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 February 26, 2016

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Our 2016 Oscars Preview

Leonardo DiCaprio is considered a frontrunner for an Oscar for his lead role in The Revenant. Kimberley French/Regency Entertainment/20th Century Fox hide caption

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Kimberley French/Regency Entertainment/20th Century Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Our 2016 Oscars Preview

February 26, 2016 • It's time once again for our annual Oscars Omnibus: a roundup of every Best Picture nominee, many notable performances, and the movies we'd have nominated to improve the awards' diversity.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Our 2016 Oscars Preview

Listen · 54:49 54:49

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Tuesday February 16, 2016

For 20 Minutes, The Grammys Transcend The Awards-Show Blahs

Kendrick Lamar performs "The Blacker The Berry" at the 2016 Grammy Awards, held Monday night. Larry Busacca/Getty Images hide caption

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Larry Busacca/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

For 20 Minutes, The Grammys Transcend The Awards-Show Blahs

February 16, 2016 • The awards themselves went more or less as expected. But two performances, one from Broadway's Hamilton and one an extended medley by Kendrick Lamar, overwhelmed everything that surrounded them.

For 20 Minutes, The Grammys Transcend The Awards-Show Blahs

Listen · 13:08 13:08

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Monday February 1, 2016

Palehound performs at NPR's 2015 CMJ Showcase, which took place at (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City on Oct 14, 2015. Loren Wohl for NPR hide caption

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Loren Wohl for NPR

Front Row

Palehound, Live In Concert

February 1, 2016 • Watch a full set by Ellen Kempner's band, which marries rock muscle to bedroom folk's wiry vulnerability.

A still from Leon Bridges' "River." hide caption

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All Songs TV

First Watch: Leon Bridges, 'River'

February 1, 2016 • The young star's music hearkens back to the soul of old, but his new video draws on current events.

Friday January 29, 2016

Pop Culture Happy Hour: In Conversation With Fred Armisen And 'Welcome To Night Vale'

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Charles Sykes//Invision/AP

Pop Culture Happy Hour

Pop Culture Happy Hour: In Conversation With Fred Armisen And 'Welcome To Night Vale'

January 29, 2016 • The gang's been snowed in, but there's still a new episode of the show, thanks to Linda Holmes' onstage discussions — one with Armisen and one with Night Vale creators Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: In Conversation With Fred Armisen And 'Welcome To Night Vale'

Listen · 39:55 39:55

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Thursday January 28, 2016

Many of us fell in love with Little Simz's music while prepping for SXSW 2015. We're looking for more discoveries this time around. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Playing SXSW 2016? Send Us Your Songs

January 28, 2016 • The festival doesn't start for nearly two months, but the NPR Music team is already preparing.

Wednesday January 27, 2016

Review: Elliott Smith, 'Heaven Adores You'

The soundtrack to Heaven Adores You, featuring music by Elliott Smith, comes out Feb. 5. Courtesy of Universal Music Group hide caption

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Courtesy of Universal Music Group

First Listen

Review: Elliott Smith, 'Heaven Adores You'

January 27, 2016 • The soundtrack to a new documentary inventories the periphery of the late singer's catalog: unheard early recordings, instrumentals, collaborations, live appearances and other illuminating footnotes.

Wednesday January 20, 2016

Walter Martin's new album, Arts & Leisure, comes out Jan. 29. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

First Listen

Review: Walter Martin, 'Arts & Leisure'

January 20, 2016 • The former Walkmen multi-instrumentalist has made a solo album marked by its playful, loosely ambling, front-porch friendliness.

The Giant Foam Finger: How Do You Choose Your Favorite Team?

If you rooted for Washington's NFL team because of Robert Griffin III, you'll almost certainly root for a new team this fall. Ezra Shaw/Getty Images hide caption

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Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Pop Culture Happy Hour

The Giant Foam Finger: How Do You Choose Your Favorite Team?

January 20, 2016 • Sometimes, sports fandom comes naturally: We grew up immersed in it, or we get swept up in local fervor. But there's more than one way to become a fan.

The Giant Foam Finger: How Do You Choose Your Favorite Team?

Listen · 11:48 11:48

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Jeremy M. Lange/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Song Premiere: Eric Bachmann, 'Mercy'

January 20, 2016 • Reinventing himself once more, the former frontman of Archers Of Loaf and Crooked Fingers makes a clean break from his past.

Wednesday January 13, 2016

Review: Shearwater, 'Jet Plane And Oxbow'

Shearwater's new album, Jet Plane And Oxbow, comes out Jan. 22. Sarah Cass/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Sarah Cass/Courtesy of the artist

Review

First Listen

Review: Shearwater, 'Jet Plane And Oxbow'

January 13, 2016 • Jonathan Meiburg sounds as focused and intense as ever on his band's ninth album, which is full of rock songs that churn and clatter with force, invention and mystery.

Songs We Love: Jeff Buckley, 'Just Like A Woman'

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The Estate of David Gahr/Getty Images

Songs We Love

Songs We Love: Jeff Buckley, 'Just Like A Woman'

January 13, 2016 • Recorded in early 1993, Buckley's Bob Dylan cover rambles swoonily for six and a half minutes, capturing both a gift for interpretation and a willingness to let songs unfurl slowly and delicately.

Songs We Love: Jeff Buckley, 'Just Like A Woman'

6:27

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Wednesday January 6, 2016

Song Premiere: Chris Bathgate, 'Calvary'

Chris Bathgate's new EP, Old Factory, comes out Feb. 5. Doug Coombe/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Doug Coombe/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Song Premiere: Chris Bathgate, 'Calvary'

January 6, 2016 • Hear the Michigan singer-songwriter's first new song in five years, from an EP called Old Factory.

Calvary

3:52

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