NPR Music

New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 23

Anderson .Paak and Cordae. Michael Kiwanuka. Fenne Lily. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 23 with DJs from around the NPR Music network:

Over and Over: "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells (NPR+)

More than any song we’ve covered yet in this series about songs that persist in culture, "Crimson and Clover" is a stealth classic. Maybe you heard it in 1968 after its r

Alt.Latino: Los Tigres' Tiny Desk, explained

Last week we published a Tiny Desk Concert that ended up being unusual for a few reasons. First of all, it was the final production of our sixth annual El Tiny series. T

Elephant 6's rapturous, heartbreaking story

With the arrival of the first new Olivia Tremor Control album in nearly 30 years, we attempt to make sense of the sprawling, enigmatic collective behind it known as Eleph

New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 16

Fontaines D.C. Sophia Stel. The Avalanches. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 16 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Celia Gregor

Alt.Latino: Every El Tiny song has a secret

The Tiny Desk’s magnetism is its intimacy. We strip back lights and a big stage and get to see artists speak honestly about who they are directly to an audience around th

A new canon of Halloween music

Who’s the Mariah Carey of Halloween? Labels and artists are trying to capitalize on spooky season, but these are the songs that belong in the creepy canon, from the truly

Interview: Fontaines D.C.'s decadent, dystopian 'Dopamine Chamber'

At almost exactly the midpoint of our conversation about the fifth album made by his band, Fontaines D.C., Grian Chatten told me, “It's an interesting time to be a self.”

Interview: Troye Sivan is leaning into loneliness

Troye Sivan’s 2023 album, 'Something to Give Each Other,' marked a turning point in the Australian singer-songwriter’s career. Its choreo-driven singles “Rush” and “Got M

New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 9

Cameron Winter. Troye Sivan. Remi Wolf. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 9 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Tshego Letsoalo f

Alt.Latino: Tim, The Beatles and all of Brazil

The music of Tim Bernardes fits as easily in the poetry of the cosmos as it does in the songwriting canon of his country. Brazil has a legacy of some of the greatest most

How The Beatles made ‘Rubber Soul’ and broke up with their past

A super deluxe box set of The Beatles' legendary 1965 album Rubber Soul has just been released with brand new mixes, demos and outtakes that show The Beatles breaking up

New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 2

Victoria Monét. Meshell Ndegeocello. Sons of Sevilla. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 2, with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Ay

Alt.Latino: Melissa Aldana and Gonzalo Rubalcaba talk jazz

Jazz has often been called America's musical gift to the world. This week's guests remind us not only of the well-documented ways that Cuba revolutionized that gift, but

Phoebe Bridgers, Gilla Band, Wednesday, and more of the week’s best songs

We get big and loud this week with a surprise drop from Phoebe Bridgers and her song “On Video,” from the Primetime soundtrack; the monstrously disjointed “Placeholder” f

New Music Friday: The best albums out Sept. 25

Leon Bridges. Blondshell. Joy Oladokun. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Sept. 18 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Erin Wolf from

Alt.Latino: YEИDRY's life in six songs

YEИDRY's music is almost as diverse she is. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Italy, the singer’s repertoire of genre and sound pulls from multiple continents,

Lizzy McAlpine, Víkingur Ólafsson plays Bach, and more of the week's best songs

Our latest mix of the week’s best new songs swings from the shoegaze rock of rising LA band untitled (halo) to Bach’s “Air on the G String” performed by pianist Víkingur

Sylvan Esso: The NPR Music Interview

In September 2025, the electro-pop duo Sylvan Esso made headlines with the announcement that it was removing its catalog from Spotify. The world’s most popular music stre

New Music Friday: The best albums out Sept. 18

Beck. Carly Rae Jepsen. Beabadoobee. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Sept. 18 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Robert Moore from