Stephen Thompson

The Good Listener: For Music-Festival Rookies, A Survival Guide

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:30:00 +0000

We get a lot of mail at NPR Music, and amid the American Girl catalogs we never ordered is a slew of smart questions about how music fits into our lives — and, this week, how first-time music-festival attendees can survive and thrive in an overwhelming setting.

Kendall Levinson writes: "Any advice for a young person going to his or her first music festival this summer?

The Good Listener: How Do You Describe The Music You Love?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 18:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zJyf5NqiMNE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXXc25vtuxk

The Good Listener: What's More Important, Lyrics Or Music?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 30 May 2013 16:54:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wty8UYT6PGw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=et_lDyRymrw

We Get Mail: What's A Modern Music Snob To Do?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 23 May 2013 16:28:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JrEJmvuKSwo

We Get Mail: Can You Build The Perfect Cover Song?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:28:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiH6Dtwz-aU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mQJaXwGPlg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8HOfcYWZoo

We Get Mail: How Can A Vinyl Lover Start Over From Scratch?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:30:00 +0000
We get a lot of mail at NPR Music, and amid the ironic promotional cassingles is a slew of smart questions about how music fits into our lives — and, this week, how a regretful fan of vinyl records can re-create her discarded collection.
Kirsten Elbourne Mathieson writes: "I'm big-time regretting getting rid of all of my record albums years ago. Any advice for someone starting from scratch with vinyl after all these years?

We Get Mail: What To Do When You've Burned Out On Your Favorite Music

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 02 May 2013 18:09:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MMXjunSx80
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBw777jRqbM

We Get Mail: Should Parents Try To Get Their Kids Into Great Music?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:17:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

Jittery Jams: 10 Songs For Coffee Lovers

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 01:52:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sb5qqoQgPlk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVGXcjM9SOQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUx5z9O2ZGk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WfQN_M1pQc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZk2LYsBIi8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRxS7Q64xUQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFURd_EOIuU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nzMS_YrgFk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qk_wVO7NBMQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oqXVx3sBOk

We Get Mail: Do CD Hoarders Need An Intervention?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:37:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=karPYs22ACc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXWbMu4PtpE

We Get Mail: When Someone You Love Likes Music You Hate, What Do You Do?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 14:48:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3kYzkbZPto

Harvey Danger's Sean Nelson Returns With A Plea To 'Make Good Choices'

Stephen Thompson — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 12:30:00 +0000
There'd be nothing wrong with "one-hit wonder" status if the term didn't suggest some sort of creative limitation; if people didn't assume that one hit means only one good song. But for Sean Nelson and Harvey Danger, the 1998 smash "Flagpole Sitta" has had a way of overshadowing the superior but less widely heard material that followed.

We Get Mail: Digging For Gems In Genres You Think You Hate

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 04 Apr 2013 16:07:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJjeWDvh6J0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7w0-KgZMdY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUJoPoNYQQI

We Get Mail: The Power Of Pulling The Plug

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 12:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPSvDoqUl8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1iKEPzF1Js

Jason Molina, A Folksinger Who Embodied The Best Of The Blues, Has Died

Stephen Thompson — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 19:59:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gBaolYCbyE

Baby Bands, Pop Stars And Room-Filling Joy: What To Expect At SXSW 2013

Stephen Thompson — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 20:50:00 +0000
Listen to Stephen Thompson's conversation with Audie Cornish on All Things Considered by clicking the audio link.
The South by Southwest music festival kicked off Tuesday with the first of five straight nights of music overload: The clubs, makeshift music venues and front porches of Austin, Texas, were overrun with little-known discoveries-in-waiting and big names alike, as well as tens of thousands of fans who have flocked to the city in search of epiphanies.
Finding a prevailing trend at SXSW isn't easy; the festival is like 50 events in one, so it's possible t

We Get Mail: Picking The Perfect Travel Playlist

Stephen Thompson — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:31:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-Lr0igwLIY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjDK-W1SCyk

We Get Mail: With Kids In The Car, Who Controls The Stereo?

Stephen Thompson — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 19:34:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgqAmZHkkTg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN9p5_9I9RM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mG_lCVHvEQ

We Get Mail: Should I Come To SXSW If I Don't Have A Badge Or A Billion Dollars?

Stephen Thompson — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 13:03:00 +0000
We get a lot of mail at NPR Music, and amid the Valentine's Day cards that got returned with no forwarding address is a slew of smart questions about how music fits into our lives — and, this week, how music fans could and should approach South by Southwest, the gigantic music festival held every March in Austin, Texas.
Laura Ann Klein writes: "How does a non-industry professional manage the big festivals like SXSW?

Playing SXSW? Send Us Your Song

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 18:08:00 +0000
Every year around this time, all four members of the All Songs Considered roundtable gang (Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, Ann Powers and me) each dredge through more than 1,000 MP3s by bands playing the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas.

It's Valentine's Day, So Here's A Gorgeous Love Song By Rhye

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sng_CdAAw8M

We Get Mail: Music To Help You Ignore Valentine's Day Altogether

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WccfbPQNMbg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M11SvDtPBhA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfzpYcwiUrA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjpAYfCFmJ4

Song Premiere: Take A 'Tofutti' Break With A Wonderful Oddball

Stephen Thompson — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 20:54:00 +0000
In concerts, The Heligoats' Chris Otepka spends a good deal of time explaining his songs, often introducing them with strange, funny, byzantine stories that somehow serve as functional explanations for the words he's about to sing.

Sunday, 8 p.m. ET: Spend Grammy Night Staring At Screens With Us!

Stephen Thompson — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 20:49:00 +0000
With the conclusion of Sunday night's ceremony, Linda Holmes and I have now live-blogged fully one-eleventh of the Grammy Awards' 55 annual incarnations. Below is our original post and an archived live blog of the telecast:
For the fifth straight year, whether we're marveling at Taylor Swift's capacity for surprise or trying to figure out what to type during the combined 37 minutes of Bruno Mars performances, we're here to serve your reading-along needs.

We Get Mail: Why Do We Need Breakup Songs? Aren't We Suffering Enough?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 07 Feb 2013 17:41:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eal4fep7pK4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bESGLojNYSo

We Get Mail: As Valentine's Day Approaches, Do We Still Need Mixtapes?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 18:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjOeJ0vih1o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvYuiJVkc5g

We Get Mail: When You Hear Music, Are You Really Listening?

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 20:11:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfJNCFmrFq0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgbPHTBiAVQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgokn6gppvA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFzViYkZAz4

We Get Mail: Loved My Millions, Hated By You — What To Do?

Stephen Thompson — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 21:19:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSDpSUB6YjA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCxEWPLDg5c
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBPO9Kun_9A

We Get Mail: A Father-Daughter Wedding Dance That Won't Make Everyone Gag

Stephen Thompson — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 14:08:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juaKGXrw4lU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNPjeIamsck

Hail To The Chipmunks: A Holiday Classic Re-Revisited

Stephen Thompson — Mon, 24 Dec 2012 20:22:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rnPHlOHb7g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ_9bL7i-Zs