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

Tuesday December 29, 2009

Exclusive Free Download: The Worst Song Ever Written

December 29, 2009 • By Stephen Thompson Last week, I appeared on Morning Edition to ruminate on one of the most significant events of the past decade in music — namely, the debut of American Idol in the summer of 2002. Included in the piece was the chorus of a "son...

Exclusive Free Download: The Worst Song Ever Written

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Thursday December 24, 2009

Best Music Of 2009, From 'Song Of The Day'

December 24, 2009 • Though critical consensus formed around some sonically beautiful records, Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson is far more likely to dwell on albums and songs that exude a fair bit earned insight, even ache. Thompson's Top 10 may be the equivalent of a single teardrop in a vast sea of year-end reflection, but the music is pretty glorious.

'Too Many Birds' by Bill Callahan

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Wednesday December 23, 2009

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

'American Idol' And The Making Of A Star

December 23, 2009 • Launched in 2002, American Idol wasn't the first TV show to make a pop star, and it hasn't been the last. But the show has changed the way the public interacts with the machinery of the music industry. NPR Music's Stephen Thompson looks at the show and describes his own brush with Idol glory.

'American Idol' And The Making Of A Star

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Wednesday December 16, 2009

The charming London indie-folk band Fanfarlo performs a holiday-themed set in the NPR Music offices. hide caption

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Fanfarlo: Tiny Desk Concert

December 16, 2009 • The band closed with a cover of Low's 1999 song "Just Like Christmas." Fanfarlo's members had practiced it all the way from Baltimore to D.C.

Monday November 30, 2009

Becky Lettenberger/NPR

Andrew W.K.: Tiny Desk Concert

November 30, 2009 • Sometimes, an idea is so perverse and bizarre that it needs to be carried out and followed to its logical end.

Audio Only: Andrew W.K.'s Tiny Desk Concert

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Friday November 27, 2009

Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros: Kindness And Clamor

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Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeros: Kindness And Clamor

November 27, 2009 • As "Home" grows more clamorous and kind, it gets catchier, building to a freewheeling celebration rooted in unmistakable affection. It sounds terrific here, but when it's blown out in 360-degree live performance, "Home" is enough to make even the tiniest heart grow three sizes.

'Home' by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

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Friday November 20, 2009

Question Of The Day: How Will We Listen To Music In 2020?

November 20, 2009 • How will we listen to music in the next decade? How will we acquire it? What will it sound like?

Wednesday November 18, 2009

Question Of The Day: What's Your Favorite New Genre?

November 18, 2009 • What's your favorite new genre of the decade? Of all the brand-new styles, be they occasionally awkward combinations of influences or wholly-formed means of expression, or genres that hit the mainstream in the past ten years, which produced the be...

Monday November 16, 2009

Song Of The Day: Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone' (2005)

Today in Song of the Day: Our two-week survey of the decade -- one popular song per year, per weekday -- continues with Kelly Clarkson's 2005 hit "Since U Been Gone." photo courtesy of the artist hide caption

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photo courtesy of the artist

Monitor Mix

Song Of The Day: Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone' (2005)

November 16, 2009 • By Stephen Thompson Today in Song of the Day: Our two-week survey of the decade — one popular song per year, per weekday — continues with Kelly Clarkson's 2005 hit "Since U Been Gone." (photo courtesy of the artist) ...

The Decade In Music: Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone' (2005)

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The Decade In Music: '00s

The Decade In Music: Kelly Clarkson's 'Since U Been Gone' (2005)

November 16, 2009 • In the dynamite 2005 single "Since U Been Gone," Clarkson belts out one of the decade's great pop songs, following a familiar formula — jilted ex-girlfriend indignantly declares independence — but infusing it with energy, charisma and full-throated intensity. Sure, the over-the-top, loud-louder-loudest production helps. But it's an unmistakably great pop-rock song, thanks most of all to an unmistakably great pop-rock singer.

Friday November 13, 2009

And Now, For A Long Discussion Of 'American Idol'

The signs of Idolatry. (Getty/Scott Gries) hide caption

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(Getty/Scott Gries)

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And Now, For A Long Discussion Of 'American Idol'

November 13, 2009 • Two of NPR's most devoted viewers of American Idol — Monkey See blogger Linda Holmes and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson — carry on a 90-minute chat via Instant Messenger about the show, its rosters of future superstars and forgotten also-rans...

Tuesday November 10, 2009

To Pay Or Not To Pay: Q + A With Eliot Van Buskirk And Jay Sweet

Maybe this is the easiest way to make sure your cash goes straight to the person who made it. Getty Images, Lew Robertson hide caption

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Getty Images, Lew Robertson

Monitor Mix

To Pay Or Not To Pay: Q + A With Eliot Van Buskirk And Jay Sweet

November 10, 2009 • Last week, Eliot Van Buskirk, columnist and blogger at Wired, and Jay Sweet, Paste magazine's editor at large, got together in a chat room (so '90s!) to talk about paying for music now.

Monday November 9, 2009

Song Of The Day: 'N Sync's 'Bye Bye Bye'

It's technically a part of this decade, but 'N Sync feels like the product of another era. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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courtesy of the artist

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Song Of The Day: 'N Sync's 'Bye Bye Bye'

November 9, 2009 • By Stephen Thompson It's technically a part of this decade, but 'N Sync feels like the product of another era. (courtesy of the artist) The decades never break as cleanly as the calendar might suggest. The time pe...

The Decade In Music: 'N Sync's 'Bye Bye Bye' (2000)

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Review

The Decade In Music: '00s

The Decade In Music: 'N Sync's 'Bye Bye Bye' (2000)

November 9, 2009 • Every weekday from Nov. 9 to Nov. 20, Song of the Day will survey the past decade, one year (and one song) at a time, with an emphasis on America's most popular music. For the year 2000, it's 'N Sync's "Bye Bye Bye," which feels like the product of a shadowy pre-Sept. 11 world in which telegenic boys dance in unison.

Frannie Kelley/NPR

Tiny Desk

K'naan: Tiny Desk Concert

November 9, 2009 • Though his appearance at the NPR Music office qualifies as the first-ever hip-hop Tiny Desk Concert, Somali-born rapper K'naan isn't one to adhere to a single genre.

K'naan: Tiny Desk Concert

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