NPR Music's Stephen Thompson and Sheldon Pearce are your guides to seven anticipated albums out Aug. 23. During the second half of the episode, the two dig into the mercurial nature of the album format in 2024.

Featured albums:
- Sabrina Carpenter, 'Short n' Sweet'
- Lainey Wilson, 'Whirlwind'
- Illuminati hotties, 'POWER'
- Fontaines D.C., 'Romance'
- Heems, 'Veena'
- Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, 'Woodland'
- Magdalena Bay, 'Imaginal Disk'

See the longer list of albums out August 23 and stream our New Music Friday playlist at https://npr.org/music.

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Over the past month thousands of Venezuelans have taken to the streets to protest the disputed election of president Nicolás Maduro, while Venezuelan artists like Danny Ocean use music to reflect on this political moment. But Ocean's work is just one data point in a long history of music from Venezuela that embodies the political opinions and emotions of those within the country and the diaspora.

On this week's episode, Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre are joined by producer Isabella Gomez Sarmiento to walk through crucial moments in Venezuela's political history over the last 30 years, and the music that soundtracked it.

Songs featured in this episode:

•Yordano, "Por estas calles"
•Carlos Baute, "Yo me quedo en Venezuela"
•Canserbero, "Es Épico"
•Danny Ocean, "Me Rehúso"
•Apache, "Rompiendo el Hielo"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Taylor Haney, with editorial support from Hazel Cills, Zach Thompson, Tony Cavin and Didi Schanche. Our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

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On August 30, the Australian-born rock titan Nick Cave will release Wild God, a new album with his band The Bad Seeds. It's a high point in Cave's career, and NPR Music's Ann Powers spoke with him about the struggles — personal, musical and religious — he faced on the road to making the album.

Wild God is filled with songs about encounters with the divine, which does not always take a benevolent form. And it follows a decade in which Cave, having publicly faced tragedy in his own life, has evolved from post-punk's louchest fallen angel into a revered figure among his audience in a new way: a dignified seeker whose courage and wisdom resounds beyond musical boundaries thanks to advice he has shared in interviews, writing projects and public appearances. Perhaps it's not surprising that so many of the songs reckon with the moment of revelation or transformation, or the demand for conversion from what Cave describes as "a suffering god ... a god that is embedded in the world."

As for the state of his own religious conviction, Cave says that the struggle is the point: "I would say I'm in the process of conversion," he tells Powers. Wherever he is on that road, he's found something ecstatic to share.

Click here to read a transcript of this interview and hear songs from the album Wild God.

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NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Hazel Cills give you a quick rundown of the most notable albums out Friday, Aug. 16, including Post Malone's country project, F-1 Trillion, Tinashe's seventh LP Quantum Baby, and Charly Bliss's first new record in five years.

Featured Albums:
- Tinashe, Quantum Baby
- Post Malone, F-1 Trillion
- Charly Bliss, Forever
- Morgan Wade, Obsessed
- Starflyer 59, Lust For Gold
- Palehound, Live at First Congregational Church

Visit https://npr.org/music to see the longer list of Aug. 16 releases and stream our New Music Friday playlist.

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"Weird Al" Yankovic helps curate a mix of some of the funniest songs of all time, from classics like Tom Lehrer's "The Elements," to more fringe discoveries from The Hazzards, Tonio K. and more.

Note: This episode originally ran on Apr. 9, 2024.

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NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Ann Powers survey the new albums out August 9, ranging from Ravyn Lenae's focused R&B to King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's scuzzed-up glam-rock and an elegant solo piano album recorded by Japanese pop star and composer Ryuichi Sakamoto just months before his death in 2023.

Plus: A new album made by 39-year-old American bassist esperanza spalding and 81-year-old Brazilian singer Milton Nascimento leads to a discussion of collaborations across generations.

Featured Albums:
• Ravyn Lenae, Bird's Eye
• Beabadoobee, This Is How Tomorrow Moves
• King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Flight b741
• Latto, Sugar Honey Iced Tea
• Ryuichi Sakamoto, Opus
• Oso Oso, Life Till Bones
• Thee Marloes, Perak
• Milton Nascimento & esperanza spalding, Milton + esperanza

Links:
• Sidney Madden's interview with Latto from season 2 of Louder Than A Riot
• Ann Powers reviews Zach Bryan's Springsteen-mythologizing album The Great American Bar Scene
• Watch a Tiny Desk (Home) concert by Milton Nascimento and esperanza spalding recorded in Nascimento's living room in Rio de Janeiro

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Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre run through their favorite new music, including new work from Venezuelan artist Danny Ocean in the midst of the country's political crisis, Girl Ultra leaning into her techno side, funky, electro-cumbia from Superfónicos and more.

Songs featured in this episode:

•Superfónicos, "Renaceré"
•Girl Ultra, "lalala"
•Fuerza Regida, "TUQLO"
•Danny Ocean, "por la pequeña Venecia"
•Lisa Morales, "Hermanitas in the Rain"
•Jazz Orishas, "Deniye"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Taylor Haney, with editorial support from Hazel Cills. Our project manager is Grace Chung. NPR Music's executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our VP of Music and Visuals is Keith Jenkins.

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Thirty years after the release of Beck's "Loser," we look back at its impact on the rise of slacker rock and how we still hear its influence today.

Note: This episode originally ran on Feb. 27, 2024.

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NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and Sheldon Pearce dig deep into the latest release by bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, who, more than 30 years into her career, continues to melt the boundaries between genres. Her latest album, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, is being released on the centennial of the birth of the author and activist, and overflows with musical, political and historical ideas.

Daoud and Sheldon also share new albums and EPs by Khalid, Orville Peck, Moses Sumney, Maren Morris, Smashing Pumpkins, Killer Mike and more.

Featured Albums:
• Meshell Ndegeocello, No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin
• Khalid, Sincere
• Orville Peck, Stampede
• Moses Sumney, Sophcore
• Maren Morris, Intermission
• Killer Mike, Songs for Saints and Sinners

Other notable albums out August 2:
• Smashing Pumpkins, Aghori Mhori Mei
• Chrystabelle and David Lynch, Cellophane Memories
• JPEGMAFIA, I Lay Down My Life For You
• Brigitte Calls Me Baby, The Future Is Our Way Out
• Los Lonely Boys, Resurrection
• Tones and I, Beautifully Ordinary
• X, Smoke & Fiction
• WHY?, The Well I Fell Into

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These aren't the big bangers and Top 40 hits designed to capitalize on the typical summer vibes. We instead play the songs that feel like summer or say summer to us.

Featured artists and songs:

1. Kaytranada and Rochelle Jordan: "Lover/Friend," from 'Timeless'
2. HUGEL: "Patadas de Ahogado / LATIN MAFIA (Rework)" (single)
3. Keaton Henson: "Sandwalking," from 'Somnambulant Cycles'
4. Tems: "Love Me Je Je," from 'Born in the Wild'
5. Karol G: "Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido" (single)
6. Mary Lattimore: "I Spent the Day Inside" (single)

Enjoy the show? Tell a friend and leave us a review in Apple podcasts or wherever you listen.

Questions, comments, suggestions and any other feedback always welcome: [email protected]

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