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 July 23, 2010

Stephen Thompson's collection of long-neglected Prince CDs -- and, yes, The Scandalous Sex Suite is in there. Lindsay Sanchez/NPR hide caption

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Lindsay Sanchez/NPR

All Songs Considered

Owned And Abandoned, Bought And Ignored

July 23, 2010 • What recording artist has put out the most CDs you own but never listen to? Ideally, you'd have a large collection of titles without having listened to any of them in at least, say, two years.

Monday July 5, 2010

May-Ying Lam/NPR

Tiny Desk

Los Campesinos!: Tiny Desk Concert

July 5, 2010 • While there's no nudity or violence in this performance by the whip-smart U.K. band, the group's bawdy, often sexually suggestive lyrics make this the closest we've come to a NSFW Tiny Desk Concert.

Audio Only: Los Campesinos! Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 13:24 13:24

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Tuesday June 22, 2010

Mito Habe-Evans/NPR

Tiny Desk

'Weird Al' Yankovic: Tiny Desk Concert

June 22, 2010 • Even after 12 million albums sold in more than three decades, Yankovic and his band still hadn't played their first Tiny Desk Concert until just now.

Audio Only: 'Weird Al' Yankovic's Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 12:34 12:34

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Friday June 18, 2010

Suzanne Vega: Reintroduction And Rediscovery

Suzanne Vega is reinventing much of her catalog as stripped-down folk music. With 1987's "Gypsy," it's an easy task. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Song Of The Day

Suzanne Vega: Reintroduction And Rediscovery

June 18, 2010 • Vega is releasing an ambitious series of recordings in which she remakes her past work as voice-and-guitar folk music. With 1987's gentle, stripped-down ballad "Gypsy," that's not such a difficult task.

'Gypsy' by Suzanne Vega

4:09

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Tuesday June 15, 2010

Nada Surf: A Jolt Of Life-Affirming Energy

Bill Fox's "Electrocution" is, in every way, a perfect fit for Nada Surf's sensibility and philosophy. Peter Ellenby hide caption

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Peter Ellenby

Song Of The Day

Nada Surf: A Jolt Of Life-Affirming Energy

June 15, 2010 • "Electrocution" is, in every way, a perfect fit for Nada Surf's sensibility and philosophy; the electrocution referenced in the title is a stand-in for any old jolt of life-affirming energy. Fox's thoughtful words could just as easily come from Caws himself ("All that is beautiful / All that is needs to die"), as Nada Surf pays tribute to both a key influence and the idea that feeling alive is as important as being alive.

'Electrocution' by Nada Surf

3:15

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Sunday June 13, 2010

Stars. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen

First Listen: Stars, 'The Five Ghosts'

June 13, 2010 • The Montreal band's fifth album spends a good deal of time on the idea of being haunted. It works on multiple levels -- as ebullient pop music and as frank, dark-hearted analysis of the way the past never stops creeping into life in the present day. Hear The Five Ghosts in its entirety here until its June 22 release.

Thursday June 10, 2010

In the briskly charming "Denise," Clem Snide singer Eef Barzelay (left) stays on the sweet side, even as his affection meanders into obsession. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Song Of The Day

Clem Snide: Sneaking Sideways Glances

June 10, 2010 • In "Denise," a briskly charming mid-tempo love song from Clem Snide's recent seventh album The Meat of Life, Barzelay stays on the sweet side ("What we have is more than good / It seems to shine a light behind my eyes"), even as his affection meanders into obsession.

'Denise' by Clem Snide

3:28

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Sunday June 6, 2010

First Listen: The Gaslight Anthem, 'American Slang'

American Slang centers around the fleeting nature of youth. Ashley Maile hide caption

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Ashley Maile

First Listen

First Listen: The Gaslight Anthem, 'American Slang'

June 6, 2010 • The New Jersey band makes music for car stereos, plain and simple. Its timeless, barreling rock 'n' roll anthems are all about conflating familiar subject matter with disarmingly wise observations on life and death. Beneath the big, galloping fun of American Slang lies a unifying theme about the fleeting nature of youth. Hear the album in its entirety until its release on June 15.

Friday June 4, 2010

Live From Bonnaroo

Relive The Festival. Listen To Our Collection Of Shows.

June 4, 2010 • The NPR Music crew hosted more than 40 performances at the Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, held annually in Manchester, Tenn. Our webcast included sets by Dave Matthews Band, The Flaming Lips, Norah Jones and many more - and you can hear all of them right now. Take a stroll through our archives below.

Thursday June 3, 2010

Stars: Of Haunted Spirits And 'Dead Hearts'

Stars' "Dead Hearts" explores the idea that our past pain shades and stains everything we see and do. Norman Wong hide caption

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Norman Wong

Review

Song Of The Day

Stars: Of Haunted Spirits And 'Dead Hearts'

June 3, 2010 • In spite of its air of mystery and tentative forays beyond the grave, "Dead Hearts" stays rooted in an idea Stars fans understand well: that our past pain can never be extinguished altogether; that it shades and stains everything we see and do.

'Dead Hearts' by Stars

3:32

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Tuesday June 1, 2010

May-Ying Lam/NPR

Tiny Desk

Roger McGuinn With Amy Tan, Dave Barry And More: Authors At The Tiny Desk

June 1, 2010 • Authors Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson, Scott Turow, Amy Tan, Roy Blount Jr., Kathy Kamen Goldmark and Sam Barry didn't bring any instruments to their performance at Bob Boilen's desk.

Audio Only: The Rock Bottom Remainders' Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 6:04 6:04

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Tuesday May 25, 2010

'American Idol' Talking Points: Boredom, Judging, And Selling Your Organs

Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze will battle it out this week for the American Idol crown. Mark Davis/Fox hide caption

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Mark Davis/Fox

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'American Idol' Talking Points: Boredom, Judging, And Selling Your Organs

May 25, 2010 • We're almost to the end of American Idol, so we look once more at the contestants that are, the ones that were, and the ones that we only sort of remember might have been.

Tuesday May 18, 2010

Laura Gibson And Ethan Rose: Ethereal And Unpredictable

The overall effect of Laura Gibson and Ethan Rose's "Younger" is akin to being let in on someone's gauzily lovely dream. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

Song Of The Day

Laura Gibson And Ethan Rose: Ethereal And Unpredictable

May 18, 2010 • Pretty and engaging, "Younger" is nearly seven minutes of loose, improvisational, drawn-out wistfulness; the overall effect is akin to being let in on someone's gauzily lovely dream. Ruminating sweetly on flight, youth, fantasy, horses and wordless conversations, Gibson pines vaguely against a soothing instrumental backdrop.

'Younger' by Laura Gibson and Ethan Rose

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May-Ying Lam/NPR

Tiny Desk

Phoenix: Tiny Desk Concert

May 18, 2010 • The band's instantly recognizable hits such as "1901" and "Lisztomania" were stripped down and reassembled as sweetly shambling acoustic numbers.

Audio Only: Phoenix's Tiny Desk Concert

Listen · 11:01 11:01

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Sunday May 16, 2010

First Listen: Bettye LaVette, 'Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook'

Bettye LaVette. Carol Friedman hide caption

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Carol Friedman

First Listen

First Listen: Bettye LaVette, 'Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook'

May 16, 2010 • A late-blooming belter with an eternal and authoritative voice, LaVette is unafraid to reinvent classic songs that might have otherwise seemed untouchable. Interpretations: The British Rock Songbook will stream here in its entirety until its release on May 25.