302 episodes
All Songs Considered NPR
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- Music
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4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
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Hosts/nerds Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton are your friendly music buddies with the week's best new music discoveries, including conversations with emerging artists, icons and more. Hear songs that can completely change your day, with humor, heart and (sometimes) a whole lot of noise. Directions for use: Morning commute, the gym, or alone time. (If rash persists, discontinue use.)
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New Music Friday: The best releases out on May 27
The best albums out this week include Wilco's double-length Cruel Country, a debut from the singer UMI, the latest installment in Ali Shaheed Muhammad and Adrian Younge's Jazz Is Dead series and more.
Featured Albums:
1. Jean Carne, Ali Shaheed Muhammad & Adrian Younge — JID012
Featured Songs: "Black Love," "Visions"
2. Wilco — Cruel Country
Featured Songs: "I Am My Mother," "The Plains," "A Lifetime To Find"
3. X Alfonso — Ancestros Sinfonicos
Featured Song: "Yakuma Kareré"
4. UMI — Forest in the City
Featuared Song: "what would u do?"
5. Nduduzo Makhathini — In the Spirit of NTU
Featured Songs: "Mama," "Emlilweni"
Other notable releases for May 27:
Brian Jackson — This Is Brian Jackson
Bright Eyes — A Collection of Songs Written and Recorded 1995-1997, Letting Off the Happiness and Fevers and Mirrors
Dehd — Blue Skies
HAAi — Baby, We're Ascending
Isaac Dunbar — Banish the Banshee
Jonny Greenwood — The Power of the Dog OST (physical release)
Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith & Emile Mosseri - I Could Be Your Dog / I Could Be Your Moon
Liam Gallagher — C'MON YOU KNOW
Maria BC — Hyaline
Rosie Carney — I Wanna Feel Happy
Sean Paul — Scorcha
Sofie Birch — Holotropica
Stars — From Capelton Hill
Steve Earle & The Dukes — Jerry Jeff -
Presenting 'Pop Culture Happy Hour': Kendrick Lamar's 'Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers'
In this special episode from our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour, host Stephen Thompson talks with critics Christina Lee and Marcus J. Moore about Kendrick Lamar's new double album Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers.
It's been five years since Lamar released his previous album, DAMN. Since then, he's won a Pulitzer Prize, been nominated for an Oscar, and become a parent. But Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, is anything but a breezy victory lap. Lamar examines generational trauma, sexual politics, and his own attempts to grow amid high expectations and heavy introspection. -
New Music Friday: The best releases out on May 20
The best albums out this week include Harry's House from Harry Styles, jazz pianist Joey Alexander's Origin, new ones from R&B singer Ravyn Lenae, rapper Boldy James, Porridge Radio and more.
Featured Albums:
1. Harry Styles — Harry's House
Featured Tracks: "Music for a Sushi Restaurant," "Grapejuice"
2. Joey Alexander — Origin
Featured Tracks: "Remembering," "Summer Rising"
3. Ravyn Lenae — Hypnos
Featured Tracks: "3D," "Inside Out," "Xtasy"
4. Porridge Radio — Waterslide, Diving Board, Ladder to the Sky
Featured Tracks: "Back to the Radio," "End of Last Year"
5. Boldy James & Real Bad Man — Killing Nothing
Featured Track: "Game Time"
Other notable releases for May 20:
Charlie Hickey — Nervous At Night
Craig Finn — A Legacy of Rentals
Flume — Palaces
Hanson — Red Green Blue
Joe Rainey — Niineta
Kronos Quartet — Mỹ Lai
Lykke Li — EYEYE
Mary Lattimore & Paul Sukeena — West Kensington
mxmtoon — rising
SOAK — If I never know you like this again
Uffie — Sunshine Factory -
New Mix: Tiny Desk Contest winner Alisa Amador, SOAK, Jens Lekman, more
All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen introduces this year's Tiny Desk Contest winner, Alisa Amador, plus new music from SOAK, the identical twins duo Companion, Swedish singer-songwriter Jens Lekman and more.
Featured Artists And Songs:
1. Alisa Amador: "Milonga accidental" (Single)
2. Jens Lekman: "The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom," from The Linden Trees Are Still in Blossom
3. Companion: "If I Were a Ghost," from Second Day of Spring
4. SOAK: "purgatory," from If I never know you like this again
5. Jasmyn: "Cruel Moon," from In The Wild -
New Music Friday: The best releases out on May 13
Kendrick Lamar's highly anticipated Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers, Leikeli47's Shape Up, Florence + the Machine's Dance Fever and more are on our shortlist of the week's best new albums.
Featured Albums:
1. Kendrick Lamar — Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers
2. Leikeli47 — Shape Up
Featured Track: "Chitty Bang"
3. Florence + the Machine — Dance Fever
Featured Track: "Choreomania"
4. Quelle Chris — DEATHFAME
Featured Track: "King in Black"
5. Tank and the Bangas — Red Balloon
Featured Track: "Communion in My Cup"
6. John Carpenter, Cody Carpenter & Daniel Davis — Firestarter
Featured Track: "Charlie's Rampage"
Other notable releases for May 13:
The Black Keys — Dropout Boogie
Kevin Morby — This Is A Photograph
Mandy Moore — In Real Life
Mary Halvorson — Amaryllis and Belladonna
Monophonics — Sage Motel
Pkew Pkew Pkew — Open Bar
Sam Gendel & Antonia Cytrynowicz — Live a Little
Say Sue Me — The Last Thing Left
The Smile — A Light For Attracting Attention
They Hate Change — Finally, New -
New Mix: Regina Spektor, Stella Donnelly, Tomberlin, More
All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen shares the "most astonishing song" he's heard this year: Regina Spektor's "Up The Mountain," plus Stella Donnelly's "Lungs," the many colors of MABUTA and more.
Featured Songs And Artists:
1. Regina Spektor: "Up The Mountain," from Home, before and after
2. Rachel Bobbitt: "More" (Single)
3. Shane Cooper & MABUTA: "Finish The Sun," from Finish The Sun
4. Tomberlin: "idkwntht," from i don't know who needs to hear this...
5. Kathryn Joseph: "The Burning of Us All," from For You Who Are the Wronged
6. Stella Donnelly: "Lungs," from Flood
Customer Reviews
Appreciating New Music
Has been my go-to for new music ever since I first discovered the podcast in 2013. Although it’s still great, and I certainly understand and appreciate the progression to New Music Friday, I do miss the Bob & Robin long-form episodes (alternating song picks and sometimes around a central theme), as I think it somewhat unified the new releases and brought in some lengthier guest appearances and more in-depth attention to the music. Those episodes circa 2013 to early 2015 were some of the best I heard and really featured some incredible artists and soundscapes. In comparison, the episodes now just feel a bit more superficial in their relationship to new music. But I still appreciate all the work by the NPR music team and the continued exposure for lesser-known artists.
so boring, contrived and narrow
this feeling topped it once I read Boilen’s “most astonishing song” of this year was Regina Spektor’s “Up the mountain”. Really?
musically, contrived. lyrically, generic. vocally, pretentiously soulless.
This is a sample of the narrow ears and stance of this program. NPR music was once upon a time a diverse intelligent program. It’s now no other than another Facebook/Instagram generic platform of noise.
No Standards Anymore
I used to love tuning in to Bob and the crew as they surfaced bands I hadn’t heard of or new cuts from old faves. However lately, it seems like the standards for what is critically acclaimed music is taking a hit in favor of wide inclusion to appeal to the lowest common denominator. I’m not sure why mediocre pop songs or a plethora of same old same old rap is getting top billing on a show meant to surface exceptional music, lyricism, and production. The reason why most listeners turned to this resource was due to the taste level of the hosts. That is all but gone. I’m all for all kinds of music for all kinds of people, and I won’t say anyone is wrong for liking what they like, but this show is not the place for that. This show served a group of engaged and sharply critical in-the-know folks. I’d like to see it return to that and worry less about catering to the masses through diluted content.