Review Song Of The Day Minus the Bear Finds Humanity in 'Alien' May 30, 2008 • Minus the Bear's mystifyingly titled "I'm Totally Not Down with Rob's Alien," from the newly remastered and reissued 2004 EP They Make Beer Commercials Like This, houses a gorgeous, warmly rendered reflection on alienation and the bliss of youthful solitude. 'I'm Totally Not Down with Rob's Alien' by Minus the Bear Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90987926/90988167" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'I'm Totally Not Down with Rob's Alien' by Minus the Bear Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90987926/90988167" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Ghostly and Ethereal, Bon Iver Finds Catharsis May 28, 2008 • As dark as it gets, "Skinny Love," with its unforgettable steel-guitar hook, is too gorgeous to function as a true downer. Shout-along fodder for melancholy late-night drives, it announces Bon Iver as a budding powerhouse, not so much promising as fully formed. 'Skinny Love' by Bon Iver Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18331318/18164282" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Skinny Love' by Bon Iver Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/18331318/18164282" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Shearwater's 'Rooks' a Chiming Pop Charmer May 23, 2008 • The band's new album is dark and graceful, intermittently rocking, and uniformly excellent, making it an ideal showpiece for a band five albums into its career, yet still largely unknown on a grand scale. Best of all is the sort-of title track "Rooks." 'Rooks' by Shearwater Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90740088/90742250" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Rooks' by Shearwater Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/90740088/90742250" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Nada Surf: Five Minutes of Feeling Good May 22, 2008 • Nada Surf singer Matthew Caws has one of the kindest voices in rock, but "See These Bones" finds the band opting to dispense its feel-goodery through a heart-swelling arrangement that builds power as it progresses through five glorious minutes. 'See These Bones' by Nada Surf Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/17988379/17973892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'See These Bones' by Nada Surf Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/17988379/17973892" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Review Song Of The Day Kate Walsh: Swooning Devotion in 'Your Song' April 22, 2008 • Walsh finds the loveliest possible melodies in "Your Song" ("I'm stuck on a boy who fills me with joy"), strolling right up to the line between innocent and cloying without winding up on the wrong side of it. Throughout the song, Walsh's vocal aches with the weight of the highest possible stakes. 'Your Song' by Kate Walsh Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89834846/89834595" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Your Song' by Kate Walsh Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89834846/89834595" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
SXSW Music Festival SXSW: Where the Strange and Soothing Collide March 17, 2008 • Last week, 1,700 bands converged on Austin, Texas, for the annual South by Southwest music festival. From a Chinese woman who sings AC/DC covers to a singer whose songs are like foot rubs at the end of a long night out, the music brought out power and beauty in unexpected places. SXSW: Where the Strange and Soothing Collide Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88362941/88382438" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
SXSW: Where the Strange and Soothing Collide Listen Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88362941/88382438" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
All Songs Considered Hear What I Hear March 16, 2008 • My mischievous old laptop picked SXSW as the time to commence its long-anticipated death rattle. And, as if faced with the imminent passing of a wealthy relative, I'm both crestfallen over the looming loss and hoping against hope that it leaves me...
All Songs Considered Straining to be Heard March 16, 2008 • From now on, if I want to see a understated and under-promoted singer-songwriter perform at SXSW, I'm going to record that person playing in an alley and post it to the site. I just saw two of my favorite young singer-songwriters in separate conce...
All Songs Considered Scoop! March 14, 2008 • I ran into Carrie at the Spin party this afternoon — where lots of fans skipped the headliner, X, once
All Songs Considered Unleash the Blogging Beast! March 14, 2008 • I'm typing this from the party WXPN is hosting with Paste magazine, Stereogum, and the usual gaggle of energy drinks and technology concerns. I'm enjoying the music of
All Songs Considered Adventures in Public Speaking March 14, 2008 • In my years at NPR, I've been called on to read essays on Morning Edition, speak extemporaneously in
Review Song Of The Day Sera Cahoone Gives a Slow-Moving Pep Talk March 14, 2008 • Cahoone has been playing warm, easygoing, country-tinged roots music ever since shedding her role as Band of Horses' drummer a few years ago. In that time, she's come to suit a specific mood to perfection: Her songs are about comforting the weary — acknowledging exhaustion while offering reassurance. 'You're Not Broken' by Sera Cahoone Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88081581/88050696" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'You're Not Broken' by Sera Cahoone Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88081581/88050696" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
All Songs Considered Of Shearwater and Stains March 13, 2008 • If I'm asked to name the best shows I saw at SXSW in 2008, I'll rattle off the URLs for NPR Music's streams, because those shows are great and I'm nothing if not a craven self
Review Song Of The Day Casey's 'Fear' as Universal as Fear Itself March 13, 2008 • Paddy Casey may lay out a grim recitation of society's ills in "Fear," but he wisely keeps hope at the forefront of the mix, rooting his fears in parental love and letting a whiz-bang arrangement bury the dark subject matter in bright strumming and zinging synths. 'Fear' by Paddy Casey Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88081105/88050697" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
'Fear' by Paddy Casey Toggle more options Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88081105/88050697" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
All Songs Considered SXSW by Day March 12, 2008 • As the NPR Music brain trust prepares for the big R.E.M. showcase tonight, I actually got the opportunity to sneak off and take in some of SXSW's daytime shows. Beats working in the mines, I'll say that much. Here are a few highlights:
