Accessibility links
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.
Washington, DC - May 03, 2016: Stephen Thompson CREDIT: Matt Roth
Stories By

Stephen Thompson

Monday

Song Of The Day

Fountains of Wayne: Long-Distance Dedication

With its detailed look at the pop-cultural detritus in a miserable late-night rest stop, "I-95" first appears to be just another Fountains of Wayne-ian look at someone's mundane, loveless existence. But as it unfolds, the song takes on a sincere sweetness that the band wears well.

'I-95' by Fountains of Wayne

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9136191/9136259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Tuesday

Music

Wedding Day Blues: Finding the Perfect Mix CD

Countless music fans have attempted to craft the perfect mix CD — just the thing to put a soundtrack on special occasions. But an hour of love-themed dinner music for a wedding reception isn't as easy to assemble as it may seem.

Wedding Day Blues: Finding the Perfect Mix CD

Listen
Transcript
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11157882/11160269" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Friday

Review

Song Of The Day

Travis: The Once and Future 'It' Band Returns

The Boy with No Name is a sparkling surprise, as the Scottish pop band Travis returns with a sharp batch of winning pop songs. Best of all is "Selfish Jean," on which singer Fran Healy disparages an ex-lover over a chiming, instantly memorable guitar hook.

'Selfish Jean' by Travis

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/11092387/11092565" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Friday

Review

Song Of The Day

An Ageless Beauty Gets a Timeless Remake

The Most Serene Republic does a terrific job reinventing Stars' fizzy pop gem "Ageless Beauty" without discarding Amy Millan's candy-sweet vocal track. Replacing the original's propulsive power-pop arrangement with a rustically chugging lope, the remix clatters along charmingly.

'Ageless Beauty (The Most Serene Republic Remix)' by Stars

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10858461/10859215" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

A Song for Shimmying Joyfully

Virtually every track on Feist's The Reminder hits its mark. That's especially true when she's crafting gloriously propulsive, mid-tempo mini-anthems like "I Feel It All," a song that seems to explode out of at least three different musical eras at once.

'I Feel It All' by Feist

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10097824/10097837" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

Great Lake Swimmers' Sweet, Wistful Travelogue

Great Lake Swimmers hasn't abandoned its short but grand tradition of marrying sweetness and sorrow: Whether examining someone's tortured psyche or traversing the mountains and lakes of "Your Rocky Spine," it's unafraid to explore forbidden and forbidding terrain.

'Your Rocky Spine' by Great Lake Swimmers

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/10012574/10012862" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Pop and Soul, with a Ghostly Moan

James Morrison's Undiscovered made him a star in his native U.K. last summer, and the disc's release here portends similarly big things: Mixing the smoky soul of Terence Trent D'Arby with the catchy crooning of James Blunt, the 22-year-old is nothing if not commercially viable.

'The Pieces Don't Fit Anymore' by James Morrison

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9949995/9950120" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

Scottish and Surly, The Twilight Sad Gets Apoplectic

A Glaswegian rock band that punctuates its guitar-fueled rock blasts with moody interludes and bits of esoteric instrumentation, The Twilight Sad makes epic songs that sound both punishing and pretty. Singer James Graham paints a vague but distinct portrait of alienation.

'That Summer, At Home I Had Become the Invisible Boy' by The Twilight Sad

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9724729/9724966" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Seeking Respite from Love That Feels Like War

Michael Penn seemed like a budding superstar in 1989, but he's never fully capitalized on his early momentum. His commercially under-appreciated 2005 album Mr. Hollywood Jr., 1947, led by "Walter Reed," just received a deluxe reissue treatment.

'Walter Reed' by Michael Penn

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9624317/9624344" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday

Review

Song Of The Day

A Rock Sleeper Makes Guitars the Star

Idlewild's Make Another World pairs dark lyrics with brightly blustering, timeless rock arrangements. "In Competition for the Worst Time" opens the disc on the exact right note, declaring its presence with welcome walls of grinding guitars that serve as an ideal tone-setter.

'In Competition for the Worst Time' by Idlewild

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9527798/9527910" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

An Air of Portent That Borders on Menace

Propelled by clicks, pings and a ghostly backing vocal, "Belarus" is a characteristically oblique Low song: It's built on phrases that set the scene without making a meaning clear, and it draws its power from an arrangement that's both understated and overpowering.

'Belarus' by Low

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9278675/9278738" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Wednesday

Review

Song Of The Day

Finding Comfort in Feeling Trapped

Dolorean's You Can't Win wallows in the dark corners of singer Al James' psyche, but "Just Don't Leave Town" raises the discourse from miserablism to ambivalence. After a bit of downbeat self-analysis, James perks up as he hits a brightly shuffling, bittersweet chorus.

'Just Don't Leave Town' by Dolorean

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/9018532/9018905" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Friday

Review

Song Of The Day

Grim Ingredients Form a Winsome, Pretty Package

Some songs have all the hallmarks of bleak dirges, but an overall effect that seems strangely uplifting. Witness Winterpills' "Handkerchiefs," which gathers steam and snappiness as it progresses, morphing into an agreeably ambling pop number.

'Handkerchiefs' by Winterpills

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7779359/7779500" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Monday

Review

Song Of The Day

When a Verse and a Chorus Are Just Right

The Faintest Ideas' charming "You're Beautiful" barely bothers to exceed a full minute: Its 67 seconds barely dent the listener's psyche before they're over. But they're 67 glorious seconds, complete with 45 seconds of shambling and scene-setting that give way to a simple chorus.

'You're Beautiful' by The Faintest Ideas

  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/7697178/7697281" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Thursday