All Songs Considered

Lucinda Williams. Julian Lage. The debut from rising Americana star Kashus Culpepper. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music chats with Jessie Scott from WMOT in Nashville about the best new albums out Friday, Jan. 23.

The Starting 5

(00:00) Intro: Cat Power, 'Redux' EP
(02:14) Lucinda Williams, 'World's Gone Wrong'
(07:36) Carolina Chocolate Drops, 'Genuine Negro Jig' (15th Anniversary Edition)
(15:19) Kashus Culpepper, 'Act I'
(20:00) The Lowest Pair, 'Always As Young As We'll Ever Be'
(25:29) Julian Lage, 'Scenes From Above'


The Lightning Round

- Ari Lennox, 'Vacancy'
- Sammy Brue, 'The Journals'
- V/A, 'Naive Melodies'
- Della Mae, 'Magic Accident'


Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist on NPR.org.


Credits
Host: Stephen Thompson
Guest: Jessie Scott, WMOT
Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
Digital Producer: Dora Levite
Editors: Otis Hart, Elle Mannion
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed

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Sometimes life imitates art - or at least the two can seem eerily connected. On Jan. 1, the Venezuelan band Rawayana released a new album, '¿Dónde Es El After?,' which began with a lyric that many interpreted as a wish for their country's leadership to be gone. A few days later, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was ousted from power and seized by American forces. For this week's episode, we chat with Fofo Story and Beto Montenegro of Rawayana to hear how the album came together, where its sonic influences lie, and how they're reflecting on the seismic changes underway in their home country.

(00:00) Intro
(01:54) How they decided to open the album
(06:26) On the song 'Qué Rico PR!'
(09:36) Caribbean influences growing up
(13:41) Childhood love for merenhouse
(16:13) Adapting tonada folk music
(21:58) Reflections on Venezuela in this moment

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

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Reports from late last year about the demise of MTV were overstated; but it got us thinking about the network’s legacy and most memorable moments. So, on this episode, we remember the best of MTV with a list of our top 20 videos from its golden era.


If you’re listening on Spotify, tell us your favorite classic music video in the episode’s comments.

You can support the show by leaving a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Or just tell a friend!


Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

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Ya Tseen. The Sha La Das. A mesmerizing collaboration between Julianna Barwick and Mary Lattimore. Stephen Thompson from NPR Music is joined by Alex Newman from KMHD in Portland to chat about the best albums out Friday, January 16.


The Starting 5

(00:00) Intro & A$AP Rocky, 'Don't Be Dumb'
(02:36) Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore, 'Tragic Magic'
(07:43) The Sha La Das, 'Your Picture'
(15:33) Ya Tseen, 'Stand On My Shoulders'
(21:53) Shaking Hand, 'Shaking Hand'
(27:43) Tyler Ramsey & Carl Broemel, 'Celestun'


The Lightning Round

• Craig Taborn, Tomeka Reid & Ches Smith, 'Dream Archives'
• Courtney Marie Andrews, 'Valentine'
• Diogo Strausz, 'Dance Para Se'
• Oxis, 'Oxis 8'
• Nate Smith, 'LIVE-ACTION (Deluxe)'

Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist on NPR.org.

Credits: 
Host: Stephen Thompson
Guest: Alex Newman, KMHD
Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
Digital Elle Mannion
Editor: Otis Hart
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed


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Over the weekend, we lost a musician who shaped the lives of countless people: the late, great Bob Weir. He was a founding member of the Grateful Dead who played guitar, wrote and sang in the band for 30 years. After Jerry Garcia died and the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir kept the spirit of the music alive for three more decades, creating new Deadheads for generations to come — he brought John Mayer, Billy Strings and even the National Symphony Orchestra into the Grateful Dead universe. The Deadhead slogan proved to be true: Weir everywhere.

At Alt.Latino, we’re big fans of Bob Weir and his immensely cosmic musical legacy. Over the years, we’ve learned that many Latin musicians are also, metaphorically speaking, on the bus. Today on the show, we celebrate Bob Weir’s life by hearing some of his past interviews on NPR, exploring the Grateful Dead’s influence on artists like Devendra Banhart, and of course, revisiting his magnetic Tiny Desk concert from 2019. We’re incredibly grateful that Bobby came down to this world for a little while to tell us his stories – we hope to see him in the next one. 

(00:00) Intro
(01:38) Bob Weir's early life and Grateful Dead career
(08:05) Grateful Dead at the National Symphony Orchestra
(14:30) Felix and Isa reflect on 'American Beauty'
(20:35) Grateful Dead's impact on Latin musicians
(26:33) Bob Weir at the Tiny Desk

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

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