Review Song Of The Day 'Our Hell': Making Misery Beautiful November 24, 2006 • On her first solo album, Knives Don't Have Your Back, Emily Haines writes stripped-down folk songs that sound as catchy as they are doomstruck. The Metric singer purges personal and political demons through dark, minor-key melodies and glorious arrangements. 'Our Hell' by Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6520743/6524865" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Our Hell' by Emily Haines & The Soft Skeleton Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6520743/6524865" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Music Lists The Best, Worst and Weirdest in Holiday CDs November 22, 2006 • Every year brings a flood of new holiday CDs, and with good reason: They're quick and easy to make, most if not all of the songs have already been written, and they get reissued practically every year. From Sufjan Stevens to Twisted Sister to The Chipmunks, here's a look at 2006's holiday crop. The Best, Worst and Weirdest in Holiday CDs Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6527454/6608007" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
The Best, Worst and Weirdest in Holiday CDs Listen Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6527454/6608007" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript
Review Song Of The Day Ruminations on Bridges Burned and Backs Turned November 15, 2006 • Karen Dalton's In My Own Time sounds nicely fleshed out in the studio, as it showcases the singer's ability to interpret standards amid lush arrangements. But it's no surprise that the set's crown jewel is also its most haunting track: "Katie Cruel," on which Dalton gives a traditional lament its definitive reading. 'Katie Cruel' by Karen Dalton Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6488736/6488773" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Katie Cruel' by Karen Dalton Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6488736/6488773" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Damien Rice: From a Whisper to a Scream November 10, 2006 • Rice's music demands close attention: Whether he's singing in an aching whisper or yelling amid strings and other pomp (often in the same song), he's a nuanced performer who isn't afraid to lay his feelings bare. "Elephant" finds him carrying on in top form, in an epic ballad that showcases his considerable emotional and vocal range. 'Elephant' by Damien Rice Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6464392/6464401" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Elephant' by Damien Rice Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6464392/6464401" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day A Powerful Look at an Imaginary Tragedy October 26, 2006 • Okkervil River takes on a daunting challenge in a new song making the rounds as an MP3 download: It looks at the impact of a horrific event — in this case a presidential assassination — that hasn't actually taken place. 'The President's Dead' by Okkervil River Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6381913/6381938" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'The President's Dead' by Okkervil River Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6381913/6381938" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Teitur's Soundtrack to Pleasant Dreams October 19, 2006 • "Don't Want You To Wake Up" is almost stridently good-natured, with Teitur extolling the virtues of watching a lover sleep amid strummed acoustic guitars and subtly breezy strings. The track never accelerates beyond an agreeable amble, but it isn't about momentum anyway. 'Don't Want You To Wake Up' by Teitur Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6301416/6301440" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Don't Want You To Wake Up' by Teitur Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6301416/6301440" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Channeling Patsy Cline, by Way of Neko Case September 26, 2006 • Sera Cahoone has played drums for Band of Horses and Carissa's Wierd (sic), two groups whose music can be majestically beautiful, wrenchingly powerful or both. None of their output, however, provides reason to expect Cahoone's solo work to drift into territory as soothing as her gorgeous, breezily hypnotic "Couch Song." 'Couch Song' by Sera Cahoone Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6142022/6142031" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Couch Song' by Sera Cahoone Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6142022/6142031" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day A Would-Be Icon's Words of Hard-Won Hope September 6, 2006 • During a hiatus from The Frames, Glen Hansard recorded The Swell Season with Czech singer Marketa Irglova, and the result aches and swoons behind lovely arrangements. A longtime master of sublimely melodramatic sad-bastard music, Hansard finds words of hard-won hope and comfort on "Falling Slowly." 'Falling Slowly' by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5770421/5770430" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Falling Slowly' by Glen Hansard & Marketa Irglova Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5770421/5770430" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Homey Intimacy, Soaked in Strings August 31, 2006 • Often recalling the rustic delicacy of Iron and Wine — if it were soaked in strings and robbed of some of its stark clarity — Horse Feathers' music radiates homey intimacy, as Peter Broderick fleshes out Justin Ringle's voice and guitar with all manner of warmly unamplified instrumentation. 'Hardwood Pews' by Horse Feathers Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5737243/5737306" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Hardwood Pews' by Horse Feathers Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5737243/5737306" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Music for the Morning After, and Beyond August 24, 2006 • Musicians often chronicle the anguish, adjustments and small triumphs associated with a relationship's end. But few capture the emotional rawness and suffocating isolation quite as powerfully as Lisa Germano's "Too Much Space." 'Too Much Space' by Lisa Germano Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5698627/5698725" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Too Much Space' by Lisa Germano Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5698627/5698725" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Love and Affection on a Celestial Scale August 17, 2006 • Adem's "Spirals" opens on a tiny scale before looking ever farther outward, drawing parallels between intertwined galaxies and people in love. In the process, the sweet ballad magnifies the way a small gesture of affection can reverberate with a force that's impossible to quantify. 'Spirals' by Adem Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5658575/5658675" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Spirals' by Adem Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5658575/5658675" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Bleeding Pure Hopelessness, in All the Right Ways August 9, 2006 • "I lived low enough so the moon wouldn't waste its light on me," Jason Molina sings on "Get Out Get Out Get Out," ornamented by a plodding drum-machine beat and a few minimalist strums on an acoustic guitar. It's the singer at his bleakly hypnotic best. 'Get Out Get Out Get Out' by Jason Molina Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5627577/5627668" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Get Out Get Out Get Out' by Jason Molina Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5627577/5627668" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Touring the World, but Always Lost August 3, 2006 • Shedding the prickly remoteness that has made him an acquired taste, Eric Bachmann crafts a collection that pairs his gruff, world-weary lyrics with a newfound approachability. That's not to suggest, however, that Bachmann has lost his gift for grimness. 'Man O' War by Eric Bachmann Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5602076/5602339" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Man O' War by Eric Bachmann Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5602076/5602339" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
MTV, Kennedy and Me: Let's Begin to Heal July 31, 2006 • For NPR.org's Stephen Thompson, the 25th birthday of MTV brings up memories of his own appearance on the network, co-hosting an episode of Alternative Nation with Kennedy in 1993. The details of what transpired during those moments can only be known by Thompson and a few close friends, who are still laughing.
