Bad Bunny's months-long residency in Puerto Rico is coming to an end. The shows brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to the island, and sparked new debates about Puerto Rican identity and politics.

For this week's episode, Alt.Latino's Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras traveled to San Juan to take in one of the final performances, and interview both locals and tourists about the musical and cultural impact of the summer of Bad Bunny.

This podcast was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.

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We’ve got six must-hear songs to add to our running list of the year’s best tracks, including some shredding from The Beths, a gorgeous solo piano piece from Dustin O’Halloran, sublime jazz from Nicholas Payton and more.

Featured artists and songs:

1. The Beths: “No Joy,” from ‘Straight Line Was A Lie’
2. Nate Smith & Saje: “Big Fish,” from ‘Live Action’
3. Dustin O’Halloran: “Gold” (Single)
4. Dara Starr Tucker: “Pure Imagination,” from ‘Time Wouldn’t Wait’
5. Grumpy: “Crush,” from ‘Piebald’
6. Nicholas Payton (with Esperanza Spalding and Karriem Riggins): “Let It Ride,” from ‘Triune’

Weekly reset: A late-summer day at the playground

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We enter the stomp-clap era as we look back at our number one songs from 2009.

Note: This is a recurring feature in celebration of the show's 25th anniversary. A shorter version of this episode ran earlier in the year.

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Guerilla Toss. Die Spitz. The return of Spinal Tap. Raina Douris from WXPN's World Cafe joins Stephen Thompson to discuss their favorite albums out Friday, Sept. 12.


The Starting 5:

- Spinal Tap, 'The End Continues' (Stream)

- Guerilla Toss, 'You're Weird Now' (Stream)

- Die Spitz, 'Something to Consume' (Stream)

- Frost Children, 'Sister' (Stream)

- Mark William Lewis, 'Mark William Lewis' (Stream)


The Lightning Round:

- Sophie Ellis-Bextor, 'Perimenopop'

- Asher White, '8 tips for full catastrophe living'

- Jade, 'THAT'S SHOWBIZ BABY!'

- Fruit Bats, 'Baby Man'

- Kassa Overall, 'CREAM'


See the long list of albums out Sept 12 and sample dozens of them via our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org.


Credits

Host: Stephen Thompson

Guest: Raina Douris, WXPN

Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell

Digital Producer: Elle Mannion

Editor: Otis Hart

Production Assistant: Dora Levite

Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed


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This week's episode of Alt.Latino is a tribute to host Felix Contreras, who just received the Hispanic Heritage Award for Journalism from the Hispanic Heritage Foundation. Co-host Anamaria Sayre and the Alt.Latino team surprised Felix with guest appearances from Juanes, Daymé Arocena, Chucho Valdés, Dolores Huerta and more.

This podcast was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.

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Hear the songs we just had to share this week. NPR Music’s Dora Levite joins host Robin Hilton to update our running list of the year’s best songs, with head-spinning, shape-shifting wonders from Asher White, transcendent ambient sounds from Early Fern, the first new solo album from Neko Case in eight years and more.

Featured artists and songs:

1. Asher White: “Beers with my name on them,” from ‘8 Tips for Catastrophe Living’

2. Neko Case: “Wreck,” from ‘Neon Grey Midnight Green'

3. caroline: “Total Euphoria,” from ‘caroline 2’

4. Sturle Dagsland: “Hugging Horses,” from ‘Dreams And Conjurations’

5. Model/Actriz: “Doves,” from ‘Piourette’

6. Early Fern: “Teasel,” from ‘Wetland Interiors’

Weekly reset: Horses are really having a moment

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What songs take us back to 2008? Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson recall a pretty folk-heavy year with lots of groundbreaking debuts.

Note: This is a recurring feature in celebration of the show's 25th anniversary. A shorter version of this episode ran earlier in the year.


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Big Thief. David Byrne. El Michels Affair. WFUV's Alisa Ali joins Stephen Thompson to discuss their favorite albums coming out Friday, Sept. 5.

The Starting 5:

• Big Thief, 'Double Infinity'

• El Michels Affair, '24 Hr Sports'

• Curtis Harding, 'Departures & Arrivals: Adventures of Captain Curt'

• Lucrecia Dalt, 'A Danger to Ourselves'

• David Byrne, 'Who Is The Sky?'


The Lightning Round:

• Saint Etienne, 'International'

• james K, 'Friend'

• Ivy, 'Traces of You'

• Anaïs & The Hoops, 'Growing Pains'

• V/A, 'I Will Swim To You: A Tribute to Jason Molina'

See the long list of albums out Sept. 5 and sample dozens of them via our New Music Friday playlist on npr.org.

Credits

Host: Stephen Thompson
Guest: Alisa Ali, WFUV
Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
Digital Producer: Elle Mannion
Editor: Otis Hart
Production Assistant: Dora Levite
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

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Felix shares the music that's helped him recover from a serious illness. Anamaria shares some new exquisite (and, in one case, slightly toxic) love songs.

Featured artists and songs:

• Blood Orange, "I Can Go" (feat. Mabe Fratti & Mustafa)

• Draco Rosa, "Quiero Vivir"

• Caetano Veloso, "Voce E Linda" (Remixed Original Album)

• Tim Bernardes, "BB (Garupa de Moto Amarela)"

• Tim Bernardes, "Última Vez"

• Santana, "Goodness and Mercy"

• Xavi, "Ojitos de Miel"

• Los Lobos, "Bertha" (Live at the Carefree Theatre, 1992)

This podcast was produced by Noah Caldwell. The executive producer of NPR Music is Suraya Mohamed.


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We get a jump on the upcoming fall releases we’re most excited about, including new ones from Skullcrusher, S. Carey, Silvana Estrada and more.

Featured artists and albums:


1. Snōōper: ‘Worldwide’ (Oct. 3)
2. Sudan Archives: ‘The BPM’ (Oct. 17)
3. Claire Rousay: ‘Little Death’ (Oct. 31)
4. Crushed: ‘No Scope’ (Sept. 26)
5. Cate Le Bon: ‘Michelangelo Dying’ (Sept. 26)
6. S. Carey: ‘Watercress’ (Oct. 3)
7. Emily Sprague: ‘Cloud Time’ (Oct. 10)
8. Skullcrusher: ‘And Your Song Is Like A Circle’ (Oct. 17)
9. Silvana Estrada: ‘Vendrán Suaves Lluvias’ (Oct. 17)

Weekly reset: Walking through the woods on an autumn afternoon

Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [email protected]


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