Neutral Milk Hotel Is On A Mission

When a press release from Neutral Milk Hotel popped up in my email today, I admit that I stopped everything I was doing to read. Was it a new album? A new tour? Some new project? It turns out it is a new project, but not the one most fans were probably hoping for.

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1:38 PM ET | 04-30-2009 | permalink

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Anvil: A Real-Life Spinal Tap

by Robin Hilton

Why do some bands seem to find an audience overnight, while others fail to reach anyone even after years of hard work? This, of course, is the million-dollar question for music labels -- and one that mystifies me on a nearly daily basis.

Katie White and Jules De Martino of The Ting Tings had played together for barely a year before hitting it big. The first album Arctic Monkeys ever put out became the fastest-selling debut in British music history. Meanwhile, one of my all-time favorite bands, Five Eight, hasn't had a hit in more than 20 years of playing together, even though it's got a wealth of the talent and inspiration needed to make great music.

Which brings us to the band Anvil. A new film called Anvil! The Story of Anvil tells the story of this long-struggling Canadian heavy-metal group and its meteoric rise to the bottom.

Continue reading "Anvil: A Real-Life Spinal Tap" »

11:48 AM ET | 04-30-2009 | permalink

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Bob Watches 'American Idol,' While I Ask, 'Are You A Music Snob?'

by Robin Hilton

As NPR Music producer Stephen Thompson noted on Twitter (@idislikestephen) last night, watching All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen sit through an episode of American Idol is a bit like watching the Amish in Times Square. To Bob's credit, he didn't squirm as much as I thought he would, though on a few occasions he did scrunch his face, as though someone were holding a handful of manure under his nose.

Following last week's post about contestant Adam Lambert, Bob was especially curious to hear and see the program's most theatrical and memorable singer. Here's a partial transcript of the conversation we had after Lambert squealed his final note:

Continue reading "Bob Watches 'American Idol,' While I Ask, 'Are You A Music Snob?'" »

3:25 PM ET | 04-29-2009 | permalink

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This Is Going To Be So Good

by Bob Boilen

On Sunday, May 3, New York's Radio City Music Hall is hosting a concert called Dark Was the Night, and All Songs Considered will be there to record the show.

Dark was the Night is just about the best CD this year. It's a collection of 31 original tunes by Antony Hegarty, Arcade Fire, Beirut, Andrew Bird, Blonde Redhead, Bon Iver, The Books, David Byrne, and that's not even getting past the letter B. It was produced by Aaron Dessner and his brother Bryce, who are members of the band The National. The proceeds from the CD and the concert benefit the Red Hot Organization -- which, according to the Dark Was the Night Web site, is "an international charity dedicated to raising money and awareness for HIV and AIDS through popular culture."

Continue reading "This Is Going To Be So Good" »

9:59 AM ET | 04-29-2009 | permalink

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Old Music Tuesday: Lenny Kravitz's 'Let Love Rule'

by Robin Hilton

Yes, you are getting old. Lenny Kravitz's breakthrough hit, Let Love Rule, celebrates its 20th birthday this year.

The question is: Is this an homage to a bygone era, or a shameless rip-off?

Continue reading "Old Music Tuesday: Lenny Kravitz's 'Let Love Rule'" »

10:08 AM ET | 04-28-2009 | permalink

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News: Recording Industry Settles Piracy Lawsuit

by Robin Hilton

Remember a number of years ago, when the Recording Industry Association of America started suing people for illegally sharing music with each other over the Internet? The RIAA, which collects licensing fees and royalties for record companies, filed more than 20,000 suits against people who used peer-to-peer programs like Gnutella or LimeWire to trade songs and albums, claiming that the users were essentially stealing the labels' music. Many of those cases are still open, but the Associated Press is reporting today that the RIAA has settled one high-profile dispute.

Continue reading "News: Recording Industry Settles Piracy Lawsuit" »

3:31 PM ET | 04-27-2009 | permalink

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Videos: The Best Live Band In America

by Bob Boilen

A new concert DVD from Wilco is out, called Ashes of American Flags. The film includes concert footage from 2008 at historic venues in Tulsa, Mobile, Nashville, New Orleans and Washington, D.C. The film was shot by Brendan Canty (of Fugazi) and Christoph Green.

Continue reading "Videos: The Best Live Band In America" »

2:36 PM ET | 04-27-2009 | permalink

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News: Flaming Lips' Official State Song Of Oklahoma

by Bob Boilen

The Flaming Lips' song "Do You Realize??" is about to become Oklahoma's official rock song.
Gov. Brad Henry signs that executive order April 28.

The Flaming Lips - Do You Realize

Continue reading "News: Flaming Lips' Official State Song Of Oklahoma" »

12:16 PM ET | 04-27-2009 | permalink

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Musings: What If We Auto-Tuned The News?

by Bob Boilen

World got you down? Not to worry: The news has just been Auto-Tuned.

3:01 PM ET | 04-23-2009 | permalink

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Does Music Define You?

Music can obviously serve many purposes. It can make us think, feel and act. It can be a deeply meaningful and profound experience that leaves us pondering life's greater mysteries. And sometimes it's just entertainment, in the way a sitcom is entertainment, or a video game, or anything else you enjoy doing purely for fun, like reading a spy novel.

I love the power of music to inspire people and to provoke. I love to see people get passionate about the music they love and dislike, and to hear why they feel the way they do. (See some of the comments in yesterday's post about American Idol). In the end, there really is no right or wrong perspective, just opinions, and there's no accounting for taste.

I suspect we get as worked up about music as we do because we believe it defines us -- that music says something about who we are and what we believe, perhaps in ways more illuminating and honest than we could ever conjure on our own, since words alone often diminish the grand ideas and feelings we have inside.

So that's my question: Do you think music defines who you are or who others are? If so, how?

10:34 AM ET | 04-23-2009 | permalink

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The Worst 1:45 Of Bob's Life

by Robin Hilton

This morning, NPR Music producer Stephen Thompson and I were having our regular weekly debrief about American Idol, rating and reviewing the previous evening's performances. Our most heated and frequent debate centers on contestant Adam Lambert, a singer whose voice, according to Stephen, is an "adenoidal screech" that bores into Stephen's skull. [Editor's Note: I believe the exact words were "an adenoidal screech that bores into my right temple like 9,000 dentist drills made of knives and fire." --ST] I, and everyone else with a finely tuned ear for seasoned perfection, thinks Lambert is the best singer on the program -- and, quite possibly, the most talented singer who's ever appeared in American Idol's eight-season run.

At some point during this morning's debate, Bob chimed in to ask for a video link of Adam Lambert's performance from last night:

Adam Lambert, one of this year's contestants on American Idol. (Credit: AP)

Bob has a gift for staying blissfully clueless about this sort of thing. About two seconds into the video clip, he took off his headphones and tried to beg out of watching, but I made him sit through the whole thing -- an exercise Bob later described as "the worst minute and 45 seconds" of his life. It also sparked this exchange:

Bob: So, did Adam Lambert write that?
Robin: No. He credits someone else at the end with that arrangement.
Bob: No, I mean did he write that song?
Robin: [Face in hands.] That's The Bee Gees, Bob. [Singing.] "If I can't have you, I don't want nobody, baby! If I can't have you! Ahhh-ahh!"
Bob: Never heard of it.
Robin: It's from the '70s. It's disco. Your generation gave us this music.
Bob: And I offer my deepest apologies.

Oh, Bob. So, what do you think? Do you watch American Idol? Is it mindless pop dreck, innocent entertainment, or a showcase for remarkable talent or some combination thereof? And if you do watch, what do you think of Adam Lambert?

10:55 AM ET | 04-22-2009 | permalink

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Now Playing: Big Letdowns

by Bob Boilen

I'm left feeling empty by three major new releases by Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Neil Young. The Dylan just didn't take my breath away, and I expect that from Dylan records. I went through a list of his albums, and I can say that at least 15 of his 33 studio records knocked me out. That's quite a track record.

But for me, Together Through Life just didn't have the melodies or memorable sentiments. It's a well-played blues record with an iconic singer, but having heard and played the opening track ("Beyond Here Lies Nothin'") on All Songs Considered, I had higher hopes. It turns out that track is the best the album has to offer.

Continue reading "Now Playing: Big Letdowns" »

3:01 PM ET | 04-21-2009 | permalink

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Old Music Tuesday: Sinead O'Connor's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

by Robin Hilton

Capitol/EMI has been busy reissuing albums this year. There's all the Beatles recordings coming out in September, not to mention the "deluxe" reissues of Radiohead's first three CDs that just came out. Now, on top of reissued albums by Beastie Boys and Lenny Kravitz, EMI is dropping a new version of Sinead O'Connor's I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.

O'Connor's 1990 album holds a couple of distinctions in my personal music library: First, it was the last vinyl LP I bought as my primary way of listening to an album. At the time, I was a poor college student, and a vinyl record was simply cheaper than a CD. Not long afterward, I got a new job and never bought a record again, except as a novelty.

The second distinction is that it was the first time in many years that I was able to truly love something from Top 40 radio. In fact, it was the beginning of a new period for me -- one in which I was able to turn on mainstream commercial radio and consistently find something I liked. We were coming out of the '80s (a period I really didn't care for) and into the '90s (a decade I absolutely loved), and I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got gave me hope for what might come next.

By the way, the job I got was at an NPR member station. I worked the morning news shift and had to be at work by 4:30 a.m. every day. One morning, while sorting through the day's top stories, I turned on the newsroom television and saw this video for the first time:

I'm not sure why that moment has stuck with me nearly 20 years later. But I've always remembered it as the moment I started to think we might finally be free from the ridiculously exaggerated aesthetic of the '80s.

We've been talking a lot about the value of reissues and remastered albums at All Songs Considered. I'm on the fence: I definitely think labels are trying to cash in on past classics, particularly as they struggle to find an answer to the devastating impact digital downloads have had on CD sales. At the same time, I love getting the extras -- outtakes, demos, videos of live performances -- that "deluxe" reissues offer, and remastered CDs are often much better than the original releases. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got has some nice extras, including a second disc with some remixes and previously unreleased songs. And the remastered audio sounds much, much better than the original release. But what I'm happiest about is that it simply inspired me to remember an album that used to mean so much to me.

Tell us what you think in the comments below. And let me know what you think of Sinead O'Connor's album. Love it? Hate it? Does it hold any special meaning or memories for you?

1:29 PM ET | 04-21-2009 | permalink

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Fewer Songs Considered

by Robin Hilton

All Songs Considered has gotten a lot of ribbing over the years for its name. I can't tell you how many times I've met someone and said I work for All Songs Considered, only to hear them say, "I love Robert Siegel! I listen to you every day!" Deflated, I have to tell them they're thinking of All Things Considered.

Other listeners have told us it's a misleading name for the show, since we don't really consider all songs. Where's the speed metal and American Indian New Age? What of acid jazz and Christian contemporary?

The latest jab comes from our favorite people on the planet: our interns. NPR Music is lucky enough to have the best interns a company could ever dream of having. This is the last week for our latest group, and as a parting gift, they've put together their own music-review program called Fewer Songs Considered. It's about an hour's worth of music and talk, mostly featuring artists we never got to on All Songs Considered, like Thee Oh Sees (okay, I've never even heard of that one) and Phoenix.

So give Fewer Songs Considered a listen and let them know what you think. We're really going to miss them when they're gone.

Our Fearless Crew:

10:09 AM ET | 04-21-2009 | permalink

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Attention Pink Floyd Fans

by Robin Hilton

I'm not sure where they came from, but I stumbled upon a blog where you can download some incredible outtakes from Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon recording sessions. It's also got this video with some hilariously dated interviews.

For that matter, this site has an alternate version of the entire Dark Side of the Moon album available for download.

And there are more demos and outtakes available here for download.

I won't lie: I love the Internet.

11:01 AM ET | 04-17-2009 | permalink

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Hilarious Or Just Obnoxious?

by Robin Hilton

Bob thought this was dumb and stopped it about halfway through, but I found it giggle-worthy. What do you think?

Bonus Video:

Here's John Belushi's spot-on imitation, from Saturday Night Live:

10:57 AM ET | 04-17-2009 | permalink

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Music Saves The Day

by Robin Hilton

I'm having one of those mornings where only Mozart can make it better. The brain is a little crispy. It's rainy and dreary in D.C. I started off with some Beatles, thinking that's always a good standby when you need something to make you feel better. But the neurons are so sensitive, it was just too loud. So I quickly switched to Mozart's Requiem and felt the heavenly tones of his greatest work wash over me.

I shared as much with Bob, who immediately produced the one song he can always count on to make him feel better:

Of course, it's really Bach.

How about you? What's the one artist or piece of music you can count on to change the day?

10:36 AM ET | 04-15-2009 | permalink

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Musings: The Whole Is Greater Than The Parts

by Bob Boilen

I used to compose music for a theater company in Baltimore called Impossible Theater. It was experimental multimedia theater, with images from banks of slide projectors making for stunning foregrounds and backgrounds. What always struck me was how the music I made was brought to life by the imagery and how the imagery was brought to life by the music. We've all experienced that in some way, the way movie soundtracks can make a mediocre film come to life and vice versa.

I'm thinking about this today, having just watched a collaboration between filmmaker David Lynch and musician Moby. Watch this and see if you think one would work well without the other.

Continue reading "Musings: The Whole Is Greater Than The Parts" »

1:08 PM ET | 04-14-2009 | permalink

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Best-Ever Albums From Metric, John Vanderslice

by Robin Hilton

I've been listening to and loving both the band Metric and multi-talented artist John Vanderslice for several years now, and count several of their albums among my all-time favorites. So I was thrilled when I learned that they'd both have new albums out this spring. I assumed I'd love them, but wasn't expecting to be knocked out as much as I am. From what I've heard, these are the best albums Metric and Vanderslice have ever put out.

The Vanderslice album is called Romanian Names, and won't be released until mid-May, but we've got a sneak-preview cut for you now on the show, called "D.I.A.L.O." It's one of the catchiest and most addictive songs I've heard so far this year. We'll put the whole album up for you to hear, as part of our Exclusive First Listen series, starting May 4.

The voice of Emily Haines, who fronts the band Metric, is simply hypnotic: I totally zone out whenever she's on. Her 2007 solo album, Knives Don't Have Your Back, left me really wanting more, so it's great to hear her back singing some new songs. Fantasies is Metric's fourth album, and first in four years.

You can hear selections from both John Vanderslice's album and Metric's on this week's All Songs Considered. Give a listen and let us know what you think.

Bonus Videos:

Here's Metric doing an acoustic version of "Help, I'm Alive" from the band's new album, Fantasies:

Here's Emily Haines singing "Doctor Blind" from her solo album Knives Don't Have Your Back:

Here's John Vanderslice doing "Exodus Damage" from his 2005 album Pixel Revolt:

1:45 PM ET | 04-13-2009 | permalink

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The Beatles Remastered: Who Cares?

by Robin Hilton

Answer: Okay, I care. I know Bob Boilen cares. In fact, he says he's been waiting his whole life for this: On Sept. 9, EMI Records will release the original Beatles catalogue, completely remastered. The discs will include replicated artwork from the original releases, expanded liner notes and brief documentary films about the making of each album. For hardcore Beatles fans, it sounds like a dream. But I've heard grumblings from some who think it's just another chance for EMI (and possibly the remaining Beatles) to squeeze more dollars out of the music before they finally give in and make it available for download.

I do wonder whether the average listener can really tell the difference between an original recording and a remastered one. I suspect, in the case of the early Beatles recordings, you'll be able to tell a difference, though I understand some who say it only matters to audiophiles.

I remember when the Beatles albums were first made available on compact disc in 1987. Some diehards complained that it sounded too pure or too clean. They said that digitizing the music made it sound mechanical and stripped all the warmth out of the recordings. I thought (and still think) that's just absurd. To me, we were finally getting to hear the music the way the band heard it, as it was being made, without the loss in fidelity that comes with multiple duplications and submixing. I'm hoping these newly remastered discs will get us even closer.

But what do you think? Do you plan on getting the remastered discs when they drop in September? Or are you dubious? When bands reissue an album, is it really a service to fans, or simply an attempt to make more money?

10:37 AM ET | 04-10-2009 | permalink

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One Month: Hundreds Of Albums

by Robin Hilton

If you follow the show at all, you've probably heard us mention the RPM Challenge before. This is the annual invitation from The Wire magazine to write and record an entire album in the month of February. Hundreds of musicians worldwide take part in the challenge, scrambling frantically to conceive and produce at least 10 songs or 35 minutes of original music in four short weeks. (Bob did it. So did I, as did another producer at NPR, Michael Katzif).

This week on Second Stage, we're featuring a very small sampling of some of the musicians who participated in this year's challenge. Just like last year, there were some fantastic band names in the mix:

Cyclops Cow
Anal Hymn Triathlon
Liver Pants
Nair
Oliver Elf Army
Rainbow of Ball Sweat
Scrotum Hammer
Schizophrenic Bi-Polar Bear
Feline Drummers

...And even more hilarious song names:

"Dear God, Make Me Some Collar Bones"
"Zombie Disco"
"Seventh Spatula"
"My Cereal"
"Vampire Space Monkeys"
"Reduced to Salad"
"I'm Finally Admitting I've Been Overcommitting to All This Knitting"
"Stand Back, I'm Going To Try Science!"
"Don't Feed Him Butter"

I love the creativity that a challenge like this brings out in people. It gives musicians the perfect excuse to write an anthem to something like cereal or eating butter.

So check out Second Stage for some of the songs and let us know what you think. I think you'll be impressed -- I was.

5:27 PM ET | 04- 7-2009 | permalink

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More St. Vincent Video From SXSW

by Robin Hilton

You may recall that Bob and I sat in with St. Vincent during one of the band's practice sessions for this year's South by Southwest festival and conference. We shot video of the session as Annie Clark and her band worked through some fantastic new songs from St. Vincent's upcoming new album, Actor.

We finally got the full video edited and up for you to see. Check it out and let us know what you think of the band's new songs.

2:24 PM ET | 04- 1-2009 | permalink

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