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- [00:00]
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- [00:17]
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A quick note before the show. This podcast contains explicit language.
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Stephen Thompson
Happy Friday, everyone, from NPR Music. It's New Music Friday. I'm I am Stephen Thompson here with my colleague Ana Maria Sayer from Alt Latino. Welcome.
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Ana Maria Sayer
Ana Hi, Steven.
- [00:38]
Stephen Thompson
I'm also here with Liz Felix from WYEP in Pittsburgh. Welcome to the show. Liz.
- [00:43]
Liz Felix
Thanks for having me. Steven.
- [00:44]
Stephen Thompson
So we have a lot of music to get to this week, so we're gonna structure this week's show a little bit differently. Anamaria is here with me to talk about the new Rosalia record, which we will do in just one moment. Then Anna is gonna bail and Liz and I are gonna talk about a bunch more great stuff, including new albums from Mavis Staples, Nico. We've got a lot of music to get to, but we're also, if you notice, you're hearing in the background music from Wings. Why not? Wings has a new compilation out today. It is self titled. It is billed as the definitive self titled collection, part of Paul McCartney's incredibly expansive musical life. And Liz, you are seeing Paul McCartney in concert next week.
- [01:29]
Liz Felix
Oh my gosh, I am so excited. I haven't seen Paul since birthday many years ago and he was absolutely amazing. I'm a huge Beatles fan. I think in the last couple of years I have very much come to appreciate Paul, who is not always my favorite Beatle, but his songs are just so amazing, so very excited if I.
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Music Snippet Singer
Ever get out of here, thought of giving it all away to register charity. All I Need Is a Pie Today.
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Stephen Thompson
And Wings, you know, has its own gigantic, you know, catalog. They've been reissuing a lot of their stuff, obviously always seen as kind of secondary to the Beatles. But there's some, there's some killer music in there, too.
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Liz Felix
Absolutely. I mean, obviously Band on the Run is probably the first thing that people think about. But you know, there's some kind of quirky songs in there as well. Junior's Farm and, you know, all those great Wings tracks, I will say, even like silly love songs I've come around to over time.
- [02:32]
Stephen Thompson
All right, well, we're gonna kick things off with the new Rosalia record. It is called Lux. So Rosalia, a Spanish singer, she had a huge breakthrough in 2022 with Moto Mami, but she's had just a string of really inventive and creative and beautiful records. But this album manages to be somehow a bigger swing than all those big swings put together. She's collaborating with the London Symphony Orchestra throughout. Bjork shows up. At one point, Eve Toomer shows up. She's singing in 13 languages. Anna Maria. Thirteen languages? I barely speak one. Anna. I think this is maybe the album of the year.
- [04:12]
Ana Maria Sayer
You know, Stephen, you know those runners in the Olympics where you watch them do the race and it's like they're just competing with themselves. Like everyone else is like 20 leagues behind and.
- [04:24]
Stephen Thompson
Or like Katie Ledecky in the pool being like three quarters of a pool length ahead of everyone.
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Ana Maria Sayer
Yeah. And you're like, this is a joke. They're in their own. They deserve to be in their own league. And that is how it feels. Consistently with Rosalia, I mean, since literally she entered the music space, she has been creating some of the most dynamic, innovative, honestly, culture shifting sounds. This album, to me was like she just beat herself again by like 20 paces. It's like every single thing that you could want, but didn't know you wanted in a record. Yes, it has this beautiful, massive classical bass, but it's so much more than that. I mean, it includes sounds from Mexico and Japan and, you know, different parts of the Arabic speaking world. And beyond all of that, she still holds on to her flamenco roots. That has always been the basis for everything she does. It's what she was classically trained in. And you can hear it even in vocal moments, like Mio Cristo, which is her big operatic, exciting moment. Yeah, I know. She told me it took her a year. She trained for an entire year to do that one song.
- [06:30]
Stephen Thompson
That song is. You just hang on her every inflection, whether you know what she's saying or not. As that song gets bigger and bigger and more and more operatic. I just. It's such a tearjerker, like, just from this, like, wall of beauty. Right. Like it's a wall of sound, but all the sounds are gorgeous and it becomes almost overwhelming to listen.
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Ana Maria Sayer
Absolutely. And I spoke with our colleague Tom Huizenga, who specializes in this varietal of music and classical and opera and these things. And he was like, the inflection, certain stylistic moments, these are like real bonafide, classical, operatic, technically excellent moments. Because I think that one of the potential complaints could have been that it's like, oh, she's just trying to take a sound and make like she's like.
- [07:37]
Stephen Thompson
She'S being a tourist.
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Ana Maria Sayer
Yeah. Like she's doing classical, but she doesn't really know. And Tom was like, no, this is excellent. This is technically excellent. This is clearly, like, she worked with all the right people. He was really obsessed with who her conductor was. He's a really popular Icelandic conductor who's very well renowned. But I think that has always been something for her, that she has been completely unintimidated by the idea of playing with sounds or even styles of music that people might be opposed to. I mean, there has been a history, too, with her being a Spanish artist to people saying, like, well, her last record, you know, was too Caribbean. And it played with sounds from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic and all these places. And they're like, that's not where she's from. And therefore, you get into this, right, this tricky territory of, like, what does that mean? Can she make this music? But something that she has consistently made clear, you know, when I talked to her before and when I talked to her about this record, is she's like, I come from this space of, like she says in the record, I think the world fits into me and I fit into the world. And, like, I come from this place of just this genuine love and care for all of the places that I've been able to experience and wanting to be able to find a way to fit all of that into. She's like, if I could have fit the whole world into an album, is what she told me, I would have, and this is what I could do.
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Stephen Thompson
You know, it's so tempting in general to sort of sum these things up in a word or two or a descriptor, a genre. Oh, this is Rosalia's classical album, but it also has earworms. It also has songs like Divinize and the hooks in that song. It's such an earworm. It was just burrowing under my skin the first time I was hearing it. And so it's not just this, like, this museum piece that you're viewing through five panes of glass and appreciating as some piece of ancient craft. It's alive and it's just swimming across so many different genres, and it's so fluent in all of them, but it does. It's still, in many ways, it still works as a pop record.
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Music Snippet Singer
Through my body you can see the.
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Light.
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Rose me up A little of my pride Know that I was made to demonize Outside me Inside me Outside me Inside me.
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Stephen Thompson
That is Rosalia. Her new album is called Lux. Ana Maria Sayer, thank you so much for joining me from alt Latino.
- [10:42]
Ana Maria Sayer
Steven. It's always Such a delight.
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Stephen Thompson
It is always a pleasure. It's so great to talk to you and it's so great to talk to you about this record. All right, Liz Felix from wyep. You and I have a bunch of records that we are going to talk about on this week's show, starting with Young Miko. Young Miko's new album is called Do Not Disturb.
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Liz Felix
So Young Miko, an up and coming artist out of Puerto Rico, just released an album last year. She's already back with her second release called Do Not Disturb. And she's been on some pretty big stages recently. She's opening up for Billie Eilish. She was just at Lollapalooza over the summer, so I think she's really branching out outside of that market and finding a worldwide audience and I think this release is going to take her to that next level.
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Stephen Thompson
Yeah, I agree completely. This feels like a major star making record, right? Like the album she put out last year, you know, it like hit the Billboard charts. It definitely got a lot of press attention and, you know, kind of general hype around it. But this feels like she's blowing up. And one of the biggest ways that pop stars are is by touring with other pop stars, right? You know, Chapel Roan, you know, was opening up for Olivia Rodrigo, Gracie Abrams and Sabrina Carpenter and a bunch of other people have gotten huge in part by opening for and touring with Taylor Swift. And Young Miko has been touring with Billie Eilish. And it does feel, listening to this record like this is an artist who is. Is blowing up in a big way. And, you know, Young Miko, you know, kind of a young queer woman, you know, rapper whose music kind of mixes pop and trap and hip hop and the sound feels very, very current. And listening to this record, I definitely thought, like, her timing is extremely on point. You know, Bad Bunny is about to play the super bowl halftime show. Who's a bigger star in the world right now than Bad Bunny? She guessed it. On a Bad Bunny record, it just feels like a lot of, like Puerto Rican pop and hip hop and trap music is blowing up on the world stage. And feels to me like she's in a perfect position to capitalize on that.
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Liz Felix
You know, it kind of feels like a little bit of a left field choice for Billie Eilish to have a Latin trap artist opening for her. But when you listen to the record, I think it actually sonically makes a lot of sense.
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Stephen Thompson
Yeah, I agree completely. And, you know, you look at the contributors to this record, you know, one of the singles from this album is called Likey Likey and it's an earworm. It's quotable, it's clever and I, you know, looking at the credits, Amy Allen is a co writer and Amy Allen has worked with like Sabrina Carpenter, written or co written some of the biggest pop hits of the last few years. And you really get a sense here like she is being positioned for a major commercial breakthrough here.
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Liz Felix
Well, you know, Lil Jon's on the record too. I was like kind of surprised to hear him on here. But there's this song that really just sounds like a huge single from the record called what's up that he does a little guest appearance at the end.
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Stephen Thompson
And I don't necessarily always want to talk about pop records through the prism of what sounds like it's going to be a giant hit. I think artistically it's also very sonically expansive. She brings in a bunch of different guests. This record is always keeping you guessing, but at the same time you can clock songs where you're like, I feel like I'm gonna hear this song many times. There's a track called what's yous Vibe pretty early on, you know, and you get, you know, tiny little bits of English woven into, you know, the Spanish language lyrics where it feels like this could absolutely cross over. That is do not disturb the new album from Young Mo. We have a bunch more records. We're going to talk about some more really good ones. But first we're going to take a quick break.
- [16:18]
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- [17:46]
Stephen Thompson
From NPR Music, it's NEW MUSIC Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Liz Felix from WYEP in Pittsburgh. Liz, you haven't been on the show before. Tell us what's going on at wyep.
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Liz Felix
Well, fall is always a really exciting and busy time at wyep. And we just had a really great Halloween party a couple weeks ago, our Hellbender Ball, where we invite local artists to dress up and perform as some of their favorite artists. That sells out every year. And it was super fun this year. We also just aired our Fall Countdown. Every year, we ask listeners to contribute their votes to our countdown throughout the summer. And then we air all those songs back. It's usually like over a thousand songs. This year, the theme was the best songs of the 21st century so far. So the first 25 years. And it was really fun because it was like, pretty different from a lot of the stuff that we've done in the past with the countdown limiting it to the last 25 years. And it was just a really great list. It ended with the killer's Mr. Brightside.
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Music Snippet Singer
Ah.
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Stephen Thompson
I was gonna ask.
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Liz Felix
I was a little surprised, but that song has like nine lives. I don't know.
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Stephen Thompson
Yeah, that song will never die. Did you dress up as your favorite musical artist at the Halloween party? And if so, who was it?
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Liz Felix
You know, I didn't do a musical artist theme this year. In the past, I have dressed up as Stevie Nicks for the Hellbender. And so it's kind of all over the map. Like, you can dress up as a musician. You don't have to, you know, you gotta get creative after a couple years doing the Hellbender Ball.
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Stephen Thompson
Oh, I bet. This year for a couple of Halloween parties I went to, I dressed as a Crying Huntrix fan from the movie K Pop Demon Hunters.
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Liz Felix
You lost me on that one.
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Stephen Thompson
Oh, that movie's so good.
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Music Snippet Singer
All right.
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Stephen Thompson
Well, next up, we've got a new compilation album. It is called all things go 10 years.
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Music Snippet Singer
Welcome to the end where you can come and lose some friends. We need your words. We need your brain. We can pay you for your pain. You'll throw up your heart for it. And you might even get a hit. You, you say that you're gonna quit but bet you won't. You could've gotten a degree but now your name's on the marquee. You can't leave now Cause you got nowhere to go. At least it'll be a hell of a.
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Stephen Thompson
So for those who aren't familiar, All Things Go is this fantastic music festival they have every year on the East Coast. It started in dc, it's expanded to New York and to Toronto. And I actually went to the festival this year. The headliners, where people like Noah Khan and Ke$hi played. And this compilation celebrating 10 years of the festival is showcasing a lot of artists who've performed at All Things Go and. And Liz, I was shocked listening to this album. I assumed I was getting outtakes because that's often what you get with a compilation like this, right? You're not necessarily going to serve up your best work. You're going to put your best work on your albums. And when somebody asks you to contribute to a compilation, you're going to throw them an outtake. You'll throw them a live cut, a B side. You know, there are some covers here, but they're fantastic. You get something like Medium Build and Sydney rose covering Charlie XCX's sympathy is a Knife and really like, under understanding what makes that song tick while still kind of making it their own.
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Music Snippet Singer
All the sympathy is just a night I can't even grit my teeth in life I feel the sh. I can't control oh no, don't know why I want my gun.
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Liz Felix
I was also really shocked. Like, the second I started listening to it, I was like, oh, this is. This is all cohesive. It makes sense as its own standalone album. And the songs don't sound like throwaways at all. There are a number of songs on here that are lyrically kind of deeper than you think they're gonna be at first. I mean, there's that Googly Eyes Joey a Lot of August Pontier song called Jesus and John Wayne, which, I mean, that's just a standout on this compilation. A song about modern Christianity and the hypocrisy that is at the root of a lot of those beliefs. And just really laying it bare on that song. I mean, there was a part in that song where I was like, the hair was standing up on my arms.
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Music Snippet Singer
Followed him right out the door. Steep bulls kept preaching with hate on their tongues and distaste for the meat mild and poor and God felt my heart give it away. You can have both of them. Jesus and John Way. What A fucking shame.
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Stephen Thompson
That song is definitely one of the songs from this record that people are really talking about and, you know, use this compilation as a music discovery vehicle. I mean, Rachel Chinnore and Boyish have a song on this thing called Home, you know, so sweet and winsome and catchy and I wasn't familiar. And now I have to go back and like reverse engineer a bunch of discovery from hearing this compilation.
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Music Snippet Singer
Family Trees, Rotten leaves Autumn breeze Follow.
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Me over the hill and all of.
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The obstacles I GRE I won't be home but maybe my home will fall Follow me.
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Liz Felix
I felt like I was kind of getting a little bit of insight into Gen Z's listening habits as an elder millennial, but I was like actually understanding it, you know what I mean? Because there's just some really great songs on here. Jasmine Forti. Oh, I wanted Jacob Allen. Find you'd People. What a great track. And then I had to go look up Jacob Allen and just beautiful, beautiful voice and songwriting. And I think there's a lot to discover here, which you wouldn't necessarily expect when you're getting like a festival compilation.
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Music Snippet Singer
And so there'll be days when it'll seem alright there's so many ways to feel inside and old There'll be those who would say otherwise but if they could see it now you've been eating up their shit like a fly in.
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Stephen Thompson
The grass that is all things go 10 years. Next up, new album from Portugal the Man. Portugal the Man's new album is called Shish.
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Music Snippet Singer
Me, Me, Me Deep in Dead Occupants Falling Lay On Top of It Thicker Than the F Rolling Out Confidence Witch in the Mirror Turns Alphabet With a Mask on and Frightening Cancer Whis Baby Compliance.
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Liz Felix
Shish is the 10th album from this band. They are originally from Alaska. They've been living and making music in Portland, Oregon. But, man, you can hear the influence of Alaska all over this record. And I think a lot of people are probably familiar with Portugal the Man because they had a big hit back in 2017 with a song called Feel it still, which coincidentally, I've heard like three or four times just over the last couple of days out and about in various places. It's just popped up. Maybe I just noticed it because I knew I was going to be talking about this new album.
- [26:49]
Stephen Thompson
I feel like it's just been on the wind ever since, you know, it has been.
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Liz Felix
But I think that if that's the only thing that you're familiar with with Portugal the Man, you may be a little surprised by this album.
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Stephen Thompson
Yeah. And you Know Portugal the Man, as you can tell from saying, it's their 10th album. They've been around for a long time. They've been around for more than 20 years. And you know, when they kind of blew up with Feel It Still, I remember being like, this doesn't feel like the band that my Alaskan friend has been telling me about for years and years and years, you know, feel. It still is a little more streamlined. It's kind of psychedelic pop and it's got that kind of slinky like, ooh, I'm a lover. Just web kid. But that's really one small component of what this band is all about. And by the time you get to track two on Shish, you're getting thrash metal, right? You have this song, Pittsman Ralliers, and it is like a full blown metal song.
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Music Snippet Singer
When it starts to reap There'll be no apology we can't speak while it's burning down Burning down.
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Liz Felix
Some of the words that I wrote down when I was listening to this record, Prague metal, hardcore punk, psychedelia, pop, Beatles, Bowie. I mean, this is like all these different elements that are in here. And I think I remembered the time before Feel it still, when I was listening to this album, thinking, yeah, this band really is weird, you know, and if you forgot because they had this one hit, you know, here's the reality about Portugal the Man. So many interesting sounds and it's like, how can you seamlessly put these things together and yet they somehow do.
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Music Snippet Singer
Yeah.
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Stephen Thompson
You know, when you think about bands that have like a gigantic hit that is very different from their actual sound. You said earlier, Liz, that you're an elder millennial. You probably remember the band Sugar Ray.
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Liz Felix
Yes, I do remember when Sugar Ray.
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Stephen Thompson
Blew up and their hit sounded like absolutely nothing else on their album. It was like this kind of mellower vibe. And then all of a sudden Sugar Ray just like completely changed their sound to kind of reverse engineer. Being the band that made that hit Portugal, the man did not do that. They're still as all over the place as ever. And John Gourley, who's kind of the lead singer songwriter, has clearly decided he's going to keep making the music he wants to make. And this record, to me, feels very liberated from that hit. You know, this is kind of the first album that he's put out on his own label after being on a major label for a while. And it's a record that feels liberated.
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Liz Felix
I think it feels liberated. I think it feels authentic to them as well, you know, Like I said, there's a lot of Alaska on this release. Tanana is the first single and it's a town in Alaska and it really feels like it's an authentic part of the band members personalities in their lives.
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Music Snippet Singer
Thank you.
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Stephen Thompson
That is Portugal the man. Their new album is called Shish. We've got one more album we want to talk about in depth as well as a lightning round of some of our other favorite albums out today, November 7th. But first, let's take a quick break.
- [30:32]
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- [31:36]
Stephen Thompson
From NPR Music. It's NEW Music Friday. I'm Stephen Thompson here with Liz Felix from WYEP in Pittsburgh. Before we get to our lightning round, we want to talk about one more album in depth. Mavis Staples is back with a new album. It is called Sad and Beautiful World.
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Music Snippet Singer
We won't have to say goodbye if we all go to Chicago. Maybe things will be better in Chicago. To leave all we've ever known for a place we've never seen. Maybe things will be better in Chicago. Maybe things will be better in Chicago.
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Stephen Thompson
So Mavis Staples, absolute legend, member of the Staples Singers, a veteran soul, R and B gospel singer with a career dating back to like 1950. So we're talking about like a three quarters of a century long career. She is 86 years old and this album is so comfortable. You just ease into this record while at the same time it still has fire in its belly. You know, it kicks off with the song Chicago and it's just this big bold kind of chugging and soulful anthem and it feels timely, right? Like with all the unrest that's happened In Chicago, you have an 86 year old artist who has done a ton of protest music who still is completely relevant in the present day.
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Music Snippet Singer
There's so much magic we have known on the Sapphire.
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Liz Felix
It's amazing to hear from somebody who has lived through some pretty crazy times in the past, come through it, and has something to say about it. And I think this record is one that we all really need right now. I mean, from that first track about the Great Migration, talking about, you know, although it is a Tom Waits song, singing about something that her family actually did, and the fact that she has the lived experience behind these songs, I think makes them that much more meaningful.
- [34:05]
Stephen Thompson
Yeah. And you know, each of these covers, you know, she manages to put kind of that Mavis Staples spin on it, that Sandy, beautiful voice. Even at 86, her voice is still just gorgeous.
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Liz Felix
And I think when she covers songs, she has the talent of making them sound like they belong to her, like she really should be the person singing this song. There's the song that was written by Kevin Morby, Beautiful Strangers, about people who have lost their lives in an unjustified way way too early. And it just feels so right to hear those lyrics sung by Mavis Staples.
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Music Snippet Singer
If you ever hear that crying in a distance like some siren maybe There's a singer with no ring around his little finger oh, love absolutely.
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Stephen Thompson
You know, you get a track like Hard Times, you know, just this mix of, you know, heaviness and breeziness kind of all swirling together. And you just get a sense like this particular performance of this particular song feels like it has lived in the world for 50, 60 years. Years.
- [35:20]
Music Snippet Singer
Singing Hard times ain't gonna rule my.
- [35:26]
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Mind.
- [35:28]
Music Snippet Singer
Hard times ain't gonna rule my.
- [35:33]
Liz Felix
Mind it's interesting to hear that she almost retired a couple of years ago. I'm so glad that she didn't do that and that she's still here singing to us. Because I think in these particular times, we need to hear from somebody who's been there and who's done it and who's lived through it. And I think that's probably one of the things that is appealing about Mavis Staples for a lot of the younger artists who collaborate with her or write songs specifically for her. I mean, there's a track on this record that was written by Hozier and Allison Russell called Human Mind. It was specifically written for Mavis Staples to sing. And I think hearing her voice and the richness of it and the warmth of Mavis Staples, his voice, it just feels really good right now.
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Music Snippet Singer
Burning hillsides Children dying by machines of war and I know every tear that I've cried through the worst in my life Was love in full supply what.
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Stephen Thompson
A treasure, what a joy, what a delight. I'm so glad this record exists and if she, if she wants to rest, I hope she feels free to do it. But I also am so glad that she's still putting out music that is sad and Beautiful World, the new album from Mavis Staples. Liz Obviously we could not get to every great record out today, November 7th, so we wanted to do a lightning round of some of the other terrific new records that are out today. I'm gonna kick us off. Juana Molina is a singer songwriter from Argentina. She's been putting out inventive genre expansive experimental electro pop music for almost three decades, but her output has slowed down to the point where her new record is her first in eight and a half years. Thankfully, she's back with another wonderful, surprising set. It's so good to have her back. One of Molina's new album is called Doga.
- [37:51]
Liz Felix
Liam Kazar is putting out his second album. He is born and raised in Chicago and he's done work with a lot of artists that you might be familiar with, probably most prominently Jeff Tweedy and Wilco. And you'll hear a lot of those vibes on this album. This record's instantly likable songs, really well written, the production sounds great, and I think if you're into Jeff Tweedy and Wilco and even maybe some 70s Paul Simon, you'll really enjoy this new album from Liam Kazar, Pilot Light Would it.
- [38:23]
Music Snippet Singer
Be such a bad idea if we take the whole day off? I've been screaming in a chag rug don't it sound like I've got a color?
- [38:36]
Stephen Thompson
The Mountain Goats and singer John Darnell are now in their fourth prolific decade, making music with improbable thematic and sonic range. They're on their 23rd studio album in a discography that ranges from solo boombox recordings to lavish opuses with strings. The new one leans heavily into that lavish side. It's a musical about a shipwreck, and while it still sounds like a late period Mountain Goats record, it really is a musical, complete with with four songs that feature vocal contributions from Lin Manuel Miranda. The Mountain Goat's new record is through this Fire across from Peter Balkan.
- [39:15]
Music Snippet Singer
Wake up in the arms of the earth Fully present at the second birth. Well, the first thing you learn is how strong you can be if you have to.
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Ana Maria Sayer
And the next thing you.
- [39:27]
Music Snippet Singer
Learn is how cold it can get at Night.
- [39:33]
Liz Felix
Thirty years after the Cranberries played MTV Unplugged, we have the recording of that session. It was originally broadcast in April of 1995, and they played MTV Unplugged between their second and third albums. The official release encompasses stripped down performances of some of their biggest songs from those albums, and this is the first time that the audio has been released since. Since those television broadcasts. It's great to hear Dolores o' Riordan's ethereal vocals in this setting, and they've got strings with them as well, which just adds to the magic. Most of these songs will be very familiar, but there is one that was never released outside of this performance. It's called Yesterday's Gone. The band apparently wrote it the day before the session, and it was only played during this performance. So interesting to get a look back 30 years into this part of the Cranberries career with their MTV Unplugged performance, Yesterday is Dawn.
- [40:30]
Music Snippet Singer
There's no return and she cries all night.
- [40:38]
Stephen Thompson
Finally, often we like to close out the show with something a little tender, a little peaceful, something to send you into your weekend, and this is one of those weeks. Sarathi Korwar plays soft, sly, percussive, mostly instrumental music. He's a drummer and composer whose work conjures Indian folk, jazz, drumming, and contemporary classical music. It might be just what you need as you're trying to calm your nerves this weekend. His new seventh album is titled There Is Beauty There Already. All right, so, Liz, you and I have listened to a lot of music to prepare for this show. A lot of Music out today, November 7th. At the end of each episode of this show, we like to kind of look back on what we talked about. Single out one song. What is the one song that's gonna stay with you the longest? Or what is your favorite song that we heard in the run up to this week?
- [41:49]
Liz Felix
Wow, that's a tough question. There are so many good ones. Googly Eyes, August Panthea and Joy Alotecun on the All Things Go compilation with Jesus and John Wayne. Just a striking song. Gets right to the point. Lyrically, great song. Stuck in my head. The message has been lingering with me. So that's my favorite this week.
- [42:32]
Stephen Thompson
So I think I have to talk about something from the Rosalia reference record, Lux. I'm gonna go with Reliquia, which was the first track on the record that made me cry. First of several. And. And just because it is so stunningly beautiful, I just could not believe what I was hearing. It's probably my favorite song from what is probably my favorite album of 2025, and I don't get to say that that is our show for this week. Thank you so much. Liz Felix from WYEP in Pittsburgh.
- [43:23]
NPR Content Warning and Sponsor Announcer
Woohoo.
- [43:24]
Liz Felix
Thank you for having me.
- [43:25]
Stephen Thompson
It is a pleasure if you enjoyed this week's show. We always appreciate a positive review on Apple or Spotify or whatever app you are listening to right now. This episode was produced by Noah Caldwell and edited by Otis Hart and Elle Mannion. The executive producer of NPR Music is Soraya Muhammad. We'll be back next week to discuss new music with Liz Warner from WDET in Detroit. Until then, take a moment to be well Buy an electric toothbrush if you don't already have one, and treat yourself to lots of great music.
- [44:25]
NPR Content Warning and Sponsor Announcer
Support for NPR and the following Message come from HomeService Owning a home is full of surprises, and when something breaks, it can feel like the whole day unravels. HomeServe is ready to help, bringing peace of mind to four and a half million homeowners nationwide. Plans start at just $4.99 a month. Sign up today@homeserve.com not available everywhere. Most plans range between $4.99 to $11.99 a month. Your first year terms apply.
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