NPR Music

This week's podcast includes the stadium guitar rock of Sheer Mag, country legend Tanya Tucker, the hip-hop boy band BROCKHAMPTON, a wonderfully strange turn from R&B singer Raphael Saadiq and more. FEATURED ALBUMS: 1. Sheer Mag - A Distant Call; 2. Raphael Saadiq - Jimmy Lee; 3. Jeezy - TM104: The Legend of the Snowman; 4. BROCKHAMPTON - Ginger; 5. Midland - Let it Roll; 6. Tanya Tucker - While I'm Livin'; 7. Rapsody - Eve; Jay Som - Anak Ko. OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR AUG. 23: Jayson Hawk Harris - Love & the Dark; Joyero - Release the Dogs; Noah Gunderson - Lover; Queen of Jeans - If You're Not Afraid, I'm Not Afraid; Redd Kross - Beyond the Door; The Rembrandts - Via Satellite; Rose Dorn - Days You Were Leaving; Seratones - Power; Shannon Lay - August; Taylor Swift - Lover; Ty Herndon - Got it Covered; Vince Gill - Okie.

Bob Boilen and I are back together again to share some of the phenomenal new music we've been hearing, starting with Brittany Howard's stirring and inspired "He Loves Me," from her upcoming solo debut Jaime. She named the album after her sister who passed away when they were both teenagers. The music is a celebration of the human spirit.Also on the show: Big Thief surprises us with the band's second album of 2019 and this one is fierce; Bob is back from the DIY Musician Conference with a couple of discoveries: a playful, idiosyncratic British artist known only as EB and the singer-songwriter Anna Larson, who has a powerful reflection on mass shootings called "Acting Alone."We've also got new cathartic sounds from The Messthetics, the Philadelphia-based band Queen of Jeans and more. — Robin Hilton

Host Robin Hilton is joined by NPR Music's Ann Powers, Lyndsey McKenna and Sidney Madden as they share their picks for the best albums out on Aug. 16. FEATURED ALBUMS: Sleater-Kinney - The Center Won't Hold; Frank Turner - No Man's Land; Snoh Aalegra - Ugh, Those Feels Again; Cousin Stizz - Trying to Find My Next Thrill; Shura - Forevher; Lillie Mae - Other Girls; Rodney Crowell - Texas; The Hold Steady - Thrashing Thru The Passion. OTHER NOTABLE ALBUMS OUT AUG. 16: Blanck Mass - Animated Violence Mild; Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors - Dragons; Jason Lytle - Nylon and Juno; Maria Usbeck - Envejeciendo; Oso Oso - Basking in the Glow

School is really hard — and for many, music is the one thing that grounded them or made them feel connected to something bigger. On this encore edition of All Songs Considered, we hear moving stories from our listeners of how music became a force in their lives and helped them get through school. We'll also share the songs they say made a difference.

Our list of the week's best albums includes spiky and inventive punk from The Regrettes, sweetly reflective folk from Fionn Regan, the return of Ra Ra Riot and more. FEATURED ALBUMS: 1. The Regrettes - 'How Do You Love?;' 2. half alive - 'Now, Not Yet;' 3. Fionn Regan - 'Cala;' 4. Murs & 9th Wonder - 'The Iliad Is Dead And The Odyssey Is Over;' 5. Marika Hackman - 'Any Human Friend;' 6. Ra Ra Riot - 'Superbloom;' 7. WHY? - 'AOKOHIO.' OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR AUGUST 9: Bas - 'Spilled Milk Vol. 1;' Rick Ross - 'Port Of Miami 2;' Electric Youth - 'Memory Emotion;' Marc Cohn & Blind Boys Of Alabama - 'Work To Do;' Tori Kelly - 'Inspired By True Events;' P.P. Arnold - 'The New Adventures Of P.P. Arnold.'

Originally from 2014 - Carrie Brownstein joins the All Songs gang to chat about relentless ear-worms, annoying novelty songs and other songs our hosts think of as quite possibly the worst of all time.

Our list of the week's best albums includes the breezy pop upstart Clairo and the return of rising roots-country singer Tyler Childers, as well as a few words about Chance The Rapper. FEATURED ALBUMS: 1. Clairo - 'Immunity;' 2. Tyler Childers - 'Country Squire;' 3. Cross Record - 'Cross Record;' 4. Ty Segall - 'First Taste;' 5. Penny And Sparrow - 'Finch;' 6. Chance The Rapper - 'The Big Day.' OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR AUGUST 2: My Morning Jacket - 'The Tennessee Fire: 20th Anniversary Edition;' Lil Durk - 'Love Songs 4 The Streets II;' The Bird And The Bee - 'Interpreting the Masters Volume 2: A Tribute To Van Halen.'

For the past 14 years, producer Andy Zax has been digging into the music and sounds of Woodstock, that culture-shifting music festival that unfolded in August of 1969. Now, 50 years later, all 32 performances — the audio announcements, the entirety of this three-day festival in upstate New York — is about to be released by Rhino Records in a 38-disc box titled Woodstock - Back To The Garden: The Definitive 50th Anniversary Archive. There's also a 10-CD collection, a book by Woodstock promoter Michael Lang, a Blu-ray disc and more. Andy Zax came to the NPR studios to play some of that previously unheard or released music and talk about the history of this culture-altering festival.

Our list of the week's best albums includes Cuco's highly anticipated Para Mí, a Spoon greatest hits compilation, rapper YBN Cordae's debut LP, devotional music from Nusrat Fateh Ali Kahn, and more. FEATURED ALBUMS: 1. Spoon - 'Everything Hits At Once;' 2. YBN Cordae - 'The Lost Boy,' 3. Burna Boy - 'African Giant,' 4. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - 'Live At WOMAD, 198d,' 5. Mikey Erg - 'Waxbuilt Castles,' 6. Florist - 'Emily Alone,' 7. Cuco - 'Para Mí.' OTHER NOTABLE RELEASES FOR JULY 26: Bill Ryder-Jones - Yawny Yawn; BJ the Chicago Kid - 1123; Of Monsters and Men - Fever Dream; Strange Ranger - Remembering the Rockets; Violent Femmes - Hotel Last Resort; Various: Original Broadway cast recording of Hadestown.

This month marks 60 years since the very first Newport Folk Festival. NPR has been covering the event since its rebirth in 2008. Jay Sweet, now the executive producer, was mostly responsible for the festival's revival, booking unexpected bands and reinvigorating the spirit of the annual gathering. It's long been a place where musicians would collaborate and make music often steeped in social justice. On this Newport Folk Festival preview edition of All Songs Considered we'll look specifically at the newer faces at this year's festival, including lesser-known artists Yola Carter, Illiterate Light, Courtney Marie Andrews and the debut performance of a new, influential band of well-known women known as The Highwomen. That collaboration includes Brandi Carlile, Amanda Shires, Maren Morris, and Natalie Hemby.