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

Saturday February 27, 2010

Frightened Rabbit. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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courtesy of the artist

First Listen

First Listen: Frightened Rabbit

February 27, 2010 • The Scottish band Frightened Rabbit knows what it's like to want to be left alone: Its terrific new album, The Winter of Mixed Drinks, spends a lot of time examining the pursuit of solitude in a world fraught with distraction, obligation, unrequited desire and romantic dysfunction. Hear the album in its entirety until its release on March 9.

Wednesday February 17, 2010

Wistful Workout: You Know What? Forget It

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Sweatin' To NPR: Workout Music

Wistful Workout: You Know What? Forget It

February 17, 2010 • This five-song playlist is for when misery gives way to catatonia, but you don't want to gain so much weight that you're stuck moping around on a Rascal-brand motorized cart. Sure, you may not be able to summon the energy to wipe the Pringle dust off your tattered bathrobe, but there are ways to exercise -- and there's music to exercise to -- for even the most motionless of sufferers.

Sunday February 14, 2010

First Listen

Exclusive First Listen: Clem Snide

February 14, 2010 • The Meat of Life, one of the wry, unpredictable Nashville band's most adult records, is as thought-provoking as it is engagingly catchy. Clem Snide's seventh album will stream at NPR Music in its entirety until its release on Feb. 23.

Sunday February 7, 2010

Shearwater. Amy V. Cooper hide caption

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Amy V. Cooper

First Listen

Exclusive First Listen: Shearwater

February 7, 2010 • Shearwater's delicate, dramatic new album, The Golden Archipelago, wasn't built for earbuds or tinny car stereos: This is immersive, artful music, meant to be examined in-depth from every angle. The album will stream at NPR Music in its entirety for the two weeks leading up to its release on Feb. 23.

Thursday February 4, 2010

Sharon Van Etten: Big Love In Small Moments

courtesy of the artist

Review

Song Of The Day

Sharon Van Etten: Big Love In Small Moments

February 4, 2010 • Sure to be staple of crush-fueled mixtapes for as long as such a thing exists, "Much More Than That" feels contradictory in its very nature: It's a brilliantly expressed look at the way big love can't always be expressed brilliantly.

'Much More Than That' by Sharon Van Etten

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Wednesday February 3, 2010

Frightened Rabbit: When Solitude Is Suicide

As the title of "Swim Until You Can't See Land" suggests, Frightened Rabbit's pursuit of escape bears a whiff of self-destruction. Jannica Honey hide caption

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Jannica Honey

Review

Song Of The Day

Frightened Rabbit: When Solitude Is Suicide

February 3, 2010 • As the title of "Swim Until You Can't See Land" suggests, Frightened Rabbit's pursuit of escape bears a whiff of self-destruction. For every allusion to the demons at his back ("Let's call me a Baptist / Call this the drowning of the past"), a grand chorus is there to hint at a less cleansing fate.

'Swim Until You Can't See Land' by Frightened Rabbit

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Wednesday January 27, 2010

Surly and overstuffed, Los Campesinos!'s "Romance Is Boring" takes an unsurprisingly dim view of domestic bliss. Kim Coulour hide caption

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Kim Coulour

Review

Song Of The Day

Los Campesinos!: Inventive Invective

January 27, 2010 • It's fitting that, when the title track to the Welsh group's new album Romance Is Boring gives way to a guitar solo, it's a fractured, discontented mess — all shards and shrapnel, frayed nerves and raw power. Surly and overstuffed, "Romance Is Boring" takes an unsurprisingly dim view of domestic bliss.

'Romance Is Boring' by Los Campesinos!

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Wednesday January 20, 2010

In "Fish Sticks," The Heligoats' Chris Otepka can barely keep up with the speed of his own ideas. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Song Of The Day

The Heligoats: Brainy In The Best Way

January 20, 2010 • "Fish Sticks" requires multiple listens to pin down its meaning; the song churns so urgently — it's so overstuffed — that it can be hard to parse. At its core, though, it's about a guy who starts a biosphere in a swamp, only to discover that doing so alienates him from both the world he's escaping and the one he's made for himself.

'Fish Sticks' by The Heligoats

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Sunday January 3, 2010

NPR

Tiny Desk

The Mountain Goats: Tiny Desk Concert

January 3, 2010 • In this solo show, John Darnielle's songs fit nearly into distinct categories: new and quiet, new and loud, old and quiet, and old and loud. It's no surprise that all four approaches serve him well.

Tuesday December 29, 2009

All Songs Considered

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

The Best Music Of 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

'American Idol' And The Making Of A Star

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The Decade In Music: '00s

'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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Tiny Desk

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

Tiny Desk

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

courtesy of the artist

Review

Song Of The Day

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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