot like the prodigal son.

MOHN: My final track is an alternative rock one from Alt-J. And it's called "Left Hand Free."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LEFT HAND FREE")

ALT-J: (Singing) Well, your left hand's free and your right's in a grip. With another left hand, watch his right hand slip. Towards his gun, oh ho.

MOHN: It's just a - it's a very strange song.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LEFT HAND FREE")

ALT-J: (Singing) I tackle weeds just so the moon buggers nibble. A right hand grip on this Colt single-action army.

MOHN: This is Jarl Mohn and those are songs that are playing in my ear.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LEFT HAND FREE")

ALT-J: (Singing) Well, your left hand's free and your right's in a grip. With another left hand, watch his right hand slip. Towards his gun, oh ho.

MARTIN: That was NPR's president and CEO, Jarl Mohn, telling us what's playing in his ear. And that's our program for today. I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.