Singer and violinist Emily Wells was one of our favorite discoveries at last year's South by Southwest music festival. Her 2012 album Mama was a surprising and beautiful mix of hip-hop beats and strings, with folk-flavored pop arrangements. Now Wells is back with a re-imagined, all-acoustic version of Mama, with the songs stripped bare and her voice more fragile than ever.
I love the crazy surprises you get when two or more artists get together and turn their creative ideas over to one another. When the band Junip wrote the song "Your Life, Your Call," frontman José González says, it was meant to be an unambiguous meditation on growing up, moving on and taking responsibility for your life. But in the hands of video director Mikel Cee Karlsson, the song, from Junip's new self-titled album, takes on a whole new (and disturbing) meaning.
Originally published on Wed April 24, 2013 9:59 am
We got a lot of great suggestions when we asked readers to tell us their picks for the perfect pair of headphones last week. We also learned a lot. For example, you all know way more about this than I do.
This week on All Songs Considered, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton go on a haphazard musical journey across the globe to share their favorite new discoveries. Manchester's The 1975 start things off with the band's punchy song called "Sex." Then we head to Brooklyn for soul singer Charles Bradley, who keeps things heated with "You Put The Flame On It," a track from his upcoming album Victim Of Love.
The Keaton Henson who appears on the new album Birthdays is an avowed hermit with a profoundly broken heart. He also has one of the most beautiful voices I've heard. The 24 year-old singer from London, who says he rarely leaves his bedroom, bares his wrecked emotional remains in an arresting new video for the song "You."
I love live music. Figuring out who's coming to town and when and where isn't so easy. I could go to every club's website to compile a list of upcoming shows, but that'd be cumbersome. Newspaper listing are often incomplete, don't look ahead and certainly don't filter or highlight by my musical tastes.
Charlie Christian, The Genius of the Electric Guitar The swing and jazz-era player helped turn the guitar into a solo-worthy instrument by plugging in. This four-CD set of Christian's recordings is packaged in a replica of his Gibson amplifier.
Credit Marie McGrory / NPR
Public Image Ltd, Metal Box The second album from Public Image Ltd, John Lydon's post-Sex Pistols group, was three vinyl discs packaged inside what looks like a 16mm film canister. (In the U.S., the album was released in a boring old cardboard sleeve as Second Edition.)
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Graf Orlock, Doombox Maybe the most elaborate packaging we've ever seen. Graf Orlock's six-song grindcore EP comes on both 10" vinyl record and compact disc, both of which rest within a fold-out cardboard "boom box."
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Horslips, Happy To Meet, Sorry To Part This Irish group's 1973 debut album — maybe the first Celtic rock record — came inside an amazing, perforated replica of a concertina, or button accordion (look closely and you can see the band members' faces on the buttons).
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The Strokes, Comedown Machine The Strokes are obsessed with the sounds and images of the 1970s and '80s, so it makes sense that the band's new album would look like a box of magnetic tape manufactured by RCA (conveniently, the band's label).
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The Who, Live At Leeds The cover looks like a bootleg, with the album title stamped on yellowed paper, but this is one of the best and best-sounding live recordings ever made.
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Shellac, 1000 Hurts This cover, made to look like an Ampex tape reel box, is something of an in-joke for fans of the band: guitarist Steve Albini runs the Electrical Audio recording studio in Chicago, notable for its analog-only recording practices.
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AC/DC, Backtracks The collector's edition of this 2009 rarities box set from the Australian hard rock legends was packaged in another amp. Unlike the Charlie Christian box set, this one actually works!
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System of a Down, Steal This Album! Released in 2002 after unfinished versions of the songs on the album were leaked. Once it finally made it into stores, the CD, meant to look burned-at-home, was packaged in a clear jewel case with no booklet.
Credit Marie McGrory / NPR
Ray Charles, Pure Genius - The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952 - 1959) A box containing eight CDs, but made to look like an old record player, complete with a molded-plastic turntable under the lid.
Let's get this out of the way: VHÖL includes members of bands that have put out some of my favorite metal albums of the last few years. Guitarist John Cobbett and bassist Sigrid Sheie are in Hammers of Misfortune, Mike Scheidt fronts YOB, and Aesop Dekker drums for Agalloch (among many other bands).
Even in still moments, particles incite microscopic riots. Brooklyn-via-Boston composer and multi-instrumentalist Ashley Paul is used to making a huge racket, most regularly with her husband Eli Keszler. On her Line the Clouds, there's tension in patience as she navigates a singer-songwriter's reactions.
The brand new video for Phosphorescent's "Song For Zula," from the band's sixth album, Muchacho, forgoes a literal illustration of song's heartbroken story for something more allegorical. In a single slow-motion tracking shot, the camera approaches a distant figure dressed in rags, bashing at chains that hold her to the ground.
Originally published on Tue March 26, 2013 12:17 pm
I've been buying headphones for 30 years now, have owned more they I can possibly remember and still haven't found the perfect pair. I must chew through one or two sets a year in a never-ending, desperate (and futile) search to find the right acoustics, feel and functionality. I've tried in-ear buds, over-the-ear hooks, full-sized cans and wireless. Some sound great but fit horribly. Or the fit is perfect but the sound too tinny, or the controls don't quite work. The truth is, I hate headphones, especially because I hate being tethered to my stereo. It's like wearing a leash.
Some songwriters are so adept at capturing the mess and miracle of everyday emotion that their work resonates as exceptionally truthful. John Grant is one of those. In recent years, the 44-year-old former frontman for Colorado rock band the Czars has produced two exceptional collections of funny, brutal, nuanced songs — 2010's collaboration with the band Midlake, Queen of Denmark, and now Pale Green Ghosts, which will be released in the U.S. on May 14.
Originally published on Wed March 20, 2013 2:42 pm
The musicians in Paperhaus live in my hometown of Washington, D.C., so I've seen this dynamic band more than a few times. In fact, they put on some of the best house concerts in the city, over a hundred of them at their own venue, also called the Paperhaus, so I've seen them both in clubs and their intimate living room.
50 years after the band was founded, The Zombies still count as a discovery for many attendees of SXSW. Here, Rod Argent (left) and Jim Rodford play to a warm reception on the festival's final night at Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas.
Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 11:34 am
As the 2013 South by Southwest festival was winding to a noisy end — sirens, car horns and even a helicopter passed could be heard on the streets of Austin, Texas — there were plenty of smaller, quieter moments worth singling out. On the festival's final night, the All Songs Considered gang gathered to talk about what they saw, heard and felt during their last few hours in Austin.
L.A. slow-jammers Inc. gets the Fader Fort in the mood.
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Steven Ellison — known to most as cosmic beat-maker Flying Lotus, here posing as Captain Murphy — spins for Earl Sweatshirt at the Fader Fort.
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18-year-old rapper and Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt makes his festival debut at the Fader Fort. He performed a new, raw Pharrell Williams-produced track called "Burgundy."
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Bun B popped up a couple times over SXSW, but at the Fader Fort pays tribute to his late friend and former UGK member, Pimp C.
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Hands up!
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Austin's Ringo Deathstarr brings the fuzz-rock at the Red Bull Sound Select Party.
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With a name taken from a Smiths song and a record on Joan Jett's label, the members of Girl in a Coma are pure rock 'n' roll pedigree, playing here at the Red Bull Sound Select Party.
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The Sword worships at the feet of Black Sabbath and the almighty riff at the Red Bull Sound Select Party.
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The Smashing Pumpkins' Billy Corgan celebrates his 46th birthday in rock style to close out the SXSW festival at the Red Bull Sound Select Party with a catalog-spanning set.
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Not quite punk, but full of fervor, Merchandise' pounds frenetic and noisy pop songs at Beerland.
With swirling guitar solos over motorik rhythms, Toy plays the The Main for The Brooklyn Vegan Party.
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Parquet Courts' penchant for Television and other '80s post-punk bands that you discover in college or at the record store is endearing, but ultimately, the four young chaps' set at Stubb's makes you want to pick up your own guitar.
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Sporting a studded leather jacket and a rainbow guitar strap, Diamond Rings' John O'Regan (center) glams and glums out The Main.
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Rapper Kendrick Lamar is rather ubiquitous at SXSW this year, and here performs at Stubb's for the Spin Magazine Party.
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She prefers brains, but accepts breakfast burritos.
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Batillus' concrete-slab-heavy doom metal levels The Junior for the Brooklyn Vegan Party.
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The light, sparkling pop music of No Ceremony/// is like a dance party for one in your bedroom... or at least solo dance parties at the Red 7.
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We're pretty sure that Papa loves The Band and that's fine by us. Here, they play Red Eyed Fly for the After the Goldrush Party.
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From the land down under, gleeful dance-pop sextet Alpine plays Red 7.
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Queen stance: Solange at Stubb's Spin Magazine party.
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Another shot of Solange at Stubb's because, hey, that's a statue in the making.
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Reach out and touch someone.
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Atlanta's Trinidad James shows us his vertical leap at Stubb's.
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Submissive Unicorn is your new band name.
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Immortal Guardian brings ridiculous power metal — dungeons, dragons, and all — to the streets — 6th Street, to be specific.
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The Screaming Eagle of Soul, Charles Bradley, performs at the Public Radio Rocks showcase at the Austin Convention Center.
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Erykah Badu (left) joins Robert Glasper of the Robert Glasper Experiment for some R&B-drenched jazz at Sonos Studio.
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So this is awesome: Usher joins The Afghan Whigs at The Fader Fort for a cover his steamy slow jam, "Climax."
Credit Dave Lichterman for KEXP
Turn it up! Experimental psych-rock band Suuns plays the KEXP showcase at Mellow Johnny's.
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Now including Wild Flag keyboardist Rebecca Cole, Telekinesis fleshes out its drum-driven pop at the KEXP showcase at Mellow Johnny's.
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It's easy to bliss out to the moody pop music of Gliss at Mellow Johnny's for the KEXP showcase.
Credit Mike Katzif / WNYC
Noise-rock band KEN mode pummeling Red 7 at SXSW 2013.
Credit Mike Katzif / WNYC
Noisy post-punk trio Metz is never not playing SXSW.
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Furiously fast hardcore band Baptists pounding The Junior at the The Brooklyn Vegan Party.
Originally published on Sat March 16, 2013 4:44 pm
You can depend on Solange to be the best dressed anywhere — that pink suit! — but her commanding live presence at SXSW is a thing of wonder, even if her funky R&B can be quiet and unassuming. We also took in the crushing doom metal of Batillus, spazzed out to Metz, and got gloomy with Diamond Rings.
Noise-rock band KEN mode pummeling Red 7 at SXSW 2013.
Credit Mindy Best / Getty Images
Natalie Maines (center) at Central Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas during the SXSW Music Festival. Maines's band included her father, Lloyd Maines (seated left) and Ben Harper (seated right).
Credit Mito Habe-Evans / NPR
Bob Boilen, host of NPR Music's All Songs Considered, interviews The Zombies at SXSW.
Credit Mike Katzif / WNYC
Noise-rock band KEN mode pummeling Red 7 at SXSW 2013.
"If you want to do something, just do it." Words of wisdom from Bob Boilen that sum up day four of South By Southwest for the All Songs Considered gang perfectly. Bob, along with Robin Hilton, Stephen Thompson and Ann Powers were joined by Mike Katzif and Will Butler, both former All Songs interns. Will's journey to Austin was inspired by Amanda Palmer's recent TED Talk.
Ecstatic Cafe Tacvba fans at Alt.Latino's SXSW showcase at Auditorium Shores.
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The percussion-heavy, slightly vaudevillian folk-rock band He's My Brother She's My Sister plays Pelon.
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Dramatic, blissful and awash in synths, Lauren Mayberry (left) and Martin Doherty of CHVRCHES play the Fader Fort.
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Naked Cowboy's furry cousin from Austin, Texas?
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Fronted by Oscar-winning Argentine composer Gustavo Santaolalla, Bajofondo's music was as cinematic as it was unexpected at Alt.Latino's SXSW showcase.
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Bajofondo's Martín Ferrés stretches out his bandoneón as far as he can at Alt.Latino's SXSW showcase.
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Music is everywhere on the streets of Austin.
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"It's a living."
Credit Dave Lichterman for KEXP
Without a line of horns or funky rhythm section, Iron and Wine's Sam Beam plays a solo acoustic set KEXP's showcase at Mellow Johnny's.
Credit Dave Lichterman for KEXP
Olafur Arnalds' band circles around him at Mellow Johnny's before a set at the KEXP showcase.
Credit Michael Buckner / Getty Images for SXSW
Underneath a stage shaped like a 62-foot vending machine, LL Cool J plays an outdoor set at SXSW 2013.
Credit Michael Buckner / Getty Images for SXSW
Ice Cube goes hard at the #BoldStage.
Credit Mito Habe-Evans / NPR
"It's your voice," Dave Grohl says at his SXSW keynote speech that began Thursday. "Everyone's blessed with at least that. And who knows how long it will last?"
Credit Jordan Naylor / Getty Images for SXSW
Sans confetti cannons and the giant hamster ball, The Flaming Lips gave an intimate performance of its now-classic album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, at The Belmont.
Credit Gary Miller / FilmMagic
Dave Grohl gives Stevie Nicks a big smooch at the Sound City showcase at Stubb's BBQ. During the epic-length set, Nicks performed "Landslide" and "Gold Dust Woman" with the band.
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Mexican flags, wrestling masks and a legion of ecstatic Café Tacvba fans at Alt.Latino's showcase at Auditorium Shores.
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Heavy, angry and hilarious, Molotov pounds Auditorium Shores into submission during a SXSW showcase presented by NPR Music's Alt.Latino.
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Latin rock pioneers Café Tacvba show everyone why they're living legends at Alt.Latino's SXSW showcase.
The Flaming Lips on stage at the Belmont in Austin, Texas. The band played its 2002 album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
Credit Gary Miller/FilmMagic / Getty Images
Dave Grohl (left) and Stevie Nicks both spoke in front of (separate) large audiences at SXSW during the day on Thursday. Later that night, they performed together in a concert by Grohl's Sound City Players.
Credit Robin Hilton / NPR
All Teal Everything: The Brooklyn band Conveyor play sunny-sounding pop.
Credit Jordan Naylor / Getty Images
The Flaming Lips on stage at the Belmont in Austin, Texas. The band played its 2002 album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.
The span of South by Southwest is so huge that sometimes the festival can be about the bands you miss as much as the ones you see. After the hectic Thursday on the streets, bars and venues of Austin, Texas, the All Songs Considered crew regrouped to recount the long walks, long lines, tough decisions, missed opportunities and happy accidents of day three.
Karen O led the Yeah Yeah Yeahs through a set at NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's in Austin, Texas that included songs from the band's new album, Mosquito.
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Youth Lagoon, led by keyboard player and singer Trevor Powers, released its second album, Wondrous Bughouse, on March 5. The band played on the indoor stage at Stubb's in Austin, Texas.
Credit Adam Kissick for NPR
Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield began her set at the indoor stage at Stubb's by strumming three songs alone on an electric guitar, before being joined by two band mates.
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At the start of his set, Rapper Le1f's blond braids were in a bun, but they soon swung free.
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Nick Cave started his set with the Bad Seeds at Stubb's as the sun was going down. He told the crowd before it started that the first song would be a long one, so it would be dark by the time it ended.
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Zac Pennington barrels through the Red 7 crowd with Parenthetical Girls' confrontational, often jarring indie-pop.
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With cozy boy/girl vocals over jangly dream-pop, Ex Cops' Amalie Bruun plays The Parish.
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To quote Le1f on Twitter: "LOL @ all u musicians lugging around instruments and heavy metal cases on this plane to sxsw right now HAHA RAPPERS WIN AGAIN."
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Sydney native Jonathan Boulet charms the audience at The Brew Exchange with his pummeling, percussion-filled set.
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Sinister and driven by huge bass lines, the London-based post-punk band Savages, well, savages the Brooklyn Vegan Day Party at The Main.
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Fader Fort attendees mellow out and sway ever-so-gently to the sweet, sweet psych-rock of Ducktails.
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Nice shades, dude. Jangly, organ-driven garage-rockers Allah-Las plays the KEXP showcase at Mellow Johnny's.
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Framed by racks of bicycles, Unknown Mortal Orchestra plays the KEXP showcase at Mellow Johnny's.
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Filled with a distorted urgency, Bleeding Rainbow bends notes and pummels the crowd at the KEXP showcase at Mellow Johnny's.
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Arrayed in pink and blue hues, Sky Ferreira was a vision of neon electro-pop at The Fader Fort.
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Are you dancing? Aussie dance-rockers Atlas Genius play the KCRW showcase at Haven.
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Wrapped in cords, Toro y Moi plays the KCRW showcase at Haven.
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Ruben Albarran, the singer for Cafe Tacvba, leads the band through one of its rhythm-heavy, disco- and rock-inspired songs.
Before our eyes were glued to stellar performances by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds at our official SXSW showcase on Tuesday — not too mention rapper Le1f's amazing dance moves — we roamed the streets of Austin.
Yeah Yeah Yeah's Karen O lights up the night at Stubb's during NPR Music's SXSW showcase.
Credit Adam Kissick for NPR
Nick Cave started his set with the Bad Seeds at Stubb's as the sun was going down. He told the crowd before it started that the first song would be a long one, so it would be dark by the time it ended.
Credit Adam Kissick for NPR
Ruben Albarran, the singer for Cafe Tacvba, leads the band through one of its rhythm-heavy, disco- and rock-inspired songs.
Credit Adam Kissick for NPR
Youth Lagoon, led by keyboard player and singer Trevor Powers, released its second album, Wondrous Bughouse, on March 5. The band played on the indoor stage at Stubb's in Austin, Texas.
Credit Adam Kissick for NPR
Waxahatchee's Katie Crutchfield began her set at the indoor stage at Stubb's by strumming three songs alone on an electric guitar, before being joined by two band mates.
Credit Adam Kissick for NPR
Karen O led the Yeah Yeah Yeahs through a set at Stubb's that included songs from the band's new album, Mosquito.
Credit Adam Kissick for NPR
Karen O led the Yeah Yeah Yeahs through a set at NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's in Austin, Texas that included songs from the band's new album, Mosquito.
For the All Songs Considered gang, the second day of the South By Southwest music festival was packed with familiar favorites and new discoveries. On the heels of NPR Music's SXSW Showcase at Stubb's, Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton, Stephen Thompson and Ann Powers once again huddled in their favorite Austin churchyard to discuss the standouts and surprises from the day.
