Still Driving Through Indiana: State Songs May 30, 2006 • Stephen Thompson, a music producer at NPR Digital Media and editor of NPR's Song of the Day, offers the following Midwestern musical recommendations: Between the unimpeachable glory of Wisconsin and the lush Pennsylvania countryside, the scenery is mostly a dire hellscape of tollbooths, traffic jams, construction sites, interchangeable rest stops and the occasional belching smokestack. Fortunately, the industrial Midwest has inspired a handful of amazing companion CDs, which should be required listening for anyone passing through...
Review Song Of The Day A 'Time' for Sweetly Subtle Devastation May 19, 2006 • Even when she was singing in the poppy punk band Tiger Trap, Rose Melberg had a flair for sad, gentle melodies. During a career evolution that's taken her through stints as leader of Go Sailor and the appropriately named Softies, those melodies have only gotten sadder and gentler. 'Take Some Time' by Rose Melberg Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5416530/5416625" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Take Some Time' by Rose Melberg Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5416530/5416625" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Beyond the Grave, a Morbid Tale May 9, 2006 • Unearthed shortly after Johnny Cash's death, a batch of recordings marked "Personal File" turned out to contain an assortment of unreleased songs — including a standout moment in which Cash reads the riveting, darkly funny Robert W. Service poem "The Cremation of Sam McGee." 'The Cremation of Sam McGee' by Johnny Cash Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5391456/5391880" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'The Cremation of Sam McGee' by Johnny Cash Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5391456/5391880" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day The Sad Side of Spring May 3, 2006 • Jolie Holland's fatalistic, woozily paced songs come with a body count, but she rarely spares herself: She often sings about doomed lovers, and she ranks topmost among the damned. In its own way, however, "Springtime Can Kill You" qualifies as an inspirational anthem. 'Springtime Can Kill You' by Jolie Holland Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5377132/5377885" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Springtime Can Kill You' by Jolie Holland Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5377132/5377885" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Places Have Feelings, Too April 24, 2006 • Tom Brosseau understands the sentimental pull of places — the way a building or a town can come to life in memories as vividly as loved ones do. He often sings about home as more than a bricks-and-mortar construct: It lives, breathes, feels, and dies. 'Everybody Knows Empty Houses Are Lonely' by Tom Brosseau Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5356901/5356935" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Everybody Knows Empty Houses Are Lonely' by Tom Brosseau Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5356901/5356935" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Power-Pop 'Oxygen' for a Spring Day April 14, 2006 • Maritime has a sweetly buzzing collection of ingratiating power-pop. Springtime anthems don't get much catchier than "Tearing Up the Oxygen," a wonderfully sunny gem propelled by bleeping synths and "ah-ah" choruses. 'Tearing Up the Oxygen' by Maritime Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5341542/5341685" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Tearing Up the Oxygen' by Maritime Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5341542/5341685" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Remaking a Mix-Tape Staple April 11, 2006 • Rhett Miller, the charismatic frontman for alt-country favorites Old 97's, has just released arguably his most commercially accessible disc, The Believer. "Question" closes the album with a sweet slice-of-life sketch detailing a marriage proposal. 'Question' by Rhett Miller Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5335621/5335631" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Question' by Rhett Miller Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5335621/5335631" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day A Ghostly Voice That Swoops and Swoons April 3, 2006 • Even by the band's own standards of ornate beauty, "Hurry Home Dark Cloud" sounds especially striking. Singer Darren Richard's voice swoops and swoons elegantly, even operatically, making it the key instrument in a mix rife with strings, organs, and bells. 'Hurry Home' by Pinetop Seven Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5318618/5312579" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Hurry Home' by Pinetop Seven Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5318618/5312579" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day John Fahey Gets a Reverent 'Transfiguration' March 27, 2006 • The mostly instrumental "Variation on 'Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Park'" appears on I Am the Resurrection: A Tribute to John Fahey, a set that also features such Stevens contemporaries as Devendra Banhart, M. Ward, Calexico, and Grandaddy. "Variation on 'Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Park'" by Sufjan Stevens Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5303272/5303311" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
"Variation on 'Commemorative Transfiguration & Communion at Magruder Park'" by Sufjan Stevens Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5303272/5303311" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Rilo Kiley's Singer Steps Out With a Wilbury Twist March 17, 2006 • Jenny Lewis traffics in spiky pop and sad country music as leader of Rilo Kiley, and she left a memorable impression as a backing vocalist on "Give Up," the hit debut of electronic duo The Postal Service. Both bands showcase Lewis's flair for bold but relatable confessionals. 'Handle With Care' by Jenny Lewis Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5285298/5285301" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Handle With Care' by Jenny Lewis Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5285298/5285301" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Power-Pop Reveals Its Beating Heart March 10, 2006 • A great power-pop song offers innumerable rewards: a memorable melody, an adrenaline rush, a way to make a spring day sing. "It Isn't Easy To Live That Well" by Headlights conjures minor-key melancholy on its path to pop bliss. 'It Isn't Easy To Live That Well' by Headlights Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5254726/5255528" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'It Isn't Easy To Live That Well' by Headlights Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5254726/5255528" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Tasting 'Bitter Honey,' Tongue in Cheek March 6, 2006 • Eef Barzelay knows how to mix humor and heartbreak. As leader of the band Clem Snide, he's sung from the perspective of folk-pop lightweight Jewel and conspiracy theorist David Icke, and he's concocted cello-tinged odes to the music of Nick Drake. Hear 'The Ballad of Bitter Honey' by Eef Barzelay Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5240525/5247201" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Hear 'The Ballad of Bitter Honey' by Eef Barzelay Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5240525/5247201" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
