All Songs Considered

On Thursday at SXSW, our intrepid team hosted a day party, caught two performances by Bruce Springsteen and experienced a whole lot of emotion.

Highlights from day one at SXSW included discoveries, old favorites and NPR Music's official showcase at Stubbs, featuring the return of Fiona Apple.

All Songs Considered is Austin-bound! On this week's show, host Bob Boilen, producer and co-host Robin Hilton, editor Stephen Thompson and NPR Music critic Ann Powers talk about the bands they're most excited to see this year at South by Southwest. The four-day music festivalkicks off on Wednesday, March 14 in Austin, Texas, and features roughly 2,000 artists, spanning countless genres. On the show: Bad Sports: "Can't Just Be Friends" Lady Leshurr: "Lego" Filastine: "Colony Collapse" Quiet Company: "You, Me and The Bottom" Mr. Gnome: "House of Circles" Teen Daze: "Let's Groove" Bright Moments: "Natives" The City And Horses: "We Will Never Be Discovered" No: "Stay With Me" Sauti Sol: "Soma Kijana" Daughter: "Landfill" Impending Doom: "There Will Be Violence" The Black And White Years: "Up!" Mirel Wagner: "No Death" Deafheaven: "Violet" Trippple Nippple: "LSD" Line Upon Line Percussion: "A Man With A Gun Lives Here" Clyde And Clem's Whiskey Business: "The Ballad of Ed Geen" Young Prism: "Floating In Blue" Sore Losers: "Letter To My Competition" ZZ Ward: "Criminal" Kishi Bashi: "Bright Whites" 

On this edition of All Songs Considered, we hear a stunning new song from Regina Spektor's upcoming album What We Saw From the Cheap Seats. We've also got Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, who joins Polish avant-garde composer Krzysztof Penderecki for a new collection of strange and beautiful classical pieces. Plus, listen for punk-inspired rock from Mind Spiders, a gorgeous new album from Cowboy Junkies, joyful electronic pop from Kishi Bashi, a new solo project from Nick Zammuto (half of the now-defunct duo The Books) and Argentinian electronic artist Mati Zundel. Regina Spektor Artist: Regina Spektor Album: What We Saw From The Cheap Seats Song: All The Rowboats   Kishi Bashi Artist: Kishi Bashi Album: 151A Song: Bright Whites   Mati Zundel Artist: Mati Zundel Album: Amazonico Gravitante Song: Senor Montecostez   Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonny Greenwood Artist: Krzysztof Penderecki and Jonny Greenwood Album: Threnody For The Victims Of Hiroshima/Popcorn Superhet Receiver Song: 48 Responses To Polymorphia: Pacay Tree   Zammuto Artist: Zammuto Album: Zammuto Song: Too Late To Topologize   Cowboy Junkies Artist: Cowboy Junkies Album: Wilderness: The Nomad Series, Vol. 4 Song: Angels in the Wilderness   Mind Spiders Artist: Mind Spiders Album: Meltdown Song: You Are Dead

This week on All Songs Considered, M. Ward puts his many side projects aside to record a new solo album — one that explores the moody songwriter's cheerier side. A Wasteland Companion isn't out until April, but we've got an exclusive sneak preview of the song "Primitive Girl." Also on the show: no-frills blues-rock from Ohio's Mount Carmel, a snowballing slow-burner from London's Dry the River and shoegazey pop from Minnesota's Now, Now (whose members met in marching band). Plus, Julia Holter and Tiny Victories get playful with the tools and conventions of electronic music, and a CD picked solely for its cover art turns out to be from NPR's own backyard. Mount Carmel Album: Real Women Song: Swaggs Dry the River Album: Shallow Bed Song: Lion's Den Now, Now Album: Threads Song: Prehistoric Julia Holter Album: Ekstasis Song: Für Felix   Office of Future Plans Album: Office of Future Plans Song: Harden Your Heart M. Ward Album: A Wasteland Companion Song: Primitive Girl Tiny Victories Album: Those Of Us Still Alive EP Song: Mr. Bones

NPR's Sami Yenigun and Otis Hart are back to talk beats, loops, drops and more with Bob Boilen. The latest Electronic Edition of All Songs Considered includes cuts from the new Grimes album, a surprise EP from Burial, a Burnt Friedman remix of South African dance music and premieres from Claude Von Stroke, Nina Kraviz and VCMG — a collaboration from two former members of Depeche Mode. Also on the show: Hot Chip's Joe Goddard emerges with the side project The 2 Bears and the mysterious Spanish producer John Talabot unveils his first proper album. Plus, Sami and Otis discuss the homegrown sounds coming out of San Francisco and explain the logic behind limited-edition releases. VCMG Album: Ssss Song: Bendy Bass Burial Album: KindredSong: Loner John Talabot Album: Fin Song: Destiny The 2 Bears Album: Be Strong Song: Be Strong Nina Kraviz Album: Nina Kraviz Song: Taxi Talk Grimes Album: Visions Song: Vowels = Space and Time Claude VonStroke Album: Le Fantôme Song: Le Fantôme  Zinja Hlungwani / Burnt Friedman Album: Theo Parrish Meets Mancingelani/Burnt Friedman Meets Zinja Hlungwani 12" Song: Burnt Friedman Meets Zinja Hlungwani

Don't look now, but Valentine's Day is once again looming on the horizon. One of our most polarizing holidays, Valentine's Day either reminds you of the seemingly endless frustrations of being single or, as with most of the listeners who shared stories for this edition of All Songs Considered, it's a chance to celebrate love in all of its wonderfully unpredictable, beautifully diverse forms. On this week's show, listeners dedicate songs to the ones they love. Hear music from Bjork,The XX, a classic tango from Carlos Gardel and more. 1. The xx - VCR 2. Dr. Dog - Where'd All The Time Go? 3. Bjork - Joga 4. Carlos Gardel: El Dia Que Mi Quieras 5. Fesit - The Park 6. The Beatles - Why Don't We Do It In The Road? 7. Led Zeppelin - Friends 8. Israel Kamakawiwo'ole - Over The Rainbow/What A Wonderful World 

The latest mix from All Songs Considered includes a sneak preview of Andrew Bird's highly anticipated new album Break It Yourself, the hypnotic harmonies of Julianna Barwick, sweet pop from Hospitality and a couple of CDs picked solely for their cover art, from the bands Thee American Revolution and Artificial Lover. Also on the show: the surprising and elusive music of Spoek Mathambo, and NPR Music's Frannie Kelley joins hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton to share one of her favorite new hip-hop songs of the year from the artist known as INDEED. Andrew Bird Album: Break It Yourself Song: Eyeoneye Hospitality Album: Hospitality Song: Liberal Arts iNDEED Album: iNDEED Song: Black Tears  Spoek Mathambo Album: Father Creeper Song: Stuck Together  Julianna Barwick Album: Never Change Song: Never Change Artificial Lover Album: Nava Song: Happy Nightmare Thee American Revolution Album: Buddha Electrostorm Song: Electric Flame

First Listen: Sharon Van Etten, 'Tramp' An interview with Sharon Van Etten with questions from NPR Music listener and Sharon fans. On her 2009 breakthrough Because I Was in Love, Sharon Van Etten is the embodiment of exposed nerves; the very essence of wounded vulnerability. In that record's best song, "Much More Than That," she lays out her insecurities while laying herself bare: Adorned by little more than a chorus of her own looped voice, Van Etten tentatively recalls tiny romantic gestures as a way of expressing the inexpressible. "One day I'll be a better writer," she sings at one point, as if laying out illustrative details in only a few words weren't already the hallmark of a gifted communicator. The albums which follow, 2010's epic and the new Tramp, stretch muscles and viscera over those raw nerves. Even when she's conveying disappointment, hurt or longing, Van Etten sounds more assertive and complex these days, aided by the ever-knottier contributions of guest players from The National, Wye Oak, Beirut and The Walkmen. The feathery coos of "Much More Than That" have given way to a tensely argumentative and conflicted sneer in "Serpents," the remarkable first single from Tramp, out Feb. 7. When she sings, "I had a thought that you would take me seriously," her words are smeared with accusation instead of apologies. She says it herself in the song's chorus: "Everyone changes in time." By the time she gets to "All I Can" a few songs later, even her most defensive pronouncements — "I do all I can / We all make mistakes" — ring out with stormy grandiosity that sounds downright triumphant. To put it mildly, Van Etten wears those changes well. Evolving convincingly before the eyes of the world, she's now both a fearless balladeer and a blood-and-guts rocker, not to mention an increasingly vital and promising live performer. There's no artifice to Sharon Van Etten: With refreshing, unmistakable directness, she sings like a human being who wants more from herself. On Tramp, she finds what she's looking for.

This week on All Songs Considered: Bob Boilen drops a party-rap track direct from Canada; Robin Hilton explains what he loves so much about Thomas Patrick Maguire, the songwriter he recently named his favorite new artist; and a surprise guest busts up the proceedings with some good old-fashioned California punk. Plus: pulsing, atmospheric tracks from Young Magic and Lucius, and the original voices of Liz Green and Sea of Bees. NEW MIX: CEREMONY, SEA OF BEES, YOUTH LAGOON, MORE Mitchmatic Album: It's Probably Raining Song: Why Don't You Know Young Magic Album: Melt Song: Slip Time Liz Green Album: O, Devotion! Song: Displacement Song Thomas Patrick Maguire Album: The Future's Coming So Fast Song: What's Your Malfunction  Ceremony Album: Zoo Song: Hysteria Sea of Bees Album: Orangefarben Song: Broke Lucius Album: Lucius EP Song: Don't Sit There

To celebrate the return of producer and co-host Robin Hilton, this week's All Songs Considered is the first proper episode of all-new music this year. On this episode, three guys who have never had trouble cranking out songs — Leonard Cohen, The Magnetic Fields' Stephin Merritt and Lambchop's Kurt Wagner — unveil cuts from their new albums. Also: a sneak preview from Lower Dens, an under-the-radar band from Baltimore that's also readying a new release. The Magnetic Fields Album: Love at the Bottom of the Sea Song: Andrew In Drag Gotye Album: Making Mirrors Song: Easy Way Out White Rabbits Album: Milk Famous Song: Heavy Metal Lambchop Album: Mr. M Song: Gone Tomorrow Leonard Cohen Album: Old Ideas Song: Going Home Porcelain Raft Album: Strange Weekend Song: Drifting In and Out Lost In The Trees Album: A Church That Fits Our Needs Song: Red Lower Dens Album: Nootropics Song: Brains

Twelve bands, 17 different countries, three stages, one frenzied night: That's the promise of globalFEST, a yearly showcase for international musicians who come from around the world to New York's Webster Hal. There, they introduce themselves to American club bookers, festival programmers, band managers and, of course, music fans. If you pace yourself well, there's just enough time during the evening's six hours to get a good taste of each band — and this year's amazing array of talent was fresh and surprising, from the funked-out psychedelic grooves of Ethiopia (by way of Boston's Debo Band) to the Silk Road's joyously rollicking cross-cultural collaboration, to the atmospheric and haunting sounds of Wang Li, a solo Chinese jaw harp player. For this week's edition of All Songs Considered, NPR Music's Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR contributor and Afropop.org senior editor Banning Eyre, and Rob Weisberg of WNYC (who also hosts WFMU'sTranspacific Sound Paradise) join Bob Boilen to revisit some of the highlights and favorite discoveries from this year's globalFEST.

Sleigh Bells Album: Reign of Terror Song: Born to Lose Shearwater Album: Animal Joy Song: Animal Life   Stew & The Negro Problem Album: Making It Song: Love Is A Cult Adam Arcuragi Album: Like a Fire That Consumes All Before It... Song: The Well Craig Finn Album: Clear Heart Full Eyes Song: Rented Room Dirty Three Album: Toward The Low Sun Song: That Was Was Imperial Teen Album: Feel the Sound Song: Out From Inside Charlie Haden/Hank Jones Album: Come Sunday Song: Going Home Sharon Van Etten Album: Tramp Song: Serpents Laura Gibson Album: La Grande Song: La Grande The White Buffalo Album: Once Upon a Time in the West Song: BB Guns and Dirtbikes Chairlift Album: Something Song: Met Before

Holiday music is inescapable this time of year, but it's worth remembering that "Jingle Bell Rock" isn't the only game in town. This week on All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen sits down with NPR's Jacob Ganz and Barrie Hardymon to play some holiday music you may not have heard before. That includes a 15th-century English carol, a 2010 club banger revamped with a Hanukkah theme, and a truly bizarre Prince song that finds the Purple One toasting his dead lover with a banana daiquiri ... on Christmas Eve. Paul Simon Album: So Beautiful or So What Song: Getting Ready For Christmas Day Natalie Merchant Album: A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 3 Song: Children Go Where I Send Thee Adam Arcuragi Album: Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) Song: Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) This song is available on Bandcamp.   Prince Album: Hits/The B-Sides Song: Another Lonely Christmas   The King's Singers Album: A Little Christmas Music Song: The Boar's Head Carol   The Polyphonic Spree Album: It's Christmas! Song: It's Christmas! This release is available from Good Records Recordings.   The Walkmen Album: Little House of Savages EP Song: The Christmas Party Darlene Love Album: SNL Sketch Song: Christmas for the Jews The Leevees Album: Hanukkah Rocks Song: Kugel The Maccabeats Album: Candlelight Song: Candlelight YouTube Merle Haggard Album: A Christmas Present Song: If We Make It Through December Kate & Anna McGarrigle Album: McGarrigle Christmas Hour Song: Spotlight on Christmas Julian Koster and the Music Tapes Album: Tiny Desk Concert Song: Zat You, Santa Claus?

This summer, when All Songs Considered asked listeners to vote for their favorite albums of the year so far, there were a handful of shoo-ins. Instantly beloved releases by Bon Iver, Adele, Fleet Foxes, The Decemberists and others all made a predictably strong showing. Six months later, many of those albums have held their ground — but our poll of listeners' 100 favorite records from all of 2011 still had its surprises. The Black Keys swooped into the No. 6 slot with El Camino, an album just a few days older than the poll itself. Ceremonials, the follow-up to Florence + the Machine's sleeper hit Lungs, followed close behind. And it wasn't just the dark horses that stunned us — two of our personal favorites, the strong spring releases from Wye Oak and The Antlers, each dropped a dozen spots. This week's episode includes songs from the top 25 listener picks. Once you've listened to the show, head to the All Songs blog for the full list of your 100 favorite albums of 2011. Bon Iver Album: Bon Iver Song: Calgary Fleet Foxes Album: Helplessness Blues Song: Grown Ocean Adele Album: 21 Song: Rolling In The Deep   The Decemberists Album: The King Is Dead Song: June Hymn Radiohead Album: The King Of Limbs Song: Lotus Flower The Black Keys Album: El Camino Song: Lonely Boy Wilco Album: Whole Love Song: Born Alone Florence + the Machine Album: Ceremonials Song: Shake It Out   Beirut Album: The Rip TideSong: Santa Fe Foster the People Album: Torches Song: Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) M83 Album: Hurry Up, We're Dreaming Song: Midnight City   Feist Album: Metals Song: How Come You Never Go There Iron & Wine Album: Kiss Each Other Clean Song: Tree by the River tUnE-yArDs Album: w h o k i l l Song: Bizness St. Vincent Album: Strange Mercy Song: Cruel The Civil Wars Album: Barton Hollow Song: Barton Hollow   Death Cab For Cutie Album: Codes And Keys Song: You Are A Tourist Tom Waits Album: Bad As Me Song: Bad As Me My Morning Jacket Album: Circuital Song: Circuital   Bright Eyes Album: The People's Key Song: Shell Games Jay-Z/Kanye West Album: Watch the Throne Song: Otis Coldplay Album: Mylo Xyloto Song: Every Teardrop Is a Waterfall PJ Harvey Album: Let England Shake Song: Let England Shake Cults Album: Cults Song: Go Outside James Blake Album: James Blake Song: The Wilhelm Scream