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.

Stories By

Stephen Thompson

Wednesday December 15, 2010

Chris Otepka of The Heligoats performs a Tiny Desk Concert at the NPR Music offices. Abby Verbosky/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Abby Verbosky/NPR

Tiny Desk

The Heligoats: Tiny Desk Concert

December 15, 2010 • The Heligoats' Chris Otepka is the star of NPR Music's 100th Tiny Desk Concert. In many ways, he's the perfect act to mark that milestone: His music is best heard in an intimate setting, where his words can unfurl clearly and he can hold a small room rapt — which he does here, to say the least.

Audio Only: The Heligoats' Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 19:31 19:31

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/131963244/132062812" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday December 7, 2010

Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2010

Jonsi performs on stage during Day 3 of the Splendour in the Grass music festival at Woodfordia on August 1, 2010, in Woodford, Australia. Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption

Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

All Songs Considered

Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2010

December 7, 2010 • This isn't a list of 2010's "best" albums; that designation has more to do with consensus anyway. Instead, NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson picks 10 records that roll around in relatable emotions.

Monday December 6, 2010

Dolorean's "Country Clutter" captures the way a relationship's end can be irrevocably shot through with righteously vindictive anger. Sarah Jurado hide caption

toggle caption

Sarah Jurado

Review

Song Of The Day

Dolorean: Finding The Petty In Pretty

December 6, 2010 • Dolorean infuses its songs with weary woundedness, but it's not exactly taking the high road in "Country Clutter": Amid the sweetest conceivable harmonies, singer Al James uses a gently shambling arrangement as a vehicle for a look back in venomous anger.

'Country Clutter' by Dolorean

4:39

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/131848221/131848333" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday November 24, 2010

The Extra Lens: Failure's Gravitational Pull

The Extra Lens' "Only Existing Footage" perfectly encapsulates the way small missteps can bloom into ruin. Max S. Gerber hide caption

toggle caption

Max S. Gerber

Review

Song Of The Day

The Extra Lens: Failure's Gravitational Pull

November 24, 2010 • "Only Existing Footage" perfectly encapsulates the way small missteps can bloom into ruin, as singer John Darnielle uses a troubled film production as a metaphor for looming disaster.

'Only Existing Footage' by The Extra Lens

3:00

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/131568850/131565947" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday November 14, 2010

Keith Urban Max Vadukul hide caption

toggle caption

Max Vadukul

First Listen

First Listen: Keith Urban, 'Get Closer'

November 14, 2010 • As straightforward as Urban's poppy country might seem at first blush, his new album pulls off an impressive feat: He almost always finds a way to make songs for his movie-star wife sound like radio-ready odes to top-down teenage bliss. Hear Get Closer in its entirety until Nov. 23.

Monday November 8, 2010

Abby Verbosky/NPR

Tiny Desk

Black Dub: Tiny Desk Concert

November 8, 2010 • At the NPR Music offices, Trixie Whitley and Daniel Lanois brought a variety of instrumental backing, including an electronic bed for the single "I Believe in You," only to ditch many of the accoutrements on the fly. The result is a gripping and revealing performance.

Audio Only: Black Dub's Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 18:03 18:03

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/131075032/131141951" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday November 2, 2010

Horse Feathers: The Darker Side Of Rebirth

The most agreeably pretty song to float along in ages, Horse Feathers' "Thistled Spring" still finds a way to chill the blood. Tarina Westlund hide caption

toggle caption

Tarina Westlund

Review

Song Of The Day

Horse Feathers: The Darker Side Of Rebirth

November 2, 2010 • Horse Feathers' members understand with clarity how much richer "Thistled Spring" is for its darker shading; how even a season of renewal has its thorny and disagreeable side. The most agreeably pretty song to float along in ages, it still finds a way to chill the blood.

'Thistled Spring' by Horse Feathers

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/125896682/125793090" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday October 19, 2010

NPR Music Faces The Man, With An Assist From Lost In The Trees

Lost in the Trees sticks it to the man by performing four string-swept folk songs for his amusement. Stephen Thompson/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Stephen Thompson/NPR

All Songs Considered

NPR Music Faces The Man, With An Assist From Lost In The Trees

October 19, 2010 • When NPR Music staffers were called upon to speak on Capitol Hill, we brought in a ringer: the Tiny Desk Concert veterans in Lost in the Trees, a.k.a. the band Bob wishes to adopt as his chamber-folk foster children. Hear the complete session.

Lost in the Trees: Recorded Live on Capitol Hill

25:24

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/130673892/130670334" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday October 17, 2010

Coburn Dukehart/NPR

Tiny Desk

Hey Marseilles: Tiny Desk Concert

October 17, 2010 • These three songs, performed live at the NPR Music offices, benefit from a rich assortment of instrumentation: cello, viola, accordion, trumpet, snare drum, cymbal, tambourine, another gigantic drum and a pair of acoustic guitars.

Audio Only: Hey Marseilles' Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 11:56 11:56

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/130516583/130600526" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Sunday October 10, 2010

First Listen: Elton John And Leon Russell, 'The Union'

Elton John and Leon Russell. courtesy of the artists hide caption

toggle caption

courtesy of the artists

First Listen

First Listen: Elton John And Leon Russell, 'The Union'

October 10, 2010 • Elton John has done reverence and irreverence, decadence and schmaltz. But he wears elegance especially well in The Union, his new, album-length collaboration with the man he calls his idol: 68-year-old fellow singer-pianist Leon Russell.

Max S. Gerber

First Listen

First Listen: The Extra Lens, 'Undercard'

October 10, 2010 • It's best to think of Undercard as a Mountain Goats record -- it doesn't fall outside that band's continuum anyway, in terms of sound or overall quality, and both groups share the same voice. Hear Undercard in its entirety here until Oct. 19.

Sunday October 3, 2010

First Listen: Antony And The Johnsons, 'Swanlights'

Antony Hegarty of Antony and the Johnsons. Don Felix Cervantes hide caption

toggle caption

Don Felix Cervantes

First Listen

First Listen: Antony And The Johnsons, 'Swanlights'

October 3, 2010 • Swanlights isn't exactly a beach record, but for Antony Hegarty, it does sound like a rough approximation of feeling good -- or at least a sincere attempt to pursue happiness and growth. Hear Swanlights in its entirety here until Oct. 12.

Sunday September 26, 2010

John Clark

First Listen

First Listen: The Corin Tucker Band, '1,000 Years'

September 26, 2010 • Hear the former (and future) Sleater-Kinney singer's fine new solo album, which sounds surprisingly muted compared to the raging wails of her past, but which nevertheless finds Tucker in a bold and exploratory place. The album will stream here in its entirety until its release on Oct. 5.

Monday September 20, 2010

Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

Tiny Desk

Eef Barzelay Of Clem Snide: Tiny Desk Concert

September 20, 2010 • Barzelay may be the most underrated songwriter in the business today, with a sneakily firm grasp on poignancy and humor, and his live performances convey a kind of awkwardly fidgety fearlessness. Here, he mixes old and new in a charming four-song set at the NPR Music offices.

Audio Only: Eef Barzelay's Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 17:17 17:17

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/129910154/129934024" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday September 15, 2010

Mates Of State: Bathing Tom Waits In The Light Of The Sun

Mates of State's Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel turn Tom Waits' loping "Long Way Home" into a relentlessly sunny anthem. courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

courtesy of the artist

Review

Song Of The Day

Mates Of State: Bathing Tom Waits In The Light Of The Sun

September 15, 2010 • It may be a Tom Waits cover, but there's no mistaking "Long Way Home" for anything but another catchy and ingratiating Mates of State song, sung in praise of a love that's strong enough to weather adversity, adventure and a few detours down side roads.

'Long Way Home' by Mates of State

3:30

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/129883702/129883800" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">