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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.
Washington, DC - May 03, 2016: Stephen Thompson CREDIT: Matt Roth
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Stephen Thompson

Monday

Martha Wainwright: Tiny Desk Concert

Martha Wainwright performs a Tiny Desk Concert on Oct. 15, 2012. Ryan Smith/Ryan Smith/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Smith/Ryan Smith/NPR

Tiny Desk

Martha Wainwright: Tiny Desk Concert

Wainwright does the opposite of sugarcoating: She roughs up life's smooth spots, then digs her fingertips into the cracks that form.

Martha Wainwright: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 14:15
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Sunday

First Listen: Tracey Thorn, 'Tinsel And Lights'

Tracey Thorn's album Tinsel and Lights was released Oct. 30. Edward Bishop/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Edward Bishop/Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Tracey Thorn, 'Tinsel And Lights'

Not since Aimee Mann's One More Drifter in the Snow has a collection of seasonal music been so finely engineered to locate the holidays' melancholy side. But Tinsel and Lights is as warmly rendered as it is achingly bittersweet.

Tracey Thorn, 'Tinsel And Lights'

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Wednesday

Monday

Ben Gibbard: Tiny Desk Concert

Benjamin Gibbard performs a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices on Nov. 8, 2012. Lauren Rock/NPR hide caption

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Lauren Rock/NPR

Tiny Desk

Ben Gibbard: Tiny Desk Concert

For this, the 250th Tiny Desk Concert, the Death Cab for Cutie and Postal Service singer performs solo and unadorned, with just an acoustic guitar to back him up. Hear Gibbard perform a new song, a little-heard track from 2011, and "St. Peter's Cathedral" from Death Cab's Codes and Keys.

Ben Gibbard: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 12:27
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Wednesday

Monday

Song Premiere: Ra Ra Riot, 'Beta Love'

Ra Ra Riot. Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Shervin Lainez/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Song Premiere: Ra Ra Riot, 'Beta Love'

Download the fizzily catchy title track from Ra Ra Riot's new album, which comes out Jan. 22, 2013. "Beta Love" is the sound of a band that's left a lot of its grandiosity behind, but the band's intellectual curiosity remains intact.

Song Premiere: Ra Ra Riot, 'Beta Love'

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Thursday

Wednesday

Thursday

Allen Stone: A Rollicking Moment, Performed On The Wind

Allen Stone, right, accompanied by Trevor Larkin perform for a Field Recordings video backstage at Sasquatch! Music Fest Mito Habe-Evans/NPR hide caption

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Field Recordings

Allen Stone: A Rollicking Moment, Performed On The Wind

KEXP

Usually, Stone performs his bluesy soul with the aid of a crack band, but here, we got the 25-year-old belter to perform his single "Sleep" — usually a big, rollicking rave-up — with just a guitarist for backup.

Wednesday

Monday

Passion Pit: Tiny Desk Concert

Passion Pit performs on Tiny Desk on Oct. 15. Ryan Smith/Ryan Smith/NPR hide caption

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Ryan Smith/Ryan Smith/NPR

Tiny Desk

Passion Pit: Tiny Desk Concert

A keyboardist and singer who started out working solo on his laptop, Passion Pit's Michael Angelakos makes Technicolor electro-pop with monster hooks. But his songs are sturdy, versatile things, as this performance indicates.

Passion Pit: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 10:58
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Friday

Song Premiere: Neighbors, 'New Century'

Neighbors. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Song Premiere: Neighbors, 'New Century'

There's something strangely hypnotic and charming about "New Century," an immensely infectious bummer from Neighbors, a band consisting of a guy named Noah Stitelman and anyone else who happens to be around to help.

Song Premiere: Neighbors, 'New Century'

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Wednesday

Song Premiere: Laura Gibson, 'The Carob Trees'
Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Song Premiere: Laura Gibson, 'The Carob Trees'

A look at relationships across generations dating all the way back to Adam and Eve, "The Carob Trees" has more in common with early Gibson records than it does with this year's more assertive La Grande.

Song Premiere: Laura Gibson, 'The Carob Trees'

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Monday

Robert Cray Band: Tiny Desk Concert

Robert Cray performs a Tiny Desk Concert Lauren Rock/NPR hide caption

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Lauren Rock/NPR

Tiny Desk

Robert Cray Band: Tiny Desk Concert

Like any great blues singer, Cray makes heartache and dysfunction sound engaging and relatable.

Robert Cray Band: Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 19:25
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