All Songs Considered

Wednesday December 30, 2009

Second Stage: Little-Known Bands You Should Hear

Second Stage: Candy Claws

by  Meg Ruddick

December 30, 2009 • Recorded as a musical companion piece to The Sea Around Us, the 1951 acclaimed book by Rachel Carson, Candy Claws' In the Dream of the Sea Life plays as the soundtrack to exciting undersea adventures and life lived by the ocean. The members of Ca...

Second Stage: Candy Claws

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Tuesday December 29, 2009

All Songs Considered

Exclusive Free Download: The Worst Song Ever Written

by  Stephen Thompson

December 29, 2009 • By Stephen Thompson Last week, I appeared on Morning Edition to ruminate on one of the most significant events of the past decade in music — namely, the debut of American Idol in the summer of 2002. Included in the piece was the chorus of a "son...

Exclusive Free Download: The Worst Song Ever Written

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Agnes Montgomery

All Songs Considered

The Best Album Covers Of 2009

by  Robin Hilton

December 29, 2009 • n the ten years Bob and I have been producing All Songs Considered, one thing we've both noticed is how easy it is to judge an album by its cover art. We get several hundred CDs in the mail each week, and as we quickly sort through them, we can u...

Monday December 28, 2009

Artwork from Baroness' Blue Record. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Courtesy of the artist

Viking's Choice

Viking's Choice: Metal And Outer Sound In 2009

December 28, 2009 • As has become customary in the past few years, NPR Music producer Lars Gotrich's near-OCD list-making habit revealed a certain strain of outer sound that pervaded his headphones in 2009.

Viking's Choice: Metal And Outer Sound In 2009

Listen · 48:48 48:48

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Friday December 25, 2009

Courtesy Constellation Records

All Songs Considered

Singer-Songwriter Vic Chesnutt Has Died

by  Robin Hilton

December 25, 2009 • by Robin Hilton Vic Chesnutt's label, Constellation Records, has released a statement confirming that the 45-year-old singer-songwriter has died. "Surrounded by family and friends, Vic Chesnutt died in Athens Georgia this afternoon, Friday 25 Dec...

Tuesday December 22, 2009

All Songs Considered

Help Shearwater Release Its Next Album

by  Robin Hilton

December 22, 2009 • by Robin Hilton Last week, we got a letter from Shearwater frontman Jonathan Meiburg (who apparently owns an actual, manual typewriter) along with a copy of the band's latest album, The Golden Archipelago. I've only listened through the record ...

All Songs Considered

Devo Sends Merry Something Greetings To You

by  Bob Boilen

December 22, 2009 • by Bob Boilen A small holiday wish from Devo to you.

Second Stage: Little-Known Bands You Should Hear

Second Stage: This Frontier Needs Heroes

by  Meg Ruddick

December 22, 2009 • by Meg Ruddick Download "Firefly" by This Frontier Needs Heroes (Right-click or control-click to save to your computer) This Frontier Needs Heroes is another band that calls the young, indie epicenter, Brooklyn, NY, home. But after hearing the...

Second Stage: This Frontier Needs Heroes

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Friday December 18, 2009

All Songs Considered

Mommy, Where Do Bands Come From?

by  Bob Boilen

December 18, 2009 • by Bob Boilen Last year we mapped out the locations of the top 100 bands you loved. It's fun to see where the music we care about comes from. So with the help of our intern Meg Ruddick, we've done it again. Here's where the All Songs Considere...

Our Show

All Songs Considered Holiday Music Mix '09

December 18, 2009 • It's that time of year again, when we gather 'round the warm glow of a computer to air our grievances with one another, hug it out and spin some seasonal songs to make it all better.

All Songs Considered Holiday Music Mix '09

Listen · 1:20:30 1:20:30

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Wednesday December 16, 2009

All Songs Considered

Judging By The Cover: The Best Cover Songs Of 2009

by  Mike Katzif

December 16, 2009 • The best cover songs are those that take an old gem and make the listener rethink it, or discover parts that might have been missed in the original. They can pay tribute to an icon, introduce an artist's own musical tastes or expose an unknown inf...

All Songs Considered

Mysterious New Album From Danger Mouse And James Mercer's Broken Bells Announced

by  Meg Ruddick

December 16, 2009 • The much-anticipated new project (or new band as Rolling Stone reported at the end of September) from super-producer Danger Mouse and The Shins frontman James Mercer has been kept pretty hush-hush for a while.

Tuesday December 15, 2009

All Songs Considered

More 'Best Of' Music For 2009: Our Personal Favorites

by  Robin Hilton

December 15, 2009 • by Robin Hilton Sure, you've pored over our list of The 50 Most Important Recordings of the Decade and the All Songs Considered listener picks for the best music of 2009. You may have even listened to our most recent edition of All Songs Conside...

You've Never Heard?...

You've Never Heard 'Loveless'?!

by  Meg Ruddick

December 15, 2009 • The most appropriate word I could use to define Loveless is dense. It's hard to crack, hard to get behind the wall of noise and find emotion or passion in the music. There's a stoicism about it that makes it difficult to connect with. Not being...

Monday December 14, 2009

All Songs Considered

The Year In Music: Tell Us What You Think

by  Robin Hilton

December 14, 2009 • by Robin Hilton Love them or hate them, best-of lists — like the ones we've been posting for the end of the decade and the end of 2009, are a great way to hear music you may have missed or forgotten about. On the current episode of All Songs Co...