All Songs Considered

The highly anticipated new record from Spoon isn't out until January, but you can hear a cut from the record now, exclusively on All Songs Considered. "Written In Reverse" is the first single from the album, called Transference. It may be Spoon's best record yet. Also on this edition of All Songs Considered: surprising new music from chanteuse Norah Jones, the amazing hip-hop artist Brother Ali, Devendra Banhart's major label debut, Tegan and Sara, and essential music from "Weird Al" Yankovic.

This edition of All Songs Considered features a discussion on some of our picks for the decade's 50 most important recordings.

In this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen looks back at some of the defining trends, sounds and historic moments that made the '00s stand out, in a roundtable discussion with Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein, All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson.

Kyp Malone is best known as the guitarist and singer for TV On The Radio. But this fall, he released his debut solo album under the name Rain Machine. Rain Machine's eponymous record sounds an awful lot like the work of TV On The Radio, but the songs are a lot quieter and relatively spare. On this edition of All Songs Considered Malone sits in as guest DJ to talk about his Rain Machine project, and to share some of his favorite music by other artists.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen shares some of his favorite discoveries from the College Media Journal Music Festival in New York. Hear live performances by Patrick Watson, The xx and Choir of Young Believers, plus new solo music from Strokes frontman Julian Casablancas, violinist Oliver Schroer, fast-rising hip-hop artist Kid Cudi and the phenomenal electro-rock duo Phantogram.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, we spin some of the year's best new jazz recordings. Bob Boilen talks with WBGO's Josh Jackson, host of Live At the Village Vanguard, a monthly concert series from the legendary New York City jazz club. The two play cuts from some of 2009's standout albums, including "I Can't Help It" (from Gretchen Parlato's In a Dream) and Ben Allison's "Kramer vs. Kramer vs. Godzilla" (from Think Free).

On this edition of All Songs Considered, we've got an exclusive new song from Death Cab for Cutie's Chris Walla and J. Robbins of Jawbox. The two wrote and recorded the new single, titled "Mercury," in just two days as part of our Project Song series. Also on the program: London's captivating quartet The XX; the neo-psychedelic duo MV & EE; folk trio Espers; and new music from Doveman, Vampire Weekend and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah frontman Alec Ounsworth.

The Decemberists, Sufjan Stevens, Laura Veirs and Bill Frisell have one thing in common: When they wanted their music to sound amazing, they called on Tucker Martine for help. Martine is a composer, a musician and one of the most sought-after producers in the business, known for a mixture of imagination and soul. On this edition of All Songs Considered, Martine shares music from some of his favorite artists — including a sneak preview of Veirs' new album, which comes out in January.

On this edition of All Songs Considered we feature a cut from the new Fool's Gold record, new music from Built To Spill, rapper Lil B's plan to release a thousand songs before he's 21 years old, a classic reissued by The Feelies, The Mountain Goats, and the ethereal, ambient rock of Apse.

On this edition of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with Monitor Mix Blogger Carrie Brownstein, producer Robin Hilton, and Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson about some the albums they're most looking forward to coming out this fall. Hear sneak previews of new music from The Flaming Lips, choral versions of classic Kinks songs by Ray Davies, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova of The Swell Season, a collaboration between The Black Keys and some of the biggest names in hip-hop, The Gossip, and more.

On this edition of All Songs Considered: The Chapel Hill, NC band Polvo, new music from the Danish band Mew, singer-songwriter A.A. Bondy, an ambitious new album from the folk-rock group Noah and the Whale, an intercontinental collaboration via e-mail from the band Bell Horses, and Swedish musician Axel Willner, a.k.a. The Field.

All The Beatles' music has been remastered, meaning the engineers at Abbey Road Studio pulled out all the final master tapes (those final mixes of The Beatles' music) and tried to make them sound as pristine as possible, while preserving the integrity of the original mixes. It also means that The Beatles' music now sounds better than ever. Beatles historian and documentarian Kevin Howlett helped write the liner notes for the new releases. In this interview he talks about the process of cleaning and remastering the Beatles albums.

On this edition of All Songs Considered we've got an unusual new project from Victoria Bergsman. Known as the singer for the Swedish band The Concretes and the Peter Bjorn and John song "Young Folks," Bergsman mixes her distinctive voice and Swedish pop sounds with Sufi devotional music from Pakistan for a new band she calls Taken By Trees. Also on the show: The New Jersey-based duo Cymbals Eat Guitars, Headless Heroes cover the music of Nick Cave And The Bad Seeds, Bon Iver's Justin Vernon returns with a group of friends called Volcano Choir, Algerian singer Khaled, and Senegalese artist Baaba Maal.

We never thought we'd do it, but on this edition of All Songs Considered, we've got a tribute to Doris Day. Nellie McKay, an often irreverent and comical singer, reworks songs made popular by Day on a new album called As Normal As Blueberry Pie. Hear McKay's spare and elegant arrangement of "The Very Thought of You." Also on the program: a retrospective from the old-time string band New Lost City Ramblers; dreamy folk from the Canadian trio The Weather Station; the British electro-rock duo The Big Pink; experimental soundscapes from Blind Man's Colour; and the Vijay Iyer Trio remembers the music of Julius Hemphill.

here's been a lot of speculation on the Internet in recent weeks about a new batch of songs from Radiohead. While the band hasn't released the EP fans were hoping for, it has put out two new singles. We've got the latest, called "These Are My Twisted Words." Also on this edition of All Songs Considered, early previews of some of the albums we're most looking forward to coming out this fall, including new music from Atlas Sound, Lou Barlow of Dionsaur Jr. and Sebadoh, Norwegian singer-guitarist Sondre Lerche and Circulatory System.