Stephen Thompson : NPR

Stephen Thompson Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music and Pop Culture Happy Hour. He appears frequently on All Songs Considered and NPR newsmagazines.

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Stephen Thompson

Saturday January 24, 2015

The Good Listener: If You Don't Like Music, Do You Have A Soul?

Music isn't for everyone. Cristian Casanelles/iStockphoto hide caption

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Cristian Casanelles/iStockphoto

The Good Listener: If You Don't Like Music, Do You Have A Soul?

January 24, 2015 • Is it possible for a human being to truly not enjoy music?

Thursday January 22, 2015

Ana Tijoux was a big part of NPR Music's SXSW 2014 coverage. Now, we're preparing for this year's festival. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Playing SXSW 2015? Send Us Your Songs

January 22, 2015 • The festival doesn't start for two more months, but the NPR Music team is already preparing.

Wednesday January 21, 2015

Ebru Yildiz for NPR

Watch Broad City Interview Sleater-Kinney

January 21, 2015 • In a raucous and revealing panel discussion at New York City's Ace Hotel, the stars and creators of Comedy Central's Broad City interview all three members of the newly reunited band.

Sunday January 18, 2015

First Listen: The Lone Bellow, 'Then Came The Morning'

The Lone Bellow's new album, Then Came The Morning, comes out Jan. 27. Steven Sebring/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Steven Sebring/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: The Lone Bellow, 'Then Came The Morning'

January 18, 2015 • The Brooklyn band's music has always had a larger-than-life flamboyance about it. But on Then Came The Morning, it's elevated by nuance that ventures frequently and welcomely into grace.

Then Came The Morning

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Wednesday January 14, 2015

Thievery Corporation: All Things Considered's In-House Band For A Day

All Things Considered director Monika Evstatieva offers a little last-minute advice to the day's in-house band, Thievery Corporation. Morgan McCloy/NPR hide caption

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Morgan McCloy/NPR

Thievery Corporation: All Things Considered's In-House Band For A Day

January 14, 2015 • Friday's broadcast gets a lively and unexpected twist: interstitial music performed live by the unpredictable, dub-influenced electronic band.

Thievery Corporation: All Things Considered's In-House Band For A Day

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Sunday January 11, 2015

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance'

Belle And Sebastian's new album, Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance, comes out Jan. 20. Søren Solkær/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Søren Solkær/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: Belle And Sebastian, 'Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance'

January 11, 2015 • The Glaswegian folk-pop band's ninth album feels light on its feet, but without sacrificing the thoughtful, careful precision for which Stuart Murdoch and his collaborators are known.

Girls In Peacetime Want To Dance

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Thursday January 8, 2015

Sterling Archer (voice of H. Jon Benjamin) and Lana Kane (voice of Aisha Tyler) rarely look quite this uncomplicatedly happy. FX hide caption

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'Archer' And The Loud Comfort Of Rhythm

January 8, 2015 • Every character on the animated FX comedy is a creep. So why is the show so pleasant, even relaxing, to watch?

Monday December 22, 2014

Dessa: Something Old And Something New, Suitable For Choir

Dessa recently reworked two of her songs with Minnesota's VocalEssence choir. Kelly Loverud/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Kelly Loverud/Courtesy of the artist

Dessa: Something Old And Something New, Suitable For Choir

December 22, 2014 • Watch the singer and rapper perform "Skeleton Key" and "The Good Fight" with the VocalEssence choir.

Tuesday December 16, 2014

T-Pain's Tiny Desk Concert has been viewed 6.6 million times on YouTube alone. Maggie Starbard/NPR hide caption

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Maggie Starbard/NPR

2014: The Year In Tiny Desk Concerts

December 16, 2014 • Surveying a year of concerts that took place behind a desk in NPR Music's offices, we offer up highlights from T-Pain to the Pixies to a 12-piece Balkan brass extravaganza.

Thursday December 11, 2014

Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2014

Beyonce unleashed the year's grandest and most enduring pop juggernaut (even if it technically came out in 2013). Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2014

December 11, 2014 • In terms of pop hits, the shadow of 2013 fell over most of 2014. But for NPR Music's Stephen Thompson, there were plenty of winners this year as well.

Monday December 8, 2014

Ellis Ludwig-Leone of San Fermin. Denny Renshaw/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Denny Renshaw/Courtesy of the artist

Songs We Love: San Fermin, 'Parasites'

December 8, 2014 • After a quiet opening passage, "Parasites" gets jarringly loud and frenetic, like several songs laid atop one another.

Parasites

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Monday November 24, 2014

Susan Hale Thomas/NPR

Pat Benatar & Neil Giraldo: Tiny Desk Concert

November 24, 2014 • Benatar and Giraldo run through three of their classic songs: 1979's "We Live For Love," 1984's "We Belong" and, after a long and satisfying windup, 1981's "Promises In The Dark."

Sunday November 23, 2014

She & Him's new album, Classics, comes out Dec. 2. Autumn De Wilde/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Autumn De Wilde/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen: She & Him, 'Classics'

November 23, 2014 • Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward cover pop standards with the timeless impeccability for which they're known. Once again, Ward hovers mostly in the background, leaving Deschanel to steal the playful show.

Classics

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after the album is released.

Saturday November 22, 2014

Is Yngwie Malmsteen too good at playing guitar for his own good? Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Do Some Musicians Play Too Well?

November 22, 2014 • Thoughts on whether superior technique actually detracts from music's quality.

Sunday November 16, 2014

First Listen: Flake Music, 'When You Land Here, It's Time To Return'

A remixed, remastered reissue of When You Land Here, It's Time to Return, the 1997 debut album by Flake Music, comes out Nov. 25. Singer James Mercer would later become famous for his work in The Shins and Broken Bells. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Flake Music, 'When You Land Here, It's Time To Return'

November 16, 2014 • Before James Mercer became famous in The Shins, he sang in a like-minded band called Flake Music. Its newly remixed, remastered and reissued 1997 debut contains many ideas he would later revisit.

When You Land Here, It's Time To Return

Audio for First Listens is no longer available after an album is released.