Bob Boilen

The beauty of the Tiny Desk lies, at least partially, in the limitations of size and technology. We rarely amplify voices, for example, so for a band like Until The Ribbon Breaks, the challenge becomes how to take a loud electronic sound down to a volume where singer Pete Lawrie-Winfield ...

This week on All Songs Considered we reflect on age and time, how we make sense of the world as we all grow older, and how it all ties in to the artist who opens this week's show: Sufjan Stevens. Stevens has been busy with numerous projects since releasing his ...

SOAK is the music of eighteen-year-old Bridie Monds-Watson from Derry, Ireland. I love the simplicity in her music and puzzling out the images in this song, "Sea Creatures." At one moment I think it's a love song, with lines like:

When they tell you they love you,
They don't ...

I'll be online at reddit.com/r/music on Wednesday, February 11, 1 to 2 p.m. EST, answering your questions. I'm a little scared because you can actually ask me anything. It will be kind of a Tiny Desk Concert (intimate, awkward) but I'm sure we'll have fun.

In case you ...

In honor of Valentine's Day, we asked our listeners to name their ideal romantic song. After receiving over a thousand replies, we tallied the results, listened, swooned (and sometimes scratched our heads). On this week's show, Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton count down the top 10 and share a couple ...

Paperhaus is my kind of guitar band, with power in the lyricism instead of just the chords. Its music can be jarring and jagged, but Paperhaus can also sound dreamy the way groups like Television could, with lilt and grit. These are long songs that take twists and turns of ...

The visual: A clown past her prime. The words: "Put me on a pedestal and I'll only disappoint you."

Welcome to 2015 and the year many will fall in love with the best lyricist in rock music today, Courtney Barnett. Now that I've put her on the pedestal I'll say ...

On this week's All Songs Considered we hear from some favorite veteran artists and incredible newcomers, including Modest Mouse's first new record in eight years, Death Cab for Cutie's first record made with an outside producer, and the shattering young psychedelic rockers Sunflower Bean.

I've basically stopped going to concerts. For me, this is kind of like I've stopped eating or sleeping. If you're looking for me these days, you can find me at my computer, watching musicians play their heart out for a chance to perform at NPR's Tiny Desk. After ...

It's easy to listen to Asaf Avidan and not know if you're listening to a female singer from long ago or a guy singing 21st-century pop songs. Avidan is a bestselling 34-year-old singer from Israel who is little known in the U.S. This record, Gold Shadow, is likely to ...

Have you ever felt alone in a big city? Have you ever seen pain on a stranger's face but couldn't figure out a way to acknowledge or ease it? Orenda Fink's video for "Holy Holy" speaks to the pain of mourning and the beauty of empathy toward strangers. The song ...

The songs of Elliott Smith are widely revered — especially by those who came of age in the '90s — but a new generation of listeners is only beginning to discover him. Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield Sing Elliott Smith is likely to expose new fans to the ...

Before Rubblebucket played its Tiny Desk Concert, its members asked if they could bring a confetti cannon. And, though I said no — dear coworkers, I really do care about you — the band still brought a fun mix of brass and brash to the Tiny Desk.

At the front ...

This week on All Songs Considered: Our favorite electronic artist, Dan Deacon, is back with another playfully infectious dance party, one he recorded both in the studio and in bathrooms and greenrooms during his most recent tour. Also, NPR Music contributor Katie Presley joins us with a hypnotic groove from ...

Trying to predict a musical future is impossible. I have proof: Bob Dylan is recording songs Frank Sinatra made popular! No one saw this coming and nothing could prepare us for it. It's weird and kind of wonderful. Here's a man clearly in love with the Great American Songbook and ...

Amason is a Swedish musical pastiche with a lot of names and a lot of talent: Gustav Ejstes (from Dungen), Amanda Bergman (who performs as Idiot Wind), Petter Winnberg (from Little Majorette) and Nils Törnqvist (from Miike Snow) all contribute voices and sounds. So it's no surprise that ...

Want to play a Tiny Desk Concert at NPR Music?

Already a few thousand of you have said yes, and now there are only days to go till the deadline: this Monday, Jan. 19. Truth be told, the competition is steep, but this is your chance to be heard.

The National Parks is a band from Utah, but place was so important to this song that they had a crew shoot this film in Finland to capture just the right feel. There's a tension in that opening guitar line that adds a bit of mystery to the ...

I came to know Daniel Lanois through his instrumental collaboration with Brian Eno, Apollo: Atmospheres And Soundtracks, in 1983. I fell in love with Lanois' own music through his singing and the heartfelt, textured songs on albums like 1989's lovely Acadie (with its New Orleans flavor) and 1993's ...