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

Friday December 30, 2016

Songs We Love: Silver Torches, 'Woman In Rust'

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Songs We Love

Songs We Love: Silver Torches, 'Woman In Rust'

December 30, 2016 • Erik Walters' song builds and builds, piling on pleasing ingredients (churning guitars here, a nice little piano melody there) en route to one grand chorus.

Monday December 19, 2016

Low's 'Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)' Feels Like An Actual Gift

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Zoran Orlic/Courtesy of the artist

Songs We Love

Low's 'Some Hearts (At Christmas Time)' Feels Like An Actual Gift

December 19, 2016 • With its buzzy loops, clean guitar lines and a soaring Mimi Parker vocal, the band's exquisite new holiday song feels, appropriately enough, like an actual gift.

Thursday December 8, 2016

Watch Jack White Perform 'The Rose With The Broken Neck'

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All Songs Considered

Watch Jack White Perform 'The Rose With The Broken Neck'

December 8, 2016 • White originally co-wrote and sang the song for a 2011 album by Danger Mouse and Daniele Luppi. Here, he plays a live acoustic version and discusses his role in its creation.

Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2016

Bon Iver's 22, A Million is Stephen Thompson's favorite album of 2016. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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All Songs Considered

Stephen Thompson's Top 10 Albums Of 2016

December 8, 2016 • If one defining thread ran through 2016's best albums, it was an air of mystery: a sense of myth, otherworldliness, storytelling ambition or multimedia wizardry.

Tuesday December 6, 2016

Grammy Nominations Pit Beyoncé Against Adele

Beyoncé performs onstage during "The Formation World Tour" at Levi's Stadium on Sept. 17 in Santa Clara, California. Kevin Mazur/WireImage hide caption

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All Songs Considered

Grammy Nominations Pit Beyoncé Against Adele

December 6, 2016 • The two will face off for Album Of The Year, along with Drake, Justin Bieber and Sturgill Simpson. Other top nominees include Rihanna, Kanye West and Chance The Rapper.

Thursday December 1, 2016

Review: Maria Taylor, 'In The Next Life'

Maria Taylor's new album, In The Next Life, comes out Dec. 9. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

First Listen

Review: Maria Taylor, 'In The Next Life'

December 1, 2016 • The Azure Ray singer fills her warm, reflective new album with gorgeous, touching songs about family, legacy and the pursuit of contentment.

Wednesday November 16, 2016

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Songs We Love

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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Pop Culture Happy Hour

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

First Listen

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

First Listen

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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Pop Culture Happy Hour

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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