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 June 29, 2018

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Road-Testing The Songs Of Summer

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Jorda Frantzis/Courtesy of the artist

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Road-Testing The Songs Of Summer

June 29, 2018 • NPR Music takes over the show to stump for summertime pop hits by the likes of Cardi B, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, Drake, Hayley Kiyoko and more.

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Road-Testing The Songs Of Summer

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Thursday June 28, 2018

Hear A Never-Before-Heard, Piano-Only Demo Of Guns N' Roses' 'November Rain'

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Ross Haflin/Courtesy of the artist

Hear A Never-Before-Heard, Piano-Only Demo Of Guns N' Roses' 'November Rain'

June 28, 2018 • The 10-minute recording, from a new box set, finds Axl Rose alone at a piano, banging out the bones of what would become one of his biggest hits five years later.

Wednesday June 27, 2018

St. Paul And The Broken Bones Dial It Down For The Dance Floor

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McNair Evans/Courtesy of the artist

St. Paul And The Broken Bones Dial It Down For The Dance Floor

June 27, 2018 • The Alabama soul band teases a forthcoming album with a refreshing and surprisingly restrained slice of sly summer funk.

Dave Matthews performs a Tiny Desk Concert on June 11, 2018 (Samantha Clark/NPR). Samantha Clark/NPR hide caption

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Samantha Clark/NPR

Dave Matthews: Tiny Desk Concert

June 27, 2018 • The star sheds his band for a warm, winning, utterly game, happily overstuffed five-song performance of songs from across his long career.

Thursday June 21, 2018

Ever Get Ghosted? Feel All Your Feelings With Florence + The Machine

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Ever Get Ghosted? Feel All Your Feelings With Florence + The Machine

June 21, 2018 • In "Big God," the new single and video from High As Hope, Florence Welch lends her powerhouse voice to a dramatic treatise on abandonment.

In 'A Story In The Times,' Robin Bacior Digs Her Own Roots

Robin Bacior's new album, Light It Moved Me, comes out August 31. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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In 'A Story In The Times,' Robin Bacior Digs Her Own Roots

June 21, 2018 • Bacior's radiant new song reflects on feelings of rootlessness, alienation and the ways people can form an identity without a single place to shape and define them.

Milk Carton Kids' 'All The Things That I Did...' Captures A Duo In Transition

The Milk Carton Kids' new album, All the Things That I Did and All the Things That I Didn't Do, comes out June 29. Joshua Black Wilkins/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Joshua Black Wilkins/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Milk Carton Kids' 'All The Things That I Did...' Captures A Duo In Transition

June 21, 2018 • The darkness that seeps into the duo's new songs is leavened, as always, by the sun-dappled beauty of two voices, perfectly paired.

Tuesday June 19, 2018

With 'Frostbiter,' Saintseneca Swings Towards Bright, Beautiful New Places

Saintseneca's new album, Pillar of Na, comes out August 19. Nick Fancher/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Nick Fancher/Courtesy of the artist

With 'Frostbiter,' Saintseneca Swings Towards Bright, Beautiful New Places

June 19, 2018 • For Saintseneca, fatalistic gloom blends seamlessly with a kind of playful sprightliness. Hear "Frostbiter," the first single from a forthcoming album called Pillar of Na.

Thursday June 14, 2018

So It's Come To This: Apparently Ryan Adams Is A Weatherman Now

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So It's Come To This: Apparently Ryan Adams Is A Weatherman Now

June 14, 2018 • In exchange for giving Wednesday's forecast on a Denver TV station, the singer-songwriter recorded a new original song, which... fair warning, isn't the best thing Adams has ever written.

Even On 'Passwords,' Dawes Can't Hide Its Big, Bleeding Heart

Dawes' Passwords comes out June 22. Magdalena Wosinska/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Magdalena Wosinska/Courtesy of the artist

Review

Even On 'Passwords,' Dawes Can't Hide Its Big, Bleeding Heart

June 14, 2018 • Dawes returns once again to its greatest specialty: smooth and ingratiating California folk-rock.

Thursday June 7, 2018

Interpol Announce New Album, Share 'The Rover'

Interpol will release Marauder on August 24. Jamie James Medina/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Jamie James Medina/Courtesy of the artist

Interpol Announce New Album, Share 'The Rover'

June 7, 2018 • It's called Marauder, it's out August 24, and the first single is called "The Rover." But if you need to know more, there's also an elaborate media event, available for live-streaming.

Wednesday June 6, 2018

Justin Vernon And Aaron Dessner Have A New Band — And A New Way To Listen

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon has teamed up with Aaron and Bryce Dessner of The National to form a new band (Big Red Machine) and an artists' collective called PEOPLE. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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