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All Songs Considered

NPR

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.)

Location:

Washington, DC

Networks:

NPR

Description:

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.)

Twitter:

@allsongs

Language:

English

Contact:

NPR 635 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20001 (202) 513-3232


Episodes

New Music Friday: The best releases out Sept. 29

9/29/2023
The best albums out now include singer Jorja Smith's soaring but solitary full-length Falling or Flying, an inspired, messy affair from Cherry Glazerr, Becky G's ode to Mexican Regional and more. Featured Albums: 1. Jorja Smith — Falling or Flying Featured Songs: "Try Me," "Little Things," "Falling or Flying," "Backwards," "She Feels" 2. Cherry Glazerr — I Don't Want You Anymore Featured Songs: "Bad Habit," "Touched You With My Chaos," "I Don't Want You Anymore" 3. Becky G — ESQUINAS Featured Songs: "2NDO CHANCE (feat. Ivan Cornejo)," "CHANEL (feat. Peso Pluma)," "CUIDADITO (feat. Chiquis)," "QUERIDO ABUELO" 4. Blonde Redhead — Sit Down For Dinner Featured Songs: "Before," "Sit Down For Dinner Pt. 1," "Kiss Her Kiss Her" 5. Wilco — Cousin Featured Songs: "Infinite Surprise," "Levee," "Ten Dead," "Sunlight Ends" Lightning Round: Jlin — Perspective Lydia Loveless — Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again (Released Sept. 22) MJ Nebreda — Arepa Mixtape Molly Burch — Daydreamer Other notable releases for Sept. 29: Addison Grace — Diving Lessons Animal Collective — Isn't It Now? Armand Hammer — We Buy Diabetic Test Strips Code Orange — The Above Ed Sheeran — Autumn Variations Dessa — Bury The Lede hemlocke springs — going... going... GONE! Maxo — Debbie's Son Oneohtrix Point Never — Again

Duration:00:35:11

Why the Mexican American pop star Becky G always identifies as '200%'

9/27/2023
Alt.Latino's Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras sit down with Becky G, right after her forthcoming Tiny Desk performance, to talk about the cultural mash-up of her music, her philosophy for working with women in the industry and representing her Mexican heritage at Coachella. Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Isabella Gomez Sarmiento. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Duration:00:23:06

New Mix: Olivia Rodrigo, Sufjan Stevens, Katie Von Schleicher, more

9/26/2023
NPR Music's Hazel Cills and Marissa Lorusso join host Bob Boilen to share their favorite new tracks. Featured Artists And Songs: 1. Katy Kirby: "Cubic Zirconia" (Single) 2. Daneshevskaya: "Somewhere In the Middle," from Long Is the Tunnel 3. Olivia Rodrigo: "love is embarrassing," from GUTS 4. Sufjan Stevens: "Will Anybody Ever Love Me?" from Javelin 5. Katie Von Schleicher: "Every Step Is an Ocean," from A Little Touch of Schleicher in the Night 6. Marina Herlop: "La Alhambra," from Nekkuja

Duration:00:44:07

New Music Friday: The best releases out Sept. 22

9/22/2023
NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include Doja Cat's Scarlet, Kylie Minogue's Tension, yeule's genre-hopping softscars and more. Featured Albums: 1. Doja Cat — Scarlet Featured Songs: "Demons," "97," "Go Off," "Often" 2. Mykki Blanco — Postcards From Italia Featured Songs: "Tequila Casino Royale," "Holidays In The Sun," "Love Fell Down Around Me," "Magic On My Back" 3. yeule — softscars Featured Songs: "4ui12," "software update," "x w x," "dazies," "fish in the pool" 4. Kylie Minogue — Tension Featured Songs: "You Still Get Me High," "Padam Padam," "10 Out Of 10," "Story" 5. Loraine James — Gentle Confrontation Featured Songs: "Let U Go (ft. keiyaA)," "Gentle Confrontation," "Glitch the System (Glitch Bitch 2)," "I DM U," "One Way Ticket To the Midwest (Emo) [feat. Corey Mastrangelo]" Lightning Round: Doechii — "Pacer" (single) DUFFY x UHLMANN — Doubles Moemaw Naedon and C. Scott — Yinztroducing... The National — Laugh Track Other notable releases for Sept. 22: Bakar — Halo Bibio — Sunbursting (EP) The Breeders — Last Splash (30th Anniversary Edition) Brent Cobb — Southern Star CHAI — CHAI Chappell Roan — The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess Devendra Banhart — Flying Wig Grails — Anches En Maat Grrrl Gang — Spunky! Idris Ackamoor & The Pyramids — Afro Futuristic Dreams KEN mode — VOID Lydia Loveless — Nothing's Gonna Stand In My Way Again Pkew Pkew Pkew — Siiick Days Roosevelt — Embrace Teenage Fanclub — Nothing Lasts Forever

Duration:00:31:15

AltLatino dissects the Latin Grammy noms, from snubs to love

9/20/2023
Anamaria Sayre, Felix Contreras and producer Isabella Gomez Sarmiento sit down to talk some real chisme this week — a special episode dedicated to the Latin Grammy nominations. Was there really a regional snub and what does it say about the way we choose to elevate our own art? Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Suraya Mohamed. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Duration:00:28:16

Viking's Choice: MxPx, Daniel Bachman, Matana Roberts, more

9/19/2023
Bob Boilen will retire from NPR on Oct. 2, and he decided to spend one of his final episodes hosting All Songs Considered with NPR Music's resident Viking, Lars Gotrich, for a mix of pop punk, meticulously cut-up banjo drone, worlds-collapsing free jazz and fingerstyle guitar. Featured Songs And Artists: 1. MxPx: "What I Tell Myself" from Find a Way Home 2. Slant: "Criminal" from Demo 2023 3. Daniel Bachman: "Summer's fingers sweetly linger (Everywhere on every side)" from When the Roses Come Again 4. Matana Roberts: "shake my bones" from Coin Coin Chapter Five: In the garden... 5. Svitlana Nianio: "Episode III" from Transilvania Smile, 1994 6. Liam Grant: "Androscogging River Ragg" from Amoskeag

Duration:00:46:41

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Sept. 15

9/15/2023
NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include Corinne Bailey Rae's Black Rainbows, Mitski's The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We, a stunning debut from Ralphie Choo and more. Featured Albums: 1. Corinne Bailey Rae — Black Rainbows Featured Songs: "Erasure," "Peach Velvet Sky," "A Spell, A Prayer," "New York Transit Queen" 2. Mitski — The Land Is Inhospitable And So Are We Featured Songs: "I Don't Like My Mind," "When Memories Snow," "The Frost," "The Deal," "I Love Me After You" 3. Ralphie Choo — SUPERNOVA Featured Songs: "MÁQUINA CULONA (feat Mura Masa)," "BULERÍAS DE UN CABALLO MALO," "WHIPCREAM (feat. Paris Texas)," "TANGOS DE UNA MOTO TRUCADA" 4. Vagabon — Sorry I Haven't Called Featured Songs: "Lexicon," "Do Your Worst," "Can I Talk My S***?," "Nothing to Lose" Lightning Round: The Beaches — Blame My Ex Jóhann Jóhannsson — A Prayer to the Dynamo Killer Mike — MICHAEL (Deluxe) Madison Beer — Silence Between Songs Pharoah Sanders — Pharoah Other notable releases for Sept. 15: Baroness — Stone Bombino — Sahel Carlos Niño & Friends — (I'm just) Chillin', on Fire Cleo Sol — Heaven Christone "Kingfish" Ingram — Live In London Demi Lovato — Revamped Dengue Fever — Ting Mong Explosions in the Sky — End K. Flay — MONO Luluc — DiamondsShakey Graves — Movie of the Week S. Carey & John Raymond — Shadowlands Teddy Swims — I've Tried Everything But Therapy (Pt. 1) Vic Mensa — Victor Woods — Perennial Worriers — Trust Your Gut

Duration:00:28:51

A preview of this year's 'El Tiny' lineup

9/13/2023
This week, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras preview the artists coming to play Tiny Desk performances for their 'El Tiny' takeover, including indie explosion Kali Uchis returning home to Colombian beats, pop star Becky G debuting some Mexican regional soul and "La Caballota" herself Ivy Queen boasting pure boricua pride. Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited and mixed by Cher Vincent. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Duration:00:22:50

Nirvana's 'In Utero' at 30

9/12/2023
Thirty years ago this month, Nirvana released what would be its third and final album, In Utero. To mark the milestone, we revisit our 2013 conversation with surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic (for what was then In Utero's 20th anniversary) about how the album came to be.

Duration:00:41:49

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Sept. 8

9/8/2023
The best albums out this week include Olivia Rodrigo's GUTS, James Blake's Playing Robots Into Heaven, Yussef Dayes' Black Classical Music and more. Featured Albums: 1. Olivia Rodrigo — GUTS Featured Songs: "get him back!" "all-american bitch," "ballad of a homeschooled girl," "the grudge" 2. Jalen Ngonda — Come Around and Love Me Featured Songs: "Come Around and Love Me," "It Takes a Fool," "Give Me Another Day" 3. Anjimile — The King Featured Songs: "Mother," "Genesis," "Black Hole," "The King" 4. James Blake — Playing Robots Into Heaven Featured Songs: "Big Hammer," "If You Can Hear Me," "Fall Back," "Fire The Editor," "I Want You to Know" 5. Yussef Dayes — Black Classical Music Featured Songs: "Afro Cubanism," "Marching Band (feat. Masego)," "Birds of Paradise," "Black Classical Music (feat. Venna & Charlie Stacey)," "Early Dayes," "Cowrie Charms (feat. Leon Thomas & Barbara Hicks)" Lightning Round: Allison Russell — The Returner Romy — Mid Air Sparklehorse — Bird Machine Sylvester — Private Recordings, August 1970 Other notable releases for Sept. 8: Apollo Brown & Planet Asia — Sardines Ashley McBryde — The Devil I Know Blind Boys of Alabama — Echoes Of The South The Chemical Brothers — For That Beautiful Feeling Courtney Barnett — End of the Day Gaika — Drift Irreversible Entanglements — Protect Your Light Laufey — Bewitched Róisín Murphy — Hit Parade Teezo Touchdown — How Do You Sleep At Night? Tinashe — BB/ANG3L Tyler Childers — Rustin' in the Rain V — Layover ZZ Ward — Dirty Shine

Duration:00:36:38

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Sept. 1

9/1/2023
NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include the jagged indie-rock of Rabbit Rabbit from Speedy Ortiz, hip-hop royalty Illa J's No Traffic and more. Featured Albums: 1. Speedy Ortiz — Rabbit Rabbit Featured Songs: "Ghostwriter," "Ballad of Y&S," "Scabs," "Kim Cattrall" 2. Illa J — No Traffic Featured Songs: "Off the Tap," "Circus," "Get Down (feat. AmpFiddler)," "Snaps," "OG Funk" 3. Puma Blue — Holy Waters Featured Songs: "Hounds," "O, The Blood!," "Falling Down," "Pretty" 4. Slowdive — everything is alive Featured Songs: "alife," "prayer remembered," "shanty" Lightning Round: L'Rain — "Pet Rock" (Single) Ama Lou — I Came Home Late Kendra Morris — I Am What I'm Waiting For Jeff Rosenstock — HELLMODE Other notable releases for Sept. 1: The 1975 — Live From Gorilla Aesop Rock — Skelethon (10 Year Anniversary Edition) dadá Joãozinho — tds bem Global Dream — to whoever wants to hear EP Field Music — light is gone 2 Ghost of Vroom — Ghost of Vroom 3 Icona Pop — Club Romantech Larry Fleet — Earned It Laya — Bet That EP The Natvral — Summer of No Light Neil Young — Odeon Budokan Taake — Et Hav av Avstand

Duration:00:26:42

A lot of songs about ice cream

8/29/2023
As summer break comes to a close for many and students head back to school, we take a moment to celebrate one of the season's greatest joys: ice cream. It turns out there are a lot of songs about this delightful treat. So, for this week's episode, we're sharing a show from our archives all about ice cream and the (many) ways it's inspired bands and artists over the years. Note: This episode originally ran on July 12, 2016

Duration:00:52:23

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 25

8/25/2023
NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include global sensation Burna Boy, rising R&B star Victoria Monét and more.

Duration:00:33:52

The hip-hop verse that changed my life

8/23/2023
From our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour: What makes for an unshakable rap verse — the kind that shifts your world view and sticks around years after the first time you encountered it? This month marks 50 years since the birth of hip-hop, so we reached out to some NPR colleagues and a few hip-hop luminaries and asked them what hip-hop verse changed their lives.

Duration:00:32:28

A conversation with Paul Simon

8/22/2023
Singer Paul Simon surprised fans earlier this year by releasing Seven Psalms, his first album since 2018. It was surprising not because so much time had passed, but because he had originally said his previous album, In the Blue Light, would be his last. In an interview with All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen, Simon said he was ready to retire from music and pursue other creative projects, like painting. This week, we go back to that 2018 conversation when Simon first announced he was done making new music. He talks about his dreams, the creative process and life's biggest questions. "We don't have the capacity to understand the great mysteries of life and God or no God or infinity," Simon says. "We just can't get it. It's beyond us, but that's fine."

Duration:00:37:14

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 18

8/18/2023
NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include new releases from Jon Batiste, Hozier, Rhiannon Giddens, Cautious Clay and more. Featured Albums: 1. Jon Batiste — World Music Radio Featured Songs: "BOOM FOR REAL," "Hello, Billy Bob," "Be Who You Are (feat. JID, NewJeans & Camilo)," "Uneasy (feat. Lil Wayne)" 2. Hozier — Unreal Unearth Featured Songs: "Anything But," "De Selby (Part 1)," "Eat Your Young," "Butchered Tongue," "Who We Are" 3. Genesis Owusu — Struggler Featured Songs: "Leaving The Light," "Stay Blessed," "Freak Boy," "That's Life (A Swamp)" 4. Rhiannon Giddens — You're the One Featured Songs: "Way Over Yonder," "You Louisiana Man," "If You Don't Know How Sweet It Is" 5. Cautious Clay — KARPEH Featured Songs: "Fishtown," "102 Years of Comedy (Intro)," "Karpehs Don't Flinch" Lightning Round: DeYarmond Edison — EPOCH Quavo — Rocket Power Reneé Rapp — Snow Angel Talking Heads — Stop Making Sense (Deluxe Edition) Other notable releases for Aug. 18: Alana Springsteen — Twenty Something Birdy — Portraits Bobby Rush — All My Love For You Fiddlehead — Death is Nothing To Us Grace Potter — Mother Road Margaret Glaspy — Echo The Diamond Mick Jenkins — The Patience Panda Bear, Sonic Boom & Adrian Sherwood — Reset In Dub Russ — SANTIAGO Shamir — Homo Anxietatem Tash Sultana — Sugar EP. Teddy Thompson — My Love of Country

Duration:00:33:37

Alt.Latino's Best New Music Round-Up: DannyLux, Kali Uchis and Dario Acosta Teich

8/16/2023
This week, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras round up their favorite music from the last few months, including Mexican bedroom pop from Bratty, jazz from Argentinian composer Dario Acosta Teich, a new song from rising regional star DannyLux and more. To hear more of Alt.Latino's favorite music, follow our Spotify and Apple Music playlists. Audio for this episode of 'Alt.Latino' was edited, mixed and produced by Janice Llamoca. Our show editor is Hazel Cills and our project manager is Grace Chung. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

Duration:00:25:53

A conversation with Robbie Robertson

8/15/2023
Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist and songwriter for The Band, died Aug. 9 at the age of 80. For this remembrance, we're sharing an encore presentation of a conversation Robertson had with All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen in 2018, on the 50th anniversary of The Band's seminal album Music From Big Pink. Note: This interview originally published Aug. 8, 2018.

Duration:00:27:00

New Music Friday: The best releases out on Aug. 11

8/11/2023
NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include Noname's long-awaited Sundial, Karol G's Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season), a long-lost Neil Young release and more. Featured Albums: 1. Noname — Sundial Featured Songs: "Oblivion (feat. Atyoni & Common)," "Beauty Supply," "Namesake" 2. Jungle — Volcano Featured Songs: "Us Against the World," "Candle Flame (feat. Erick the Architect)," "Dominoes," Every Night" 3. Neil Young — Chrome Dreams Featured Songs: "Will to Love," "Like a Hurricane," "Look Out for My Love" 4. Joell Ortiz & L'Orange — Signature Featured Songs: "Uncle Chris Car," "Therapeutic," "OG," "One Day" 5. Son Lux — Alternate Forms Featured Songs: "Ransom (All Innocence)," "Alternate Worlds (Alternate Life)," "Easy (Fight to Forget)," "No Crimes (New History)" Lightning Round: Bonnie "Prince" Billy — Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You G Flip — Drummer Karol G — Mañana Será Bonito (Bichota Season) Tash Sultana — "Bitter Lovers (feat. BJ The Chicago Kid)" (Single) Other notable releases for Aug. 11: K.A.A.N. — The Death of a Rapper Lawrence English & Lea Bertucci — Chthonic Les Imprimés — Rêverie Louis Cato — Reflections Peter McPoland — Piggy Public Image Ltd. — End of World Spencer Zahn — Statues I $uicideboy$ — I No Longer Feel The Razor Guarding My Heel (V) Suzi Quatro & KT Tunstall — Face to Face Trippe Redd — A Love Letter To you 5

Duration:00:35:08

Hip-hop is 50. Its formula for global domination? Staying local

8/10/2023
When DJ Kool Herc spun records at a small party in the Bronx in August of 1973, no one would have predicted his unique style would give birth to the most influential and dominant music in the world: hip-hop. In this special episode, we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of the genre by looking at how and why the music has managed to remain a local phenomenon, even as it's taken hold of the world, and what's happening in some of the country's most vibrant scenes.

Duration:01:01:20