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

Wednesday November 16, 2016

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Songs We Love: Gordi, '00000 Million'

November 16, 2016 • The Australian singer covers the breathtaking closing track from Bon Iver's new album 22, A Million unadorned, with only the echo of the room to accompany her.

Friday November 11, 2016

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Doctor Strange' And 'Moonlight'

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Film Frame/Marvel

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Doctor Strange' And 'Moonlight'

November 11, 2016 • The gang gathers to discuss the finer points of two very different fall movies. And, as always, What's Making Us Happy this week.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'Doctor Strange' And 'Moonlight'

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Thursday November 10, 2016

Pink Martini's new album, Je Dis Oui!, comes out Nov. 18. Chris Hornbecker/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Chris Hornbecker/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Review: Pink Martini, 'Je Dis Oui!'

November 10, 2016 • To take in the band's ninth album is to experience a globetrotting victory lap across eight different languages, all tackled with cosmopolitan sophistication and the playfulness of pop.

Review: Thee Oh Sees, 'An Odd Entrances'

Thee Oh Sees' new album, An Odd Entrances, comes out Nov. 18. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Review: Thee Oh Sees, 'An Odd Entrances'

November 10, 2016 • The prolific psych-rock band's newest album — its second in only three months — traffics in alternately jittery and hypnotic jams.

Monday November 7, 2016

Small Batch: Late-Night Comedy And The 2016 Election

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TBS

Small Batch: Late-Night Comedy And The 2016 Election

November 7, 2016 • Glen Weldon and Stephen Thompson break down the late-night field at the end of this bruising election season, and discuss how difficult it is to stand out and say something new.

Small Batch: Late-Night Comedy And The 2016 Election

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Thursday October 27, 2016

Review: Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, 'Until The Hunter'

Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions' new album, Until The Hunter, comes out Nov. 4. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review: Hope Sandoval & The Warm Inventions, 'Until The Hunter'

October 27, 2016 • Nearly 30 years into her career, Mazzy Star's singer still takes her time in the pursuit of beauty. Here, she works with My Bloody Valentine's Colm O'Ciosoig, as well as guests like Kurt Vile.

Friday October 21, 2016

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Blind Pilot: Tiny Desk Concert

October 21, 2016 • The band's shimmery folk-pop sound, with its vibraphone and overarching vibrancy, is perfectly suited to the space behind Bob Boilen's desk.

Thursday October 13, 2016

John K Samson's new album, Winter Wheat, comes out Oct. 21. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review: John K. Samson, 'Winter Wheat'

October 13, 2016 • The former Weakerthans singer returns with an album full of gorgeous, vividly detailed songs about characters whose potential doesn't always lend them a pathway out of their own heads.

Tuesday October 11, 2016

Tiny Desk Concert with Haley Bonar. Claire Harbage/NPR hide caption

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Claire Harbage/NPR

Haley Bonar: Tiny Desk Concert

October 11, 2016 • In a performance of three songs from Impossible Dream, the Minnesota singer-songwriter achieves a nifty balance of stripped-down intimacy and impeccable polish.

Thursday October 6, 2016

Johnnyswim's new album, Georgica Pond, comes out Oct. 14. Darren Lau/Courtesy of the artist. hide caption

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Darren Lau/Courtesy of the artist.

Review

Review: Johnnyswim, 'Georgica Pond'

October 6, 2016 • These are songs by and for feel-big dreamers, performed with a gift for weapons-grade ingratiation by a pair of born crowd-pleasers.

Monday October 3, 2016

Video: Kurt Vile Joins Hope Sandoval On The Radiant 'Let Me Get There'

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Video: Kurt Vile Joins Hope Sandoval On The Radiant 'Let Me Get There'

October 3, 2016 • Radiant warmth meets laconic cool in a breezily beautiful duet between the Mazzy Star singer and the Philly rocker.

Video: Kurt Vile Joins Hope Sandoval On The Radiant 'Let Me Get There'

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Friday September 30, 2016

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Magnificent Seven' And 'Fleabag'

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Sony Pictures

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Magnificent Seven' And 'Fleabag'

September 30, 2016 • The gang discusses a new Western remake starring Denzel Washington, as well as a beloved British TV import starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge. Plus, as always, What's Making Us Happy this week.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: 'The Magnificent Seven' And 'Fleabag'

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Thursday September 29, 2016

Conor Oberst's new album, Ruminations, comes out Oct. 14. Amelie Raoul/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Amelie Raoul/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Review: Conor Oberst, 'Ruminations'

September 29, 2016 • Oberst's distinctive warble is set against a spare patchwork of acoustic guitar, piano and the occasional harmonica, drawing most of the attention to his dark, personal words.

Friday September 23, 2016

Jason Frank Rothenberg/Courtesy of the artist

Hear Dirty Projectors' First New Song Since 2012

September 23, 2016 • David Longstreth's band returns from a long absence with "Keep Your Name," a song about betrayal and loss with a tortured, deeply conflicted video to match.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Emmys, Comedy And Your Spooky Grandpa

Kate McKinnon accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for Saturday Night Live at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards last Sunday. Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP hide caption

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Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Emmys, Comedy And Your Spooky Grandpa

September 23, 2016 • An assortment of odds and ends, including an Emmys recap, David Greene's interview with comedian Hari Kondabolu, and Petra Mayer's discussion with English writer Alan Moore.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Emmys, Comedy And Your Spooky Grandpa

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