Introducing NPR Music Live Sessions

Plus, the debut of Viking's Corner, and the "Baby, It's Cold Outside" debate begins.

by Marissa Lorusso and Lyndsey McKenna Beck Harlan/NPR Long before I started working at NPR Music, some of my now-co-workers felt like trusted musical friends. I’d listened to All Songs Considered for years, laughed at Viking’s Choice columnist Lars Gotrich’s hysterical Twitter feed and admired critic Ann Powers’s essential commentary. And while they don’t know it, I almost certainly have Bob Boilen, Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson to thank for introducing me to some of my favorites, including Julien Baker and Courtney Barnett. Which brings us to a new feature we’re introducing to the NPR Music newsletter: We want you to hear directly from some of the NPR Music team – some names you know, some you might not. We’ll occasionally turn over a section of this newsletter to someone on the team, from Lars Gotrich’s Viking’s Corner (featured at the end of this edition) to a spotlight on classical music from Tom Huizenga.  Each day, I’m lucky to learn from hip-hop writer Rodney Carmichael and tío of the Latin alternative genre Felix Contreras; I get personalized recommendations directly from Sidney Madden, who curates her Heat Check playlist weekly. Here’s hoping that you’ll come to know the members of NPR Music as your own musical sources, too. Go, team! Lyndsey McKenna Newsletter continues after sponsor message New Music The best studio sessions from more than a dozen public radio stations across the country are now in one place: NPR Music Live Sessions. This week, we’re highlighting KUTX’s recording of Palehound’s “Killer,” a razor-sharp imagining of revenge.  What do Gertrude Stein, Billy Joel and Robert Burns have in common? Their words all show up in a new song by Pulitzer-winning composer Caroline Shaw.  This week’s Heat Check playlist offers a chilling set of songs as the season shifts gears into colder temperatures and longer nights.  Featuring Fifteen years into her recording career, Miranda Lambert is a rarefied embodiment of country ambition. She's figured out how to please her fans and give the industry what it expects, without compromising what she wants. Ringo Starr's latest book, Another Day In The Life, is a mix of coffee table decor and memoir. It reads a little like a scrapbook, with notes and observations in the margins and more than 500 photographs, some shot by Ringo and others pulled from The Beatles' archives. On the expansive, expressive All Mirrors, Angel Olsen has entirely reimagined her sound. On this week’s All Songs Considered, Bob Boilen talks to Olsen and producer John Congleton about how they did it. (Hint: It involved a 14-piece string section.) Writer David Owen says our ears largely evolved in a far quieter age than the present day. In his book Volume Control, he warns that the ambient noises that surround us pose a threat to our hearing. Emily Bogle/NPR Tiny Desk A set at the Tiny Desk can present some limitations for artists: First, there’s the space, demanding an artist conform his or her configuration to our corner of the office. Then there’s the volume: We don’t amplify voices. And, of course, there’s the length: 15 to 20 minutes total, which means three, maybe four songs. BJ the Chicago Kid took that as a challenge: The R&B mainstay fit nine songs into his 17-minute set. We’ve checked our records, and we think that’s a Tiny Desk record.           Comic book artist Daniel Warren Johnson illustrates the music of Viking's Choice Viking's Corner with Lars Gotrich Viking's Choice began a little over a decade ago as a way to connect the disparate threads of my listening habits. Punk, metal, experimental, psychedelic and ambient music all share equal space in what's now become a weekly column and playlist, with delectable bops to balance the sonic chaos. As NPR Music wraps up a series of podcasts on the 2010s in music, I decided to look back on the artists and albums that have guided Viking's Choice, resulting in 10 (okay, 11) albums, one for each year: 2010: Jack Rose set the pace posthumously with Luck in the Valley, a virtuosic and trascendental romp through the history of guitar music.  2011: Like a pair of mystics beamed down from a desert planet, Shabazz Palaces' Afrofuturist hip-hop odyssey Black Up implores, "Clear some space out, so we can space out." 2012: Krallice, one of the decade's most forward-thinking metal bands, shreds open unknown realms with Years Past Matter. 2013: Swept up with a pair of violins, SubRosa wields sorrow and majesty like a scepter on More Constant Than The Gods, a doom-metal album equal parts heavy and gorgeous. 2014: Pilfered, warped and cracked from YouTube clips and too many tabs open, Giant Claw's Dark Web illuminates a lifetime of digesting and deconstructing the Internet. 2015: The Revolutionary Army of the Infant Jesus once told NPR that its sacred music is more about "the pursuit of meaning rather than having a meaning." In folkloric and experimental tones, Beauty Will Save The World offers a meditation on healing.  2016: Such a phenomenal year for guitar music. Both Sarah Louise (VDSQ Acoustic Series Vol. 12) and Daniel Bachman's self-titled record expand the possibilities of their instruments in rich, singular ways.  2017: Existential, experimental and experiential, Reaching For Indigo processes Haley Fohr's consistently rewarding Circuit Des Yeux project in drones, dramatic gestures and a baritone voice that tenderly and ferociously rattles the soul.   2018: A catapult of frenzied punk and drum-machine-spewed grindcore, The HIRS Collective centers the trans and queer experience with sonic violence and cathartic love on the outrageous Friends. Lovers. Favorites. 2019: Holly Herndon closes a decade of technological soul-searching with PROTO, a moving mirror to post-human connection rendered in choral group-sing and abstract club raves. One More Thing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" hasn't aged well over the last 70 years. Can John Legend and Kelly Clarkson's consent-minded take on the track make the standard more palatable this season? 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 NPR Music emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 Unsubscribe  |  Privacy Policy