NPR Music: All Songs Considered—"Need a reset?"

Air date: April 14, 2026
Panel: Host (Robin), Noah Caldwell, Dora Levitt

Episode Overview

In this spring-inspired edition, the All Songs Considered team assembles a playlist themed around "the best songs for new beginnings and starting over." Whether you need an emotional kickstart, a sonic pick-me-up, or a vehicle for cathartic tears, the episode explores the power of music to reset our moods, outlook, and lives—right when we need it most. The conversation is equal parts nerdy music discussion, personal stories, and joyful music geekery, full of warmth, humor, and camaraderie.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Theme: Spring, New Beginnings, and Sonic Resets

• The episode’s concept: weaving the feeling of reset and starting over, drawing obvious inspiration from springtime’s symbolism.
• A mutual acknowledgment: music holds rare power to shape and lift emotional states, sometimes instantly.

Robin:
"How many times have you just been in the worst mood, everything’s going wrong, and the right song comes up and changes everything?" (01:43)

2. Song Picks and Meaningful Moments

A. Nina Simone, "Feeling Good"

• [02:54-05:02]
• The panelists agree: this is the GOAT reset song.
• Lyrics emphasize defiance, self-renewal, and celebration:
  “It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me… and I’m feeling good.”
• Backstory: Written for the little-known musical The Roar of the Grease Paint, The Smell of the Crowd (05:21)

Notable take:
"You can just see her strutting away from whatever mess she’s leaving behind. There’s joy in it. It’s a celebration of self, inner strength, personal empowerment." —Robin (04:10)

B. Cassandra Jenkins, "Hard Drive"

• [06:18-09:29]
• Dora’s pick: combines connection to nature, others, and introspection.
• Sonic atmosphere: calming, lyrics woven from advice and encounters with strangers.
• Personal touch: Dora emailed Jenkins after hearing it—Jenkins replied with thoughtful, therapist-inspired advice.

Dora:
"She’s really just asking people for their advice… that can be the most grounding when you’re in a moment of transition." (08:04)
"And later in the song, she’s like, ‘Breathe with me. Let’s do this together.’" (09:03)

C. Kashmir, "Brighter Days"

• [11:57-13:14]
• Noah’s upbeat, dance-floor reset: early-90s house celebrating personal and collective liberation.
• Importance of club culture as a space for temporary reinvention.

Noah:
"You create it for yourself, even if you can’t create it for the next 10 years. That’s its own kind of fresh start." (13:24)

D. Beastie Boys, "Sabotage"

• [18:47-20:22]
• Robin’s “instant reset”—the adrenaline jolt of starting the day anew.
• Not an obvious “start over” song by lyrics, but musically a total reset.

Robin:
"I could be in a coma and you put this song on, I’m suddenly shooting up out of bed." (19:47)

E. Wednesday, "Reality TV"

• [21:24-24:54]
• Dora’s pick that, like "Sabotage," captures the need to “burst out of your house and run”:
  "This music feels so good to listen to and can just transport me into any sort of mood." (23:04)

F. Gregory Alan Isakov, "Second Chances"

• [25:15-27:57]
• Noah’s sentimental introspection—soft, hopeful, illustrating that sometimes the “reset” is trusting there will be a reset.
• Lyrics: “If it weren’t for second chances, we’d all be alone.”

Noah:
"Hope as a reset. Or like trusting that there will be a reset." (27:23)

G. Bob Marley, "Three Little Birds"

• [30:10-32:37]
• Robin’s classic pick about reassurance and hope; so omnipresent it becomes “music wallpaper.”
• Discussion on its nurturing simplicity and the power of “music wallpaper” songs.

Robin:
"If you pause for a second and tune back in… it’s absolutely magical." (31:38)

H. LCD Soundsystem, "Oh Baby"

• [34:53-38:08]
• Dora’s “reset from a different time in my life.” The music and video (about hope after tragedy) add depth to the theme of new worlds and second chances.

Dora:
"There's hope for something better in the future… there's another world that we can get to." (37:15)

I. Ryuichi Sakamoto, "ZURE"

• [41:42-43:14]
• Noah brings in a piano physically transformed by the Fukushima tsunami—an evocative metaphor for resets as nature-driven returns to origin or reawakening after trauma.
• Discussion on musical “out-of-tuneness” as beauty:
  "Maybe the fresh start is actually kind of going back to a previous state." —Noah (40:39)

J. Amy Shark, "Amy Shark"

• [45:32-47:09]
• Robin’s “guaranteed tears” pick—a candid letter to an absent father.
• Emphasizes crying as an essential kind of reset:
  "There have been so many times where, like, I can feel it locked up and I’ll reach for a song that I know is guaranteed to just get it going so I can finally… it’s stuck." (44:50)

K. Sluice, "Beaty"

• [48:56-51:34]
• Dora’s choice for the poetry in ordinary moments and small, seasonal transitions. Sometimes a fresh start means simply cherishing the present.

L. Allman Brothers Band, "Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More"

• [54:14-55:08]
• Noah’s closer: a literal “hit the road” song representing forward momentum and not lingering in the past.

3. Broader Takeaways & Running Themes

• Different Kinds of “Resets”: From emotional catharsis and hope, to adrenaline, solitude, and the collective joy of dance music.
• Community & Connection: Resetting is often relational—through community, music, or even strangers’ wisdom.
• The Power of Music Rituals: Whether to unleash pent-up emotion ("go-to cry songs") or to psych up, songs become tools for agency and healing.

Memorable Quotes

• Robin on Nina Simone:
  "It’s kind of a kiss-off to whatever came before. There’s joy in it. It’s a celebration of self, inner strength, personal empowerment." (04:10)

• Dora on connection:
  "Have you ever heard the song, been feeling so lost… and the song just came on my Spotify, and I loved it so much I actually sent her [Cassandra Jenkins] an email… and she responded. She gave me some advice from a therapist that she once had." (10:08)

• Noah on house music & liberation:
  "A lot of that early house music was kind of in themes of liberation, breaking out of confines… for the four or five hours that you’re there, you’re a completely different person." (11:08)

• Robin on the need to cry:
  "If I need it, it’s there for me… There have been so many times where… I’ll reach for a song that I know is guaranteed to just get it going so I can finally… get it out." (44:50)

Notable Segment Timestamps

• [02:54] "Feeling Good" by Nina Simone — The GOAT “reset” song
• [06:18] "Hard Drive" by Cassandra Jenkins — Spring’s wisdom and sonic healing
• [11:57] "Brighter Days" by Kashmir — Club euphoria & the joy of house music
• [18:47] "Sabotage" by Beastie Boys — The adrenaline shot of resetting
• [25:15] "Second Chances" by Gregory Alan Isakov — The hope of a reset
• [30:10] "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley — Comfort in reassured hope
• [34:53] "Oh Baby" by LCD Soundsystem — Reset through love and science fiction
• [41:42] "ZURE" by Ryuichi Sakamoto — Artistry from disaster, nature’s reset
• [45:32] "Amy Shark" by Amy Shark — Catharsis through vulnerability
• [48:56] "Beaty" by Sluice — Finding beauty in ordinary renewal
• [54:14] "Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More" by Allman Brothers — Forward motion

Other Songs Mentioned or Quick-Shouted Out

• "This Year" — Mountain Goats
• "Come Clean" — Hilary Duff
• "Jimmy Eat World" — "The Middle"
• Eminem — "Lose Yourself"
• Katrina and the Waves — "Walking on Sunshine"
• Tracy Chapman — "Fast Car"
• The Breeders — "Driving on Nine"
• Anderson .Paak — "Til It’s Over"
• Nappy Roots — "Good Day"
• Pharrell — "Happy"
• Natasha Bedingfield — "Unwritten"
• PJ Harvey, Glen Campbell, etc.

Final Thoughts and Tone

The episode radiates gratitude for music’s therapeutic and transformational qualities and demonstrates how each listener’s “reset song” is intensely personal, even as certain tracks (from Nina Simone to Bob Marley) seem to belong to a universal soundtrack for new beginnings.

The hosts wrap up feeling genuinely reset and refreshed themselves, crediting both the songs and the sense of community in sharing personal soundtracks for change.

Dora:
"Thanks for this. I needed this. Did we hit reset? I think so, too." (55:11)

Playlist:
Find all discussed tracks and bonus mentions on the Songs for Starting Over playlist (Spotify, Apple Music). Link available at NPR.