NPR Music

We debate the pros and cons of small-town living through the music of Christian Lee Hutson, Youth Lagoon, Bartees Strange and more in our biweekly update of the year's best songs.

Featured artists and songs:
1. Christian Lee Hutson: "Carousel Horses," from Paradise Pop. 10
2. Youth Lagoon: "My Beautiful Girl" (single)
3. Memorials: "Cut It Like A Diamond," from Memorial Waterslides
4. Bartees Strange: "Sober," from Horror
5. Sam Phillips: "I Wanted To Be Alone," from A Boot And A Shoe (20th anniversary edition)
6. Immanuel Wilkins: "MOTION" (feat. June McDoom) from Blues Blood

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

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

NPR Music's Ann Powers and Sheldon Pearce are your guides to this week's most compelling new musical offerings. For October 18, their selections include an array of ambitious, melodic and emotional new albums spanning genres.

Plus: celebrating the arrival of a new music website and considering what drives us to write and talk about music in the first place.

Featured albums:
• Joy Oladokun, 'Observations From a Crowded Room'
• CKay, 'EMOTIONS'
• Kelly Lee Owens, 'Dreamstate'
• Porridge Radio, 'Clouds In The Sky They Will Always Be There For Me'
• Bon Iver, 'SABLE,'

Check out our longer list of albums out Oct. 18 and stream our New Music Friday playlist at https://npr.org/music.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

To celebrate the release of a new book from NPR Music, How Women Made Music, as well as the 50th anniversary this year of the album Celia & Johnny, Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre walk through their favorite songs by the legendary Celia Cruz, alongside the artist's niece Linda Pritchett.

Songs featured in this episode:

• Celia Cruz, "Bemba Colorá"
• Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, "Yiri Yiri Bon"
• Celia Cruz, "La Negra Tiene Tumbao"
• Celia Cruz, "Quimbara"
• Celia Cruz, "Cuando Salí de Cuba"
• Celia Cruz, "La vida es un carnaval"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Simon Rentner. 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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

We celebrate spooky season with an unnerving mix of songs from our favorite horror movie scores, including The Shining, Under The Skin, Hereditary and more.

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

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

Featured songs and films:
1. Wendy Carlos and Rachel Elkind: "Main Title" and "Clockworks (Bloody Elevators)," from The Shining
2. Mark Korven: "The Goat & The Mayhem," from The Witch
3. Goblin: "Sighs," from Suspiria
4. Hildur Guǒnadóttir: "The Door," from Chernobyl
5. John Carpenter: "Main Title," from Halloween
6. Colin Stetson: "Mothers & Daughters," from Hereditary
7. Mica Levi: "Lipstick To Void," from Under the Skin
8. Cristobal Tapia De Veer: "Laura Smile," from Smile
9. Ben Salisbury and Geoff Barrow: "The Alien," from Annihilation
10. Bobby Krlic: "Gassed," from Midsommar


See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

The rapper-turned-country star Jelly Roll, who has had a major breakthrough in Nashville in the last couple of years, leads the pack of the most exciting albums out on Friday, October 11.

As NPR Music's Daoud Tyler-Ameen and WRTI's Nate Chinen discuss, his new album Beautifully Broken is a powerful (and sometimes overwhelming) portrait of recovery and empathy for those grappling with addiction.

Also on the show this week: The second album from punk teens The Linda Lindas feels like confirmation of a promising career; Samara Joy and Immanuel Wilkins put two different approaches to the modern jazz vocal album on display; E L U C I D combines influences from Miles Davis to Public Enemy into a harrowing experience of modern indie rap and Charli XCX's remix album leads us to consider the tradition of artists reworking their own songs.

Featured albums:
• Jelly Roll, 'Beautifully Broken'
• The Linda Lindas, 'No Obligation'
• Samara Joy, 'Portrait'
• Immanuel Wilkins, 'Blues Blood'
• E L U C I D, 'REVELATOR'

Check out our long list of albums out Oct. 11 and stream our New Music Friday playlist at npr.org/music.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Felix Contreras and Anamaria Sayre are back with a new music show, featuring Rosalía, Helado Negro, Wyatt Flores and more.

Songs featured in this episode:

• Twanguero, "Rumba #2"
• Twanguero, "La Leyenda de Cañaveral"
• Rosalía, "Omega (feat. Ralphie Choo)"
• Wyatt Flores, "Oh Susanna"
• Helado Negro, pablopablo, "Lejos De Más"
• Troker, "El Novio (Versión Mariachi)"
• Los Sufridos, Bad Gyal, "Duro de Verdad pt. 2"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Simon Rentner. 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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Reflections on regret from beabadoobee and Bon Iver, deep sonic meditations from Nala Sinephro and Jill Fraser, and more updates to our running list of the year's best songs.

Featured songs and artists:
1. beabadoobee: "California," from This is How Tomorrow Moves
2. Bon Iver: "S P E Y S I D E," from SABLE
3. Mabe Fratti: "Kravitz," from Sentir que no sabe
4. Jem: "Come On Closer," from Finally Woken (20th Anniversary Remastered Edition)
5. Nala Sinephro: "Continuum 3," from Endlessness
6. Jill Fraser: "Beautiful Summer," from Earthly Pleasures

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

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

NPR Music's Lars Gotrich and Sheldon Pearce round up the most exciting albums out this Friday, and reflect on the history of instrumental music as protest.

Featured albums:
• The Smile, 'Cutouts'
• Blood Incantation, 'Absolute Elsewhere'
• Half Waif, 'See You At The Maypole'
• Darius Jones, 'Legend of e'Boi (The Hypervigilant Eye)'
• Yasmin Williams, 'Acadia'
• Godspeed You! Black Emperor, 'NO​ ​TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28​,​340 DEAD'

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

For a longer list of new albums out Oct. 4 and to stream our New Music Friday playlist, visit https://npr.org/music.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

Alt.Latino is usually all about sharing new music across Latin America, but what about the older cuts Ana and Felix are obsessed with?

On this episode, Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras share the music they've been playing on repeat, from beloved classics by greats like Ella Fitzgerald to surprising new discoveries out of Mexico like Paloma Morphy.

Songs featured in this episode:

•Paloma Morphy, "me faltas tú"
•George Shearing Quintet, "Juana Palangana"
•Carin León and Bolela, "Aviso importante"
•Chick Corea Trio, "Spain"
•Alex Ferreira, "Un Cariñito"
•Alex Ferreira, "Un Cariñito (Versión Acústica)"
•Ella Fitzgerald, "Angel Eyes"

Audio for this episode of Alt.Latino was edited and mixed by Taylor Haney. 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.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy

How Women Made Music, a new book out now from NPR, considers what the canon of popular music would look like without men.

On this episode, we dig into the book and talk about the greatest albums and songs by women and other marginalized voices, with NPR Music's Ann Powers, contributor Marissa Lorusso and host Robin Hilton.

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

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

NPR Privacy Policy