First Listen : NPR

First Listen: Bruce Springsteen Revisits 'Darkness' With 'The Promise'

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Frank Stefanko

First Listen: Bruce Springsteen Revisits 'Darkness' With 'The Promise'

October 31, 2010 • The Promise, subtitled The Lost Sessions: Darkness on the Edge of Town, is not the usual odds-and-ends reissue package. It pieces together a classic album that could have been made during the fruitful period after Bruce Springsteen's seminal Born to Run. Hear 15 select tracks until Nov. 16.

First Listen: Cee Lo Green, 'The Lady Killer'

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First Listen: Cee Lo Green, 'The Lady Killer'

October 31, 2010 • Cee Lo returns with a solo album starring a new character, The Lady Killer. The first single from the record, "F--- You," was a huge viral hit over the summer, and now you can stream the entire record until its release on Nov. 9.

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Josh Sisk

Review: Salome, 'Terminal'

October 31, 2010 • On Terminal, the Virginia-based doom-metal trio Salome demands your skull bleached white from its blasted, dark vibrations.

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Nino Andres

First Listen: A Tribute To Os Mutantes

October 31, 2010 • Kurt Cobain begged its members to get back together. Beck described listening to them as a revelation. The Brazilian band Os Mutantes opened doors for generations of rockers. Now, a tribute album (available for streaming here until Nov. 9) honors an essential Latin rock act.

First Listen: Brian Eno, 'Small Craft On A Milk Sea'

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Sergio Dionisio

First Listen: Brian Eno, 'Small Craft On A Milk Sea'

October 24, 2010 • Unlike many of Eno's ambient albums, this one has many shifting moods -- sometimes it lulls quietly, other times it's fierce. These tracks can affect how you see the world. Hear the entire album here until it is released on Nov. 2.

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First Listen: Black Dub, 'Black Dub'

KCRW

October 24, 2010 • With his new project, Black Dub, Lanois brings together a deeply connected collective of musicians. Renowned Louisiana bass player Daryl Johnson and New Orleans virtuoso drummer Brian Blade are longtime Lanois collaborators, while young Trixie Whitley, provides the spiritual continuum.

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First Listen: Weekend, 'Sports'

October 24, 2010 • At the core of this San Francisco trio's debut album Sports is a persistent tug-of-war between the forces of punk and shoegaze. It's one release not to be overlooked this November.

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First Listen: Bryan Ferry, 'Olympia'

October 19, 2010 • Hear Ferry's sensuous, densely layered, sophisticated new album until its release on Oct. 26. Naturally, at the center of Olympia is the veteran singer's elegant voice.

First Listen: The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger

Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl record and perform together as The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger. courtesy of the artist hide caption

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First Listen: The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger

October 17, 2010 • Together, Sean Lennon and Charlotte Kemp Muhl have produced a finely calibrated mix of blissful psych-pop, complete with sweet two-part harmonies and wistful, wandering melodies inspired by '60s French pop. Hear their new album in its entirety until its release on Oct. 26.

First Listen: Simon Rattle Conducts 'The Nutcracker'

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EMI

First Listen: Simon Rattle Conducts 'The Nutcracker'

American Public Media

October 17, 2010 • Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker is so overplayed that we rarely stop to listen to the music. But a new recording by Simon Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic breathes new life into this 120-year-old ballet.

Atiba Jefferson

First Listen: Avey Tare, 'Down There'

October 13, 2010 • Inspired by a crocodile, Animal Collective member Avey Tare (a.k.a. David Portner) is about to release his solo debut, titled Down There. Tare's compositions wade steadily through swampy soundscapes, complete with croaking synthesizers and grunting bass lines.

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First Listen: Bob Dylan, 'The Witmark Demos 1962-1964'

October 10, 2010 • It's one thing to write "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" or "Blowin' in the Wind" by age 24. But add "Ballad of Hollis Brown," "Boots of Spanish Leather," "Mr. Tambourine Man" and other bits of genius to the list, and it really hits hard what a phenomenal talent Dylan was at such a young age. Hear many of his early demos until their release on Oct. 19.

First Listen: Elton John And Leon Russell, 'The Union'

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First Listen: Elton John And Leon Russell, 'The Union'

October 10, 2010 • Elton John has done reverence and irreverence, decadence and schmaltz. But he wears elegance especially well in The Union, his new, album-length collaboration with the man he calls his idol: 68-year-old fellow singer-pianist Leon Russell.

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Will Bankhead

First Listen: Darkstar, 'North'

October 10, 2010 • Until this point, the British beat makers in Darkstar have built a solid reputation by releasing two-step movers: dance tracks with shuffled rhythms and bass kicks on the first and third beats of every measure. North focuses less on the rhythmic aspects of that sound and more on the coarse synthesizers laid over the beats. Hear the album in its entirety until Oct. 19.

Max S. Gerber

First Listen: The Extra Lens, 'Undercard'

October 10, 2010 • It's best to think of Undercard as a Mountain Goats record -- it doesn't fall outside that band's continuum anyway, in terms of sound or overall quality, and both groups share the same voice. Hear Undercard in its entirety here until Oct. 19.

First Listen

Sunday October 31, 2010

First Listen: Bruce Springsteen Revisits 'Darkness' With 'The Promise'

First Listen: Cee Lo Green, 'The Lady Killer'

Review: Salome, 'Terminal'

First Listen: A Tribute To Os Mutantes

Sunday October 24, 2010

First Listen: Brian Eno, 'Small Craft On A Milk Sea'

First Listen: Black Dub, 'Black Dub'

KCRW

First Listen: Weekend, 'Sports'

Tuesday October 19, 2010

First Listen: Bryan Ferry, 'Olympia'

Sunday October 17, 2010

First Listen: The Ghost Of A Saber Tooth Tiger

First Listen: Simon Rattle Conducts 'The Nutcracker'

American Public Media

Wednesday October 13, 2010

First Listen: Avey Tare, 'Down There'

Sunday October 10, 2010

First Listen: Bob Dylan, 'The Witmark Demos 1962-1964'

First Listen: Elton John And Leon Russell, 'The Union'

First Listen: Darkstar, 'North'

First Listen: The Extra Lens, 'Undercard'