Sesame Street at the Tiny Desk; Who’s Your Favorite New Artist Of 2019?

Plus, where Bruce Springsteen's 'Western Stars' came from

Claire Harbage/NPR A couple weeks ago, we saw a lot of our coworkers crying — happy tears, we should clarify — upon meeting some of their childhood heroes. Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Count von Count and some of their friends stopped by NPR HQ to perform a set at the Tiny Desk as part of a celebration of Sesame Street’s 50th anniversary. Sesame Street has won more major awards than any other group to play the Tiny Desk, including 11 Grammys and 192 Emmys. But judging by this performance, we’d guess it’s not the accolades that keep the hardworking, dedicated team behind Sesame Street going: The pure looks of joy on the faces of the children (and young-at-heart NPR staffers) sitting in front of Bob Boilen’s desk might be enough. Sunny day, Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna New Music Radiohead got hacked, and then one-upped the hackers. After frontman Thom Yorke's personal library of minidiscs was reportedly stolen and leaked online, the band officially released the 18 hours of demos and outtakes recorded between 1995 and 1998 during the band's OK Computer sessions. Some critics have said Bruce Springsteen’s new album, Western Stars, got its sound from The Boss’ recent time spent on Broadway. But critic Ann Powers argues it actually connects to a stream of pop balladry that emerged in tandem with Hollywood's turn toward hippie antiheroes in the 1960s and ’70s, asking: Who gets hurt when people, especially men, try to be free? Jim Jarmusch's new zombie comedy The Dead Don't Die features an oddball crew of celebrities: Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, Tom Waits, Chloë Sevigny, Selena Gomez, RZA, Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover — and Americana singer Sturgill Simpson, who released his woozily old-school title track from the film’s soundtrack this week. Featuring Something to keep in mind while watching Martin Scorsese's new Netflix documentary about Bob Dylan’s Rolling Thunder Revue: Bob Dylan is messing with you, writes critic Ann Powers. Bushwick Bill, of the rap trio Geto Boys, died this week. The Houston-based dancer-turned-rapper was one of the first to bring cinematically macabre imagery to rap lyricism. (Last month, our colleague Rodney Carmichael wrote about how Geto Boys’ 1991 hit “Mind Playing Tricks On Me” forever changed hip-hop’s relationship to mental health.) What do Duke Ellington, Judy Garland, Janet Jackson, Guns N' Roses, Nirvana and The Roots all have in common? Original recordings of their work — and many other artists’ — are said to have been destroyed in a fire at Universal Studios Hollywood in 2008. On her 14th studio album, Madame X, Madonna adopts yet another new musical identity. Inspired both by her life in Lisbon and her long-standing fascination with Catholicism, she sings in English, Portuguese and Spanish. Tiny Desk Claire Harbage/NPR When your newsletter editors invited Foxing to NPR HQ, we wondered how the band's outsized sound would translate. The group, one of the leading acts of the current emo revival, expanded its numbers for its Tiny Desk performance, adding strings and a saxophone. And even with minor amplification, the band delivered. Incoming Earlier this week, we asked you to name your favorite new artist of 2019 — and there’s still time to vote! Next week, we’ll reveal your picks on All Songs Considered. One More Thing “Goal!” x 13 What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: nprmusic@npr.org Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can sign up here. Looking for more great content? Check out all of our newsletter offerings — including Books, Pop Culture, Health and more! Need a new playlist? Follow NPR Music on Spotify and Apple Music! You received this message because you're subscribed to our NPR Music emails. |  Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy | NPR 1111 N. CAPITOL ST. NE WASHINGTON DC 20002