All Songs Considered

If you grew up with parents who love music, chances are you raided their record collection at some point. What did you find? Was there an artist or album or song that shaped your tastes in music today, or something you still carry around with you years later? On this edition of All Songs Considered, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton reflect on their own parents' record collections and share stories from NPR Music listeners. One thing they learned: The music people discovered wasn't always great, but it always made a lasting impact. Throughout the summer, All Things Considered is asking people to share memories of their mom and dad's record collections. They launched the series with a story from singer and actress Audra McDonald, who described how she discovered and fell in love with the song "Edelweiss." Share your own memories of your parents' record collection in the comments section or on the All Songs Considered blog.

Last week, about a hundred DJs and bands played to more than a 100-thousand lovers of electronic dance music. They all came together for one reason: to dance, and that's what they did 24-7, for three days. Now in its thirteenth year, Movement: Detroit's Electronic Music Festival has featured an enormously diverse group of electronic producers and DJs from around the world. Detroit is the birthplace of Techno and after all these years of being more popular nearly everywhere but Detroit, there was a feeling at this year's festival that it's all coming back home. In fact, Detroit's mayor declared it "Detroit Techno Week." Fresh off the plane from Detroit, NPR's Sami Yenigun and U Street Music Hall promotions director Morgan Tepper talk to host Bob Boilen about the music they heard at the festival's parties, the after-parties and the after-after-parties. The Bells Artist: Jeff MillsAlbum: Kat Moda Learn more about this release on Beatport. Deez Nuts Artist: Maceo Plex Album: Ellum Sleazy Riders Collection Corinne (Benoit & Sergio Cover) Artist: Metronomy Album: English Riviera: Unreleased Remixes Tourist Trap (Jamie Jones 'Miss X' Remix) Artist: 11:11 Album: Tourist Trap (Jamie Jones 'Miss X' Remix) LTD Artist: Till von Sein Album: #LTD Sunrise BCN Artist: Audiofly, Matthew Dekay & Lee Burridge Album: All Day I Dream Single

Once a year, we pull out our skull goblets, prepare various sacrifices and get ourselves ready for Maryland Deathfest. Now in its tenth year, Maryland Deathfest is the largest metal festival in the United States. On this episode, host Bob Boilen is joined by NPR Music's resident metal fiend and Viking berserker, Lars Gotrich, and metal writer Kim Kelly to preview some of the doom, black metal and crust punk artists performing on this year's stages. With band names like Autopsy, Infernal Stronghold and Dragged Into Sunlight, it's going to be a dark, twisted and awesome time. Be sure to follow our two metal scribes at MDF this week as they document four days of sweaty mosh, sometimes questionable hygiene and so, so many black t-shirts. You'll find interviews and photos on Lars' Tumblr and @totalvibration, plus more coverage from @grimkim. See you in the pit. Eyehategood Album: Southern Discomfort Song: Southern Discomfort  Autopsy Album: Macabre Eternal Song: Always About to Die Dragged Into Sunlight Album: Hatred for Mankind Song: Volcanic Birth Saint Vitus Album: Lillie: F-65 Song: Bleeding Ground   Infernal Stronghold Album: Godless Noise Song: Snorting the Ruins of Sodom Coke Bust Album: Lines in the Sand Song: Forced to Live   Extermination Angel Album: Demo 2009 a?.?k?.?a. "Advancement Into Obscurity" Song: Whirlwind Killing Spree Hellbastard Album: Natural OrderSong: I Beg in Blood Learn more about this release on the band's website. Electric Wizard Album: Black Masses Song: Black Mass  

When the NPR Music team started talking about the 25th anniversary of Paul Simon's Graceland, we soon realized everyone on staff agreed it was one of the all-time great records. That doesn't happen very often, especially in a group of people with such divergent tastes in music. Vote For The Albums Everyone Can Love This discovery got us thinking: Is it possible to form a top ten list of records everyone can agree on? The kinds of records that, if you put them on at a party, everyone would say, "turn it up!" So we need you to vote. We've started by nominating 20 albums that we think will be loved by everyone who listens to them, and we want you to tell us whether YOU feel that love. To keep this running through the summer, we'll need more suggestions for albums that might fit the bill. Keep voting, and by August we hope to have a final list we can agree on. A big quest like this one needs a big kickoff, so for this week's show Bob and Robin play a few selections they and the rest of the NPR Music team think everyone will love. Bob and Robin are also joined by folk singer Glen Hansard, who throws Bob Marley's Exodus into the ring. We don't even scratch the surface of the surface with this show. But we hope to get the discussion going by fitting in as much in as possible, from quiet, emotional folk, and psychedelic funk, to high-strutting, head-banging rock. SONGS FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE Paul Simon Album: Graceland Song: Graceland Shuggie Otis Album: Inspiration Information Song: Strawberry Letter 23  Pink Floyd Album: The Dark Side of the Moon Song: Speak to Me/Breathe   Ramones Album: Rocket to Russia Song: Rockaway Beach AC/DC Album: Back in Black Song: Back in Black Billie Holiday Album: Ultimate Collection Song: Solitude Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova Album: Once (Soundtrack) Song: Falling Slowly Bob Marley & the Wailers Album: Exodus [Bonus Tracks] Song: Turn Your Lights Down Low   The Beatles Album: The Beatles [White Album] Song: Back in the U.S.S.R.   Boston Album: Boston Song: More Than a Feeling   De La Soul Album: 3 Feet High and Rising Song: Magic Number

On this edition of All Songs Considered, a strange mishap turns Robin Hilton into a robot ... and he/it is programmed to talk about how great a time the All Songs Considered crew had at our fantastic fun. concert. Hiltonbot 2.0 is good and all, but it could never take the place of flesh-and-blood, music-loving nerdery, so the show includes picks from the apparently-human NPR Music editor Jacob Ganz and All Songs intern Dan Raby. On the show: Patti Smith's first album in eight years, which includes a collaboration with Tom Verlaine on the song "April Fool"; a nostalgic garage-pop offering from Best Coast; Austin's Deep Time (formerly YellowFever) makes a pop song that surprises; a tropical-infused, electronic song from Hundred Waters and the Debo Band, which Bob fell in love with at globalFEST this year, unveils the first single off its Sub Pop debut. Fun. Album: Some Nights Song: Carry On Deep Time Album: Deep Time Song: Clouds Patti Smith Album: Banga Song: April Fool Hundred Waters Album: Hundred Waters Song: Me and Anodyne Best Coast Album: The Only Place Song: How They Want Me To Be Debo Band Album: Debo Band Song: Asha Gedawo

On the latest episode of All Songs Considered, hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton take a circuitous route through this week's recommended listening, starting with two randomly paired videos from the WFMU blog, and ending with angular electronica from Squarepusher. Along the way we hear a brash tale of love, loss and the Guggenheim from The Ting Tings; a mix of soul and dubstep from The Memorials, French artist Yann Tiersen's beautiful "Monuments," and a little bit of eerie blues-rock from one of Robin's latest discoveries, Tu Fawning. Also on the show: Last week Bob challenged listeners to guess what The Mynabirds song "Generals" reminds him of. You've been tossing and turning in your bed trying hopelessly to figure it out. This week, Bob and Robin talk with The Mynabirds singer and songwriter Laura Burhenn about the song and play a few of the listener guesses. Did anyone win a date with Bob? All answers will be revealed in this episode.

Okay, who let Bob Boilen have a book of "rock 'n' roll" baby names? The damage is done, and he's discovered that people named "Bob" are "beloved weirdos." This revelation led Bob and Robin on a trip to find a few of their favorite "beloved weirdos" who are making great music today. St. Vincent's Annie Clark is one (emphasis on the "beloved" and creative side), with her continuous quest to craft denser, darker rock songs. Clark's new song, "GROT" — the B-side to her Record Store Day single — mixes wordless, haunting vocals with aggressive blasts of guitars and drums to create a beautiful clash of harmony and noise. Also on this week's show: Fiona Apple just released her first new song in seven years and we've got it. "Every Single Night" is a highly detailed, orchestral imagining of her own creative process; The Mynabirds' members get political with the fierce, stomping cut "Generals"; a sneak preview of the brooding, epic new full-length from Exitmusic; and Fenster crafts dreamy bedroom pop with "White to Red." St. Vincent Album: KrokodilSong: Grot The Mynabirds Album: Generals Song: Generals Fiona Apple Album: The Idler Wheel... Song: Every Single Night Fenster Album: Bones Song: White to Red Exitmusic Album: Passage Song: The Night

It's been a while since we heard new music from Spiritualized's Jason Pierce (a.k.a. J Spaceman). After the one-two punch of nearly dying from double-pneumonia in 2005 and going through six months of chemotherapy for a degenerative liver disease, Pierce is back in a big way with "Hey Jane," a chugging nine-minute song which draws from the classic rock of bands like The Velvet Underground. Also on this week's show: a new blast of guitar from Jack White's debut solo record, Blunderbuss; Yuck takes a try at shoegaze with its new song "Chew"; Timothy Presley (a.k.a. the insanely prolific White Fence) channels Syd Barrett for his psychedelic folk album Family Perfume Vol. 1; We Are Serenades creates beautiful harmonies in "Walking Home"; and a gorgeous song with a wistful message of loss and remembrance from Maps & Atlases. Jack White Album: Blunderbuss Song: Sixteen Saltines Yuck Album: Chew (Single) Song: Chew   Maps & Atlases Album: Beware and Be Grateful Song: Old & Gray White Fence Album: Family Perfume, Vol. 1 Song: Do You Know Ida Know? We Are Serenades Album: Criminal Heaven Song: Walking Home Spiritualized Album: Sweet Heart Sweet Light Song: Hey Jane

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen and Jack White discuss the making of White's new album, Blunderbuss. Plus, the difference between playing with men and women, why hipsters are scary and what major labels do that indies can't. See a video of this interview on the NPR Music site http://www.npr.org/2012/04/13/150593292/jack-white-how-i-made-blunderbuss?ps=mh_frimg1

This week on All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen and Jacob Ganz go globe hopping to find new music from familiar faces: Canada's Japandroids makes punk music that doesn't only want to punch you in the face; New York's Dirty Projectors mix familiar elements from different eras to create some completely new music; and we hear from London's Hot Chip, those nerds who just wanna dance. Also on this episode: the return and revival of soul singer Bobby Womack, Peter Broderick's sweeping tribute to artist Colin Kenniff, singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe gets inspired by a set of pawn-shop drums, and tropical garage rock from the band Bayatas. Japandroids Album: Celebration Rock Song: The House That Heaven Built  Sarah Jaffe Album: The Body Wins Song: Glorified High Hot Chip Album: In Our Heads Song: Flutes Dirty Projectors Album: Swing Lo Magellan Song: Gun Has No Trigger Bayatas Album: The Hand Effect/What Is The Dream Song: The Hand Effect Bobby Womack Album: The Bravest Man In The Universe Song: Please Forgive My Heart Peter Broderick Album: http://www.itstartshear.com Song: Colin

Few people can easily define it but nearly everyone knows it when they hear it. Speak-singing, the murky marriage of spoken lyrics and sung melodies, can be heard in everything from 17th century opera to the Velvet Underground and latest Mountain Goats record. On this edition of All Songs Considered hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton argue over the pros and cons of this polarizing art form and take a look at some of their favorite (and not-so-favorite) speak-singing artists. Plus, listeners chime in with some of their own picks. SONGS FEATURED ON THIS EPISODE Rex Harrison Album: My Fair Lady [Original Soundtrack] Song: A Hymn to Him The Velvet Underground Album: Loaded [Fully Loaded Edition] Song: Sweet Jane [Full Length Version] William Shatner Album: Has Been Song: Common People   The Modern Lovers Album: The Modern Lovers Song: She Cracked   U2 Album: Unforgettable Fire Song: Pride (In the Name of Love)   Mozart Album: Mozart: Le Nozze di Figaro Song: Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), opera, K. 492 [Act 1. Scene 1 & 2. No. 2. Duettino. Se a caso madama] Christine Schäfer Album: Arnold Schoenberg: Pierrot Lunaire; Herzgewächse; Ode to Napoleon Song: Pierrot lunaire, melodrama for voice & chamber ensemble, Op. 21 [Act I, No. 1, "Mondestrunken"] Laurie Anderson Album: Mister Heartbreak Song: Blue Lagoon  Suzanne Vega Album: Solitude Standing Song: Tom's Diner   The Mountain Goats Album: Sunset Tree Song: Love Love Love   Wilco Album: Yankee Hotel Foxtrot Song: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart  

It's been two years since Iceland's dreamscape sound artists Sigur Ros scrapped the band's sixth album and went on indefinite hiatus. But the group is back now with plans for a new record this year. Hear a sneak preview of the new music on this week's All Songs Considered, plus a collaboration between Danger Mouse and Norah Jones. Also on the show: Former Fleet Foxes drummer Josh Tillman returns with a solo album under the name Father John Misty; We spin new music from our favorite artist from this year's South by Southwest festival, Patrick Watson, and one of our most surprising discoveries, Gashcat; and NPR Music's most recent member, Saidah Bount, joins us to share one of her favorite new discoveries. Father John Misty Album: Fear Fun Song: Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings Norah Jones Album: Little Broken Hearts Song: Say Goodbye Patrick Watson Album: Adventures In Your Own Backyard Song: Into Giants THEESatisfaction Album: awE naturalE Song: Queens Gashcat Album: Reunion! Song: The Morning Sun A Place to Bury Strangers Album: Onwards to the Wall Song: I Lost You Sigur Ros Album: Valtari Song: Ekki Mukk

Portlandia isn't a show about music, but there's plenty in it for the rock nerds. The IFC comedy series, set and filmed in Portland, Ore., is the creation of Carrie Brownstein and Fred Armisen — both of whom have spent enough time in bands (Brownstein in Wild Flag and Sleater-Kinney, Armisen in the punk group Trenchmouth) to see the humor in amateur DJ nights and men with Pearl Jam tattoos. On this week's show, the two sit down with Bob Boilen to talk about the music they grew up with, their favorite Portland bands, and a fateful trip to the home of punk icon Glenn Danzig. Paul McCartney/Wings Album: Band on the Run Song: Nineteen Hundred and Eighty Five The B-52's Album: Wild Planet Song: Dirty Back Road Misfits Album: Walk Among Us Song: I Turned Into a Martian Devo Album: Freedom of Choice  Song: Girl U Want Red Fang Album: Murder the Mountains Song: Wires Holy Sons Album: Survivalist Tales! Song: Chapter Must Be Closed   Islands Album: Sleep & A Forgetting Song: This Is Not a Song Ike and Tina Turner Album: Come Together Song: It Ain't Right (Lovin' to Be Lovin')

The final night at the South By Southwest music conference offered our team in Austin new favorites, classic performances and a few welcome surprises.

Day three at South by Southwest included death metal, hip-hop from Seattle, a set from the band with the number one song in the country and the emergence of a new All Songs favorite.