Memorable Moments From The Tiny Desk

Gogol Bordello

Bob: "I remember saying to the leader of the band, Eugene Hutz, 'Do you guys need something to drink?' And out of a big paper bag he pulls a very chilled, huge bottle of vodka and says, 'Do you have glasses?'"

Songs: "Immigraniada (We're Comin' Rougher)," "My Compenjara," "Alcohol," "Pala Tute," "Start Wearing Purple"

Chuck Brown

Stephen: "Not the first noisy artist to play the Tiny Desk, but still the biggest band ... The godfather of go-go music did not strip his sound down for the occasion whatsoever. And, because he's Chuck Brown, we indulged his every whim."

Songs: "Senorita," "Chuck Baby," "Wind Me Up!" / "Bustin' Loose," "Run Joe" / "It Don't Mean A Thing"

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

Stephen: "It's a very unusual-looking crop of very committed musicians, with this beautiful, communal vibe to them that really comes through."

Songs: "Janglin'," "Home," "40 Day Daydream"

The Avett Brothers

Stephen: "Unbelievable volume, unbelievable power ... 'Laundry Room' is probably the individual song performance at a Tiny Desk Concert that I have listened to the most."

Songs: "Laundry Room," "Down With the Shine," "Bella Donna"

Adele

Bob: "I always love performers whose speaking voice is so different — such a disconnect from their singing voice."

Stephen: "She also has this absolutely magnificent cackle. Right at the end of the set, she's like, 'Forgot to take my gloves off, hahahaha!' You just can't believe this incredibly delicate instrument is also tuned to that cackle. Marvelous, marvelous performance."

Songs: "Someone Like You," "Chasing Pavements," "Rolling in the Deep"

Tom Jones

Bob: "I imagined he would come with a backing track or something — I didn't know how he was going to do this. But this single guitar player, and Tom Jones' voice, was absolutely astonishing."

Songs: "If He Should Ever Leave You," "Green, Green Grass Of Home," "We Got Love," "End of the Road"

Buke And Gass

Bob: "A baritone ukulele and a guitar-bass hybrid. These are two old friends who have been making music for a long time — super-powerful, angular music."

Songs: "Your Face Left Before You," "Sleep Gets Your Ghost," "Revel in Contempt," "Medulla Oblongata"

Phoenix

Stephen: "We have to turn off the air-conditioning units when the bands start to perform, because you get a low hum if you leave them on. And we have gigantic picture windows — sort of like ants under a magnifying glass, with no air conditioning and probably 150 people streaming in to see Phoenix, one of the biggest bands we've had play ... Just imagine the engines of NPR wheezing to a halt for about 10 minutes."

Songs: "Lisztomania," "Armistice," "1901," "Playground Love"

Wu Man

Bob: "Anyone who's into any kind of virtuosity in music should watch ... There's something going on that doesn't really look humanly possible."

Songs: "Ambushed From All Sides," "Night Thoughts," "White Snow in Spring"

Rodrigo y Gabriela

Stephen: "They played in metal bands, and somehow found a way to fuse it with flamenco music on nylon strings. That's one of those things where I feel like the target audience is anyone. You just have to love that."

Songs: "Hanuman," "Buster Voodoo"

The Swell Season

Bob: "There's that one moment in 'When Your Mind's Made Up,' where it builds to an explosive guitar moment ... and then it stops."

Stephen: "And there's this buildup of nervous tension that then dissolves into laughter."

Songs: "In These Arms," "Low Rising," "Fantasy Man," "Paper Cup," "Feeling the Pull," "Back Broke," "When Your Mind's Made Up"