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Music Features

Tuesday

Viking's Choice: The year in catharsis and calm

Castle Rat's fantasy-themed heavy metal is featured on the 2024 edition of Viking's Choice. Courtney B Hall/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtney B Hall/Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Viking's Choice: The year in catharsis and calm

NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich turns us on to lesser known corners of music from 2024: blooming drone-folk, richly textured jazz, Somali garage-rock, medieval metal and a bittersweet farewell from a beloved Athens psych-pop band. You can find more adventurous music and mixtapes via Lars' newsletter, vikingschoice.org.

Viking's Choice: The year in catharsis and calm

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Tuesday

What makes a holiday song a lasting hit?

In this handout photo provided by Disney, Grammy Award-winning singer Mariah Carey waves to the crowd while taping the "Disney Parks Christmas Day Parade" TV special at the Magic Kingdom on December 3, 2010 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Carey's "All I Want For Christmas is You" is a holiday favorite. Handout/Getty Images hide caption

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Handout/Getty Images

Consider This from NPR

What makes a holiday song a lasting hit?

Whether you play it on loop or whether it drives you crazy, there's no question Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas is You," song has become a permanent fixture of the Christmas song canon.

What makes a holiday song a lasting hit?

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Songs that hit hard in 2024

The Madi Diaz song "God Person" is just one of the tracks that hit us hard in 2024. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

All Songs Considered

Songs that hit hard in 2024

We asked listeners to tell us about the one song they couldn't stop listening to in 2024 because of how it made them feel. On this episode we share some of their picks and the stories behind them.

Songs that hit hard in 2024

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Monday

Dan Nigro poses for a portrait in Culver City, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2024.

Dan Nigro poses for a portrait in Culver City, Calif., on Dec. 16, 2024. Grace Widyatmadja/NPR hide caption

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Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

Music

How Chappell Roan's producer Dan Nigro crafts pop hits for a new generation

Working with artists like Chappell Roan and Olivia Rodrigo to distill their personalities and voices into distinctive and personal songs, Nigro has established himself as a producer adept at making pop hits for a new generation.

How Chappell Roan’s producer Dan Nigro crafts pop hits for a new generation

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UNITED KINGDOM - JANUARY 01: WEMBLEY ARENA Photo of Kris KRISTOFFERSON (Photo by David Redfern/Redferns)
David Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images

Music

In Memoriam 2024: The Musicians We Lost

It takes a village to make the music we love. We remember the singers, songwriters, composers, instrumentalists, producers and journalists that we lost in 2024.

We hear the sounds of musicians who died in 2024

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Rosé, a member of the Korean girl group BLACKPINK, made her full-length solo debut this fall with rosie, an English-language album led by the Bruno Mars collab "APT."

Rosé, a member of the Korean girl group BLACKPINK, made her full-length solo debut this fall with rosie, an English-language album led by the Bruno Mars collab "APT." John V. Esparza/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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John V. Esparza/Courtesy of the artist

Best Music of 2024

K-pop's uncertain English-language future

Cultural differences are a key charm of Korea's exploding pop market. When its stars start directly courting American listeners, is it even K-pop anymore?

Tuesday

A very tolerable Christmas, with All Songs Considered 2024
GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images

All Songs Considered

A very tolerable Christmas, with All Songs Considered 2024

Our annual attempt to throw a holiday party for the ages continues with a tolerable mix of songs for the season and, as always, some very special guests.

A very tolerable Christmas, with All Songs Considered 2024

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Saturday

Glenn Miller wearing an American military uniform.

Glenn Miller wearing an American military uniform. D. Hess/Getty Images/Hulton Archive hide caption

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D. Hess/Getty Images/Hulton Archive

Moments in history

80 years later, Glenn Miller's sudden disappearance remains unsolved

Glenn Miller was the swing era's biggest star. Then, he vanished without a trace.

80 years later, Glenn Miller's sudden disappearance remains unsolved

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Thursday

On social media, content creators and internet sleuths have attempted to piece together a narrative of violence and exploitation that often values hearsay and conspiracy over reported information, all while framing themselves as the keepers of a truth that traditional media refuses to report on.

On social media, content creators and internet sleuths have attempted to piece together a narrative of violence and exploitation that often values hearsay and conspiracy over reported information, all while framing themselves as the keepers of a truth that traditional media refuses to report on. Jackie Lay/NPR hide caption

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Jackie Lay/NPR

What exactly is driving the conspiracy theories about Sean 'Diddy' Combs?

A growing list of lawsuits, shadowy figures, a splintered media environment and prejudice toward hip-hop make Diddy's downfall the "perfect storm."

Saxophonist Devin Daniels and trumpeter Julien Knowles distinguished themselves on breakthrough releases this year — Daniels on the star-making LesGo! and Knowles on his solo debut, As Many, As One, each of which features the other as a band member.

Saxophonist Devin Daniels and trumpeter Julien Knowles distinguished themselves on breakthrough releases this year — Daniels on the star-making LesGo! and Knowles on his solo debut, As Many, As One, each of which features the other as a band member. Craig Allyn hide caption

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Craig Allyn

Best Music of 2024

The Essential Jazz Discoveries of 2024

This year's unmissable jazz releases came in two flavors: breakthrough releases by driven young newcomers, and a heap of unearthed treasures from the vault.

Tuesday

The Bullseye Holiday Special with Jennifer Hudson, Judy Greer and more!

Jennifer Hudson at Maximum Fun Daniel Huecias hide caption

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Daniel Huecias

Bullseye with Jesse Thorn

The Bullseye Holiday Special with Jennifer Hudson, Judy Greer and more!

We're celebrating the holidays this week in a big, exciting way. It's the Bullseye Holiday Special! We've got Jennifer Hudson, Judy Greer, Zach Cherry, Tower of Power and Jesse's mom! So much holiday cheer it'll make you flip out.

The Bullseye Holiday Special with Jennifer Hudson, Judy Greer and more!

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Monday

Jon Batiste

Jon Batiste re-imagines Beethoven compositions in his new album Beethoven Blues. He's shown above in the 2023 documentary American Symphony. Netflix hide caption

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Netflix

Music Interviews

Jon Batiste finds the Blues in Beethoven

Fresh Air

Batiste re-imagines Beethoven compositions in his new album. It's "not that the original wasn't great and transcendent..." he says. "But there's also a lot of things since then that have happened."

In 'Beethoven Blues,' Jon Batiste reimagines classical compositions

Listen · 43:06
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The 10 Best Classical Albums of 2024

The album Revolución Diamantina, with Gustavo Dudamel conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic, is devoted to the music of Mexican composer Gabriela Ortiz. Cover art by Raul Urias/Platoon hide caption

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Cover art by Raul Urias/Platoon

Review

Best Music of 2024

The 10 Best Classical Albums of 2024

Discover a wide range of this year's most compelling classical music, from symphonic thrill rides and soaring voices to delicate baroque suites, ambient adventures and one groove-laden masterwork.