Help Wanted: Wedding Music Mix

by Bob Boilen

Let's help out a fellow All Songs listener Kevin Hill. He writes: "I'm getting married on Saturday and we aren't getting a DJ, but rather were relying on our friends to suggest songs for us to play. This strategy has been less than fruitful. While we have some songs picked out, it probably isn't enough for a whole evening of enjoyment.

"So, my request is for whoever reads this to go around and ask the excellent crowd of audiophiles at the All Songs Considered team what songs they would play at a wedding. Danceable would be a plus, but not required. Mood should be up rather than down. Our tastes are pretty eclectic, so feel free to give anything a shot.

"Even if you guys can't come up with anything, know you've already helped by playing 'The Twist' by Frightened Rabbit which is now on the list."

I'd suggest taking a look at Carrie Brownstein's blog post about being a wedding DJ, or this one from Robin Hilton

I don't know you guys but for some reason "Heartbeats" by The Knife popped into my head.

Come on everyone, let's give Kevin and the love of his life, the party of his life. And Kevin, tell us how it goes.

8:22 AM ET | 10- 7-2009 | permalink

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50 Bands You've Seen

by Bob Boilen

I don't know where this started, but a friend of mine asked me to make a list of 50 bands or artists I've seen live. The instructions are simple. You have to do it from memory, ordering them as they pop into your head. Some of the fun of this is seeing the random list.

I couldn't stop, I went to bed after I hit 101, and I only included shows I'd seen as a fan, not shows we've covered.

Here's my list. Tell us yours (You only have to do 50).

Bob's list of concerts from memory:

1. Pink Floyd
2. Blind Faith
3. Grand Funk Railroad
4. Patti Smith
5. John Cale
6. World Saxophone Quartet
7. Chicago Art Ensemble
8. Don Cherry
9. Phillip Glass
10. Laurie Anderson
11. The Residents
12. George Lewis
13. Cheap Trick
14. Urban Verbs
15. Talking Heads
16. The Clash
17. Magazine
18. Gang of Four
19. Ultravox
20. The Lounge Lizards
21. Pere Ubu
22. Devo
23. David Bowie
24. George Harrison
25. Bob Dylan
26. The Who
27. The Ramones
28. King Crimson (pre Belew)
29. Lou Reed
30. Regina Spektor
31. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
32. Arcade Fire
33. Bon Iver
34. Conor Oberst
35. Jonathan Richman
36. Echo and the Bunnymen
37. The Incredible String Band
38. Richard Thompson
39. King Sunny Ade
40. Fela Kuti
41. David Byrne
42. The Frames
43. Iron and Wine
44. M. Ward
45. Nick Lowe
46. Peter Gabriel
47. Radiohead
48. Sam Phillips
49. Sigur Ros
50. Steeleye Span
51. Jethro Tull
52. Strawbs
53. Sufjan Stevens
54. Tegan & Sara
55. Ryan Adams
56. Death Cab for Cutie
57. Television
58. Wilco
59. Emerson Lake & Palmer
60. The White Stripes
61. Andrew Bird
62. Antony and the Johnsons
63. Roxy Music
64. Bruce Springsteen
65. The Cramps
66. Elvis Costello and the Attractions
67. Fanfarlo
68. Fleet Foxes
69. Flight of the Concords
70. Iggy Pop
71. The Kinks
72. Miles Davis
73. Pj Harvey
74. The Rolling Stones
75. X-Ray Spex
76. Siouxsie and the Banshees
77. Jens Lekman
78. Hem
79. Grizzly Bear
80. Minor Threat
81. Lucinda Williams
82. The Decemberists
83. John Doyle and Liz Carol
84. Daniel Lanois
85. Bill Frisell
86. Anthony Braxton
87. Ladysmith Black Mambazo
88. The Beach Boys
89. Queen
90. Yes
91. They Might Be Giants
92. Steppenwolf
93. Procol Harum
94. The Polyphonic Spree
95. Kraftwerk
96. Loudon Wainwright
97. Public Image
98. Leonard Cohen
99. Killing Joke
100. Bad Brains
101. XTC

5:34 PM ET | 09- 1-2009 | permalink

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Poll Results: The Best Music Of 2009 (So Far)

by Bob Boilen

NPR listeners cast thousands of votes for the year's best music (so far) and kept the race tight. In the end, Animal Collective edged out every other artist for both Best Album and Best Song. Artists like Grizzly Bear, The Decemberists and Neko Case weren't far behind. One thing was clear: that 2009 has been one of the strongest years for new music in recent memory.

First, the Best Songs of 2009 (so far)

1. "My Girls" Animal Collective

2. "Two Weeks" Grizzly Bear

3. "Blood Bank" Bon Iver

4. "The Rake's Song" The Decemberists

5. "Lisztomania" Phoenix

6. "Zero" Yeah Yeah Yeahs

7. "This Tornado Loves You" Neko Case

8. "Sleepyhead" Passion Pit

9. "Laughing With" Regina Spektor

10. "The Wanting Comes In Waves/Repaid" The Decemberists

11. "Train Song" Feist and Ben Gibbard

12. "Knotty Pine" David Byrne & Dirty Projectors

13. "Daniel" Bat For Lashes

14. "Summertime Clothes" Animal Collective

15. "One Wing" Wilco

16. "The Fear" Lily Allen

17. "Heads Will Roll" Yeah Yeah Yeahs

18. "Wilco (The Song)" Wilco

19. "Stillness Is The Move" Dirty Projectors

20. "Help, I'm Alive" Metric

21. "Anonanimal" Andrew Bird

22. "On No" Andrew Bird

23. "No You Girls" Franz Ferdinand

24. "I And Love And You" The Avett Brothers

25. "French Navy" Camera Obscura

26. "Magpie To The Morning" Neko Case

27. "Woods" Bon Iver

28. "Black Hearted Love" PJ Harvey and John Parish

29. "While You Wait For The Others" Grizzly Bear

30. "Panic Switch" Silversun Pickups

Best Albums of 2009 (so far)

Continue reading "Poll Results: The Best Music Of 2009 (So Far)" »

11:13 AM ET | 07-27-2009 | permalink

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Top 10 Wedding Party Songs

by Robin Hilton

Today on All Things Considered, listeners were invited to submit their stories about inappropriate songs heard at weddings. Please join the conversation in the comments section below.

A "friend" of mine is getting married this weekend, and I'll be supplying the music for the reception. My iPod will act as a virtual DJ, randomly grabbing songs from an eight-hour playlist I've put together. I originally thought I'd plan out every minute, putting every track in a specific order so that the slower, more reflective, romantic tunes come early in the evening while the faster-tempo songs come later, but that proved to be way too much work. So I've been testing the playlist out this week, just listening in the background as it randomly grabs various songs, and it seems to be working. Every now and then, I'll cut one that sounds out of place.

Continue reading "Top 10 Wedding Party Songs" »

2:00 PM ET | 05- 7-2009 | permalink

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