New Wet Leg, Sufjan Stevens, more: The Contenders, Vol. 7

Summary

All Songs Considered: New Wet Leg, Sufjan Stevens, More – The Contenders, Vol. 7

Host: NPR Music
Episode Title: New Wet Leg, Sufjan Stevens, more: The Contenders, Vol. 7
Release Date: April 1, 2025

---

1. South by Southwest Music Festival Changes

Timestamp: [00:18] – [07:47]

Hosts: Bob Boilen and James Miner

In the opening segment, Bob Boilen revisits last week's discussion about significant changes at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival. Originally described as a potential "premature funeral" for the festival, Boilen clarifies the transition towards a more integrated event structure.

James Miner, VP of SXSW Music Festival, clarifies:

"South by Southwest Music Festival is not going away. We're actually doing an additional night of showcases this year... Over the years, convergence has become more and more important to us." ([05:32])

Miner emphasizes that the festival is evolving to encompass music, film, and interactive media simultaneously over a consolidated seven-day period, enhancing the attendee experience by fostering interdisciplinary connections. Despite concerns about the music segment being overshadowed, Miner assures that the changes aim to create a more curated and holistic festival environment.

Bob Boilen reflects:

"This could make the festival better, as you said, more curated. Kind of get back to some of the things that a lot of us loved about the festival." ([07:02])

2. Wet Leg’s New Album “Moisturizer”

Timestamp: [08:07] – [14:17]

Hosts: Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson

Bob Boilen introduces Wet Leg’s highly anticipated new album, "Moisturizer," featuring their latest single, "Catch These Fists." The band, known for their energetic and deadpan style, delivers a track brimming with swagger and frenetic energy.

Bob Boilen exclaims:

"So much swagger and just that frenetic energy... it's everything that we love about this band." ([12:15])

Stephen Thompson compares the song to the Stooges’ "I Wanna Be Your Dog," highlighting its pre-punk attitude and powerful guitars. The hosts express immense excitement, anticipating that "Moisturizer" will surpass expectations and solidify Wet Leg’s position in the music scene.

Stephen Thompson notes:

"It's like a roll the windows down, crank it up summer rocker to me." ([13:28])

3. The Renaissance of the Harp: Featuring Ashley Jackson

Timestamp: [14:18] – [23:26]

Hosts: Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson

The conversation shifts to the resurgence of the harp in contemporary music, spotlighting harpists like Ashley Jackson and Brandy Younger. Ashley Jackson’s album, "Take Me to the Water," explores her experiences in the black church, blending spirituals with folk, jazz, and West African rhythms. A highlight includes her cover of Brandy Younger's "Unrest," showcasing innovative techniques such as muting strings with a sock to create "watery" effects.

Stephen Thompson describes:

"There are a lot of really wonderful harpists out there today... breathing this whole new life into the instrument." ([21:04])

Bob Boilen adds that the harp is experiencing a renaissance, with artists like Mary Lattimore and Lavinia Meyer pushing its boundaries beyond traditional settings.

Bob Boilen observes:

"The harp is almost having a moment, like a renaissance for the harp." ([21:30])

4. Tribute to Composer Alexander Knifel

Timestamp: [23:27] – [41:52]

Hosts: Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson

Paying homage to the late Soviet-era composer Alexander Knifel, the hosts play a snippet from his piece "Chapter Eight" of the Song of Solomon. Knifel, a student of Mstislav Rostropovich, turned to composing after a hand injury ended his cello career. His work, characterized by its slow, deliberate beauty and reverberant church settings, offers a meditative experience.

Stephen Thompson remarks:

"It's just so slowly quiet and deliberately beautiful." ([40:04])

Bob Boilen highlights Knifel’s resilience and artistic evolution, noting how his compositions provide a calming alternative to modern stressors.

Bob Boilen adds:

"This is better than Xanax. I just love how that is just so unabashedly slow and deliberately beautiful." ([40:39])

5. Sufjan Stevens’ 10th Anniversary Edition of "Carrie and Lowell"

Timestamp: [41:12] – [33:27]

Hosts: Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson

Bob Boilen shares exciting news about Sufjan Stevens releasing a 10th-anniversary edition of his acclaimed album "Carrie and Lowell." This special edition includes previously unreleased tracks, such as an early version of "Mystery of Love," originally featured in the film "Call Me by Your Name." The song delves into Stevens’ profound relationship with his late mother, exploring themes of grief and enduring love.

Bob Boilen states:

"It's an absolutely devastating album, but it's also by far my favorite album from Sufjan Stevens." ([30:30])

Stephen Thompson compares Stevens to Franz Schubert, praising his ability to convey deep emotional narratives through captivating melodies.

Stephen Thompson reflects:

"He's overflowing like Schubert with these amazing melodies... it's all there." ([30:40])

The hosts discuss the raw vulnerability in the demo version of "Mystery of Love," noting how it profoundly connects with listeners.

Stephen Thompson comments:

"There’s this supreme vulnerability in this performance that really connects with the words." ([31:15])

6. George Foo’s “Passecaglia on a Theme by Radiohead”

Timestamp: [42:27] – [54:46]

Hosts: Bob Boilen and Stephen Thompson

George Foo, a pianist and Royal Academy of Music educator, presents his latest work, "Passecaglia on a Theme by Radiohead," which intricately deconstructs and reimagines Radiohead’s "Airbag" from "OK Computer." The piece exemplifies the etude style, with a series of variations that both honor and transform the original theme.

Bob Boilen expresses awe:

"It's just spinning so wildly, and it feels like it's just gonna completely go off a cliff." ([53:35])

Stephen Thompson praises Foo’s deep exploration and innovative approach, likening it to artistic reinvention.

Stephen Thompson observes:

"He just takes it and dissects it through the series of variations and obsesses with different parts of it." ([53:38])

The discussion highlights how Foo’s rendition maintains the essence of the original while pushing creative boundaries, making it a standout addition to the album focused on etudes.

Bob Boilen remarks:

"It's like to remind you where we've been... He pulls the whole thing apart." ([52:20])

7. Celebrating 25 Years of All Songs Considered: Top Songs of 2007

Timestamp: [54:27] – [60:28]

Hosts: Stephen Thompson and Bob Boilen

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of All Songs Considered, the hosts reflect on their number one songs from each year, pausing at 2007. They highlight Feist’s "I Feel It All," which epitomizes the year with its blend of heartfelt lyrics and intricate engineering.

Bob Boilen shares emotional resonance:

"Listen to this. It takes me back and it is just so perfect." ([56:05])

The discussion also covers MGMT’s "Kids," praised for its catchy synth lines and underlying melancholic themes about fame and personal loss.

Bob Boilen adds:

"Such a hooky little synth line... but this song is so heartbreaking to me." ([59:11])

Stephen Thompson concludes the segment by noting the enduring quality of these songs and their ability to encapsulate the spirit of their time.

Stephen Thompson concludes:

"If you were making a movie, this is your opening credits... exactly what 2007 in music felt like." ([59:22])

---

Note: This summary captures the essence of the episode, highlighting key discussions, featured music, and notable quotes with accurate timestamps. Listeners seeking to explore these topics further are encouraged to tune into the full episode of All Songs Considered on NPR.

Transcript

[Robin Hilton]

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Dignity Memorial when your celebration of life is prepaid today, your family is protected tomorrow, planning ahead is truly one of the best gifts you can give your family. For additional information, visit dignitymemorial.com hey everybody.

[Bob Boilen]

Thanks for waiting for this week's All Songs Considered. We've got a brand new cut from Wet Leg that we're super excited to play for you, and we weren't able to share it until 1:30 Eastern today, so we thought it was worth the wait. Coming right up along with a previously unreleased Sufjan Stevens track from his Carrie and Lowell recordings. And we continue to celebrate the 25th anniversary of all Songs Considered with a look back at our number one songs from each of our years doing the show. We're up to 2007, so keep listening for that. But first, I want to do a quick follow up on last week's show where we talked about some changes coming to the south by Southwest Music Festival. And in case you missed our conversation or the news, it is that starting next year, the music part of the south by Southwest Festival will essentially be folded into the film and interactive festivals that historically have happened about around the week before the music part of the festival. I mean, there's always been overlap between all of the events, but they're now all going to happen at the same time in a single consolidated week. And, and after our episode went out into the world, there were some listeners who took issue with how we described or characterized these changes, that we made it all sound much more dire than it really is, and that it all kind of came off as a premature funeral for the festival. One of the listeners we heard from is actually James Miner. He is the VP of the south by Southwest Music Festival, and he's here now to talk more about it. Hey, James.

[James Miner]

Hey, how's it going?

[Bob Boilen]

All right, James, you know, you and I and NPR Music and South by Southwest, we go way back. Yeah, we put on a lot of shows. The music festival over the years, you and I would work very closely together to book all of those shows. So I know that you know that I and the rest of the NPR music team, you know, we have a lot of love for south by Southwest and a lot of respect for you and the work that you all do. So I wanted to give you a chance to talk about what you think we got wrong in our previous episode.

[James Miner]

First of all, I'd like to say that that is mutual admiration coming back towards npr. You guys do great work. There have been reports about south by Southwest Music Festival being diminished or completely gone. And so south by Southwest Music Festival is not going away. We're actually doing an additional night of showcases this year. In the past few years, we've been doing six nights. And before that, up until 2016, we were only doing five nights, which was Tuesday through Saturday of the event. There has never been a standalone music festival. There have always been other parts of the event that are running concurrently. Film runs the whole time, so does conference. The tracks vary, but there's always programming going through the whole event. I think that maybe some people, depending on who the. Who the attendee is, they'll look at south by Southwest as being a film festival, a tech conference, or a music festival. And that's kind of what they zero in on. And they might not even be aware of everything else that's happening.

[Bob Boilen]

It's not true that it's never just been a music festival. I mean, it started as a music only festival.

[James Miner]

It started as a music only festival in 1987, but it did start branching out pretty quickly.

[Bob Boilen]

And I guess, I mean, I understand that, yeah, there's always been overlap between all the different things that are happening. And you know, every year seems like more and more is happening at the festival, but sort of in practice and in the ways that fans have historically experienced it. South by Southwest, the film and interactive part of it was generally the week before, and it starts to trickle out just as the music starts to trickle in. And then we got the music festival and people would buy a big badge or a wristband just to attend the music part of the festival. Am I wrong in thinking that that part of it is going away? You know, we had those three or four days where music was really kind of the main attraction. And even though you can say that you're getting an extra day, it's hard for me to imagine that the festival isn't being diminished somewhat if it's now competing. You know, it's happening now at the same time only as film and interactive and competing for attention and space and all of that.

[James Miner]

Over the years, convergence has become more and more important to us. And this way, with all aspects happening at the same time, with conference, film and TV festival, music festival, all taking place concurrently over those seven days, attendees will have a chance to experience the whole of south by Southwest. And producing a shorter, more compact self buy gives attendees more of a chance to be here for the entire run. Yeah, this is something that we thought about long and hard. And we wouldn't have made this change if we didn't think that it was going to benefit everybody.

[Bob Boilen]

I think one of the phrases that I use that set some people off is that I thought it sounded like it was going to be kind of a shell of itself. But when I know that we're losing those, those, like I said this on the show that the festival, the music part of it really took off on Wednesday, and we had Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, that full, dedicated weekend. And when you lose that, it's hard for me to think that it's not a cut.

[James Miner]

No, I mean, there's strength in convergence. Over the years, we've seen music people coming in and wanting to be more involved in the tech part or making connections with film people, and this is something that strengthens the event. You know, we're always trying to find new ways to do things. South by Southwest is about new ideas, and we wouldn't be true to ourselves if we weren't consistently reinventing ourselves.

[Bob Boilen]

So you're using the word convergence, and I've heard other people use the word streamline, that that's what this is all about. But what do you say to those who think that the real reason is that the festival has kind of been taking some hits because of COVID and some of the other things we talked about on the show, like becoming more corporate and the bloat?

[James Miner]

Yeah, I mean, I truly believe that this will result in a more curated experience for attendees and artists while retaining the discovery that the music festival is known for. And we are a platform that creates opportunity.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, we did say on the show that we think that there is a good chance that these changes could actually make the festival better, as you said, more curated. Kind of get back to some of the things that a lot of us loved about the festival. So we do have hope for the future, and we're always rooting for south by Southwest.

[James Miner]

Thanks. Yeah. I mean, one thing that I'd really like to point out right now, people are looking for hope. They're looking for inspiration and community more than ever. And providing that is one of the longtime strengths of south by Southwest.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, for sure. Same with NPR Music.

[James Miner]

Yeah.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, James, thanks for doing this. James Miner, VP of the south by Southwest Music Festival, thanks so much.

[James Miner]

It's my pleasure.

[Bob Boilen]

Take care.

[Tom Huizenga]

Okay.

[James Miner]

Thanks, Robin. Be well. Talk soon.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, Tom Huizenga, welcome once again to maybe not the world's greatest podcast, but maybe the. The world's okayest podcast.

[Stephen Thompson]

I thought it was the world's greatest, Robin.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, you know, I was trying to manifest that. I thought, you know, I'll just keep saying it's the world's greatest podcast and it'll just become true. But it turns out I've only done that once and it was the last time you were on the show. So I guess it's really only the world's greatest podcast when you come on the show.

[Stephen Thompson]

I think you're exactly right. And in any case, I'm glad to be here.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, I want to get right to music and this new song that I have absolutely been dying to share with everyone. You know, this episode is going up a little late today because the song is so new we couldn't get permission to play it for anyone before now. But it is this absolutely killer new track from the band Wetleg. And I think fans have been desperate for new music from Wetleg pretty much from the moment they released their self titled debut album in 2022. But the wait is over. They've just announced they're putting out a new album. It's called Moisturizer.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yes.

[Bob Boilen]

And the first new track that we get to hear from it is called Catch these f.

[Tom Huizenga]

Can you catch a medicine ball? Can you catch yourself when you fall? You should be careful do you catch man drift? Cuz what I really want to know is can you catch these fists?

[Unknown]

Level up I know all too well Just for your life I don't want your love I just wanna fight on.

[Robin Hilton]

My way.

[Tom Huizenga]

Stupid.

[Unknown]

Yeah Level up I know all too well just what you're like I don't want your love I just wanna fight.

[Tom Huizenga]

Fruit. This always happens late at night. Like some guy comes up says I'm his type. I just threw up in my mouth when he just tried to ask me out yet to approach me I just want to dance with my friends yeah.

[Unknown]

Yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah man down yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Level up do well just what you're right I don't want your love I just wanna fight I know all too well just what you're like I don't want your love I just wanna fight.

[Bob Boilen]

Lord. Oh my gosh. So incredible. So incredible.

[Stephen Thompson]

Level up, Robin.

[Bob Boilen]

Level up. So much swagger and just that frenetic energy and it's like everything's just crackling. And it's basically everything that we fell in love with this band and I.

[Stephen Thompson]

Just still love that deadpan attitude. And you think, okay, maybe we'd get tired of it, but absolutely not. Not with a song as immediately as infectious as this. I mean, it's a little metal head banging, a little punk, a little intimidating, a little Silly.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

Man down.

[Bob Boilen]

I mean, that is, again, that is everything that we love about this band and have since that 2022 debut. You know you were a big fan of Shay's Long, right? That song, it was. I mean, what an incredible song. You know, I always think when a band puts out a song like that, I think there's a part of me that's thinking, oh, no, they're going to be living in the shadow of the. You know, how they'll be chasing the success of that song for the rest of their career. And I think a lot of artists would. Would even admit to kind of being worried about that and having a hard time dealing with that kind of pressure. Not Wet Leg. I mean, this is an absolutely fearless follow up.

[Stephen Thompson]

They have leveled up, it seems. And I don't know about you, but the refrain especially, but the whole song reminds me a little bit of the Stooges. Now I want to be your dog. It just has this kind of pre punk attitude and the cranking guitars and it's not summer yet, but this feels like a roll the windows down, crank it up summer rocker to me.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, 100%. And I think Iggy and the Stooges, that's a great reference point for this ban. General. I've actually heard a handful of other cuts from this album, Moisturizer from Wetleg, and they all rip. I mean, this is going. People are going to be absolutely blown away, I think when they hear this full album. It is out on July 11th again from Wetleg. It's called Moisturizer. I don't know where you go from that, Tom.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, I have a question for you.

[Bob Boilen]

Okay.

[Stephen Thompson]

What do the Beatles, She's Leaving Home and Boogie Nights by Heatwave have in common?

[Bob Boilen]

I think I know where you're going with this. I don't know, Tom. What do they have in common? Gee, Robin, I don't know, Tom. What do they have in common?

[Stephen Thompson]

Each of those songs, Robin, begins with.

[Bob Boilen]

A harp that they do.

[Stephen Thompson]

And, you know, a lot of times we think of the harp as this kind of angelic sounding instrument that's in the orchestra that gets used on TV and ads for like recalling dream sequences, you know, the big glissandi.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

Almost like a sound effect. But there are a lot of really wonderful harpists out there today, young harpists who are really taking the harp in interesting new directions. And Ashley Jackson is one of them. She just released a record called Take Me to the Water and it is focused largely around her experience in the black church and the power of spirituals. But she's also into, like, folk and jazz and West African rhythms. And in the middle of her new album, she covers a song by another brilliant harpist who we've had here at our offices for a tiny desk, Brandy Younger.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

And the song is called Unrest. So let's. Let's give a listen to it. Listen for this. There's this propulsive beat in the lower strings that she keeps going, and then she adds this melody on top in the right hand, and it kind of races along and calms down into this oasis and then slowly regains its power and returns to that churning rhythm that began the piece. Unrest, written by Brandy Younger, played by Ashley Jackson. It.

[Unknown]

Sa.

[Stephen Thompson]

Nice, right?

[Bob Boilen]

Oh, it's just extraordinary. You know, I don't really know a lot about what it takes to play the harp. It looks incredibly difficult. But when I listen to this from Ashley Jackson, her tone and her control is just extraordinary. It's not too bright, not too crisp, you know, even as she's flying through some of those arpeggiated parts. It's a very warm and rounded sound, you know?

[Stephen Thompson]

Exactly.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

And not an easy instrument to play. I mean, you got to keep 47 strings in tune. It weighs 80 pounds. It's six feet tall. It's like a lot of care and feeding. And we've done pretty well in terms of harpists at our tiny desk concerts because we've had Randy Younger, Yolanda Conde, Nazis way early on, Edmar Castaneda, the kind of the jazz harpist, and Bridget Kibbe.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, is it just me or sort of the company I keep? But I have felt actually like the harp is almost having a moment, like a renaissance for the harp, because there is, of course, everyone you just mentioned, but also Mary Lattimore and Lavinia. Is it Mayer?

[Stephen Thompson]

It's Lavinia Meyer.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah. Who you also played on the show, I think maybe last year. And as you said, these are all artists who are taking the harp out of traditional spaces. Like, I remember talking with NPR Music's Hazel Sills about it, and she said hotel lobbies, like, taking them out of hotel lobbies or, you know, wedding receptions or whatever, all the cliches you normally think of, and just breathing this whole new life into the instrument.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, Lavinia Meyer, the Dutch harpist speaking, we were mentioning Iggy and the Stooges a moment ago when we were talking about Wetleg. But she. She paired up with Iggy and did this amazing song about how he missed his parents after they were. After they're both deceased and just to her harp accompaniment. And it was, you know, it was terrific. She also has a full album of Philip Glass's keyboard music that she transcribed to her. So. Right, yeah, a lot of good harp stuff going on.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, add Ashley Jackson to the mix. That is really, really beautiful. So that was called Unrest from the album Take Me to the Water. What else does she include on that?

[Stephen Thompson]

It's a lot of spirituals and she focuses a lot about the imagery of water in these spirituals. And there's one little trick that she pulls with her harp on one of the tunes to get a kind of a watery flowing sound to the lower strings. She kind of braids a sock through some of the lower strings to mute them a little bit to get special effects on the harp, which I thought was really pretty cool.

[Bob Boilen]

Very cool.

[Robin Hilton]

Support for NPR and the following message come from Betterment, the automated investing and savings app. CEO Sarah Levy shares how Betterment utilizes tech tools powered by human advice.

[Bob Boilen]

Betterment is here to help customers build wealth their way and we provide powerful technology and complete human support where technology can deliver ease of use and affordability and the people behind that technology can provide advice and guidance.

[Robin Hilton]

Learn [e-mail] Investing involves risk performance, not guaranteed. Support for this podcast and the following message come From Lagunitas Brewing Co. Since 1993, Lagunitas has been challenging the status quo, brewing innovative beer and crafting stories along the way, featuring a wide range of craft brews, cult classics and non alcoholic options. There's a seat at the bar for everyone. Bring the dog to Laganitas Brewing Co. Because every great song deserves a great beer. It's good to have friends. Learn [e-mail] this message comes from Wise.

[Bob Boilen]

The app for Doing Things and other currencies.

[Unknown]

With Wise, you can send, spend or.

[Bob Boilen]

Receive money across borders, all at a fair exchange rate. No markups or hidden fees. Join millions of customers and visit wise.com Ts and Cs apply all right, a quick reminder that if you enjoyed the show, share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple or wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, later on the show, we'll continue to look back at our number one songs from the past 25 years of All Songs Considered. We've been celebrating our 25th anniversary this year, so we're looking back at a different year in each episode. We're up to 2007 now, so later on this episode, Stephen Thompson and I will talk about the show's number one songs from that year, so keep listening for that. But Tom, you know, just before we headed into the studio here, we got news that Sufjan Stevens is releasing a special 10th anniversary edition of his absolutely incredible album, Carrie and Lowell. And for those who don't know Carrie and Lowell, it is, I think, an absolutely breathtaking collection of songs. It's all about his childhood and his relationship with his now late mother, Carrie. She passed away in 2012. And also his mom's second husband, Lowell Brahms. It is an absolutely devastating album, but it's also by far my favorite album from Sufjan Stevens, which is saying an awful lot. So I was pretty over the moon when I saw that he's revisiting it for this 10th anniversary edition. It has a whole bunch of new stuff, including a handful of previously unreleased tracks from the Carrie Ann Lowell recording sessions, including this one that I want to play. It's an early version of the song Mystery of Love, which some people will probably recognize from the film. Call Me by youy Name.

[Tom Huizenga]

Oh to see without my eyes the first time that you kissed me Boundless by the time I cried I built your walls around me White noise what an awful sound Fumbling by wrong Griffin Feel my feet above the ground Hand of God, deliver me O is me the first time that you touched me O will wonders ever cease? Blessed be the man Mystery of love Lord, I no longer believe Drowned in living water Cursed by the love that I receive from my brother Stolider Like a Faestian who died Alexander's lover Now my riverbed has dried Shall I find no other? Oh wo wo is me I'm running like a plover Now I'm proud to misery the birthmark on your shoulder reminds.

[Unknown]

Me.

[Tom Huizenga]

How much sorrow can I take Black bird on my shoe shoulder and what difference does it make when this love is over? Shall I sleep within your bed river of unhappiness hold your hands upon my head Till I breathe my last breath oh woe is me the last time that you touched me O will wonders ever cease? Blessed be the mystery of love.

[Bob Boilen]

So that's a demo recording, which is one of the reasons why it sounds so homemade or like he recorded it in his bedroom. But what an absolute gift to get this after all these years.

[Stephen Thompson]

Well, and what a song. I mean, I often think of him as a modern day Franz Schubert. You know, the composer who wrote like 600 songs. Really, that goes through every facet of the human experience. But with Sufian, I mean, he's overflowing like Schubert with these amazing melodies. They're ravishing, they're disarming, they're beguiling, they're painful. It's all there. And this song really fits well, I guess he reworked this song for the film called Call Me by youy Name.

[Bob Boilen]

Right. So that movie came out in 2017, a couple years after Carrie and Lowell originally came out in 2015. He wrote the song Mystery of Love during the original Carrie and Lowell recording sessions and then, yeah, reworked it. But all of the themes that you hear in this song, Mystery of Love, are all across the Carrie and Lowell album. You know, it's deeply personal. He works through all of his grief and, you know, it's very revealing, it's very earnest and very open. But then also it. It expresses his deep love. I think he's talking about his mother in the song, his deep love for her, even as fraud as their relationship was.

[Stephen Thompson]

And in a way, I was thinking again about the film and you can argue that they should have used this demo in the film because there's this supreme vulnerability in this performance that really connects with the words and then the film. His voice is just a tad shaky here and there, and it's as if he's just right in this moment after the rush of feelings of that first kiss that the lyrics talk about.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah. Out of the context of the film, I took First Kiss as his mother kissing him. Something, you know, a mother's love. But when Carrie and Lowell came out, it was 2015. The tour for that album was to date still the greatest live show of any kind I've ever seen in my life. I was just sobbing through the entire performance. You were there. I think you were shedding quite a few tears too.

[Stephen Thompson]

It was very, very emotional.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

And it was special to me because Sufyan went to a religious College. That's a 10 minute drive from where I grew up. And if you remember the background to the set for that concert, it was these kind of pointed, almost stained glass windows, these tall windows. So it brings back these memories of being in church. And then of course there's the line in the song Blessed be the mystery of Love, which is almost sounds like a religious phrase or something like that. So there's always this little tinge of religion there with in many Sufyan songs.

[Bob Boilen]

So this 10th anniversary edition of Karian Lowell is out on asmetic kitty on May 30th.

[Stephen Thompson]

And speaking of churches, Robin, this next music is actually scored for reverberant church, three choirs and a cello. And it is by Soviet era composer Alexander Knifel. He just died last year at age 80. He was a cellist himself and was a student of Mr. Slav Rostropovich and turned to composing after he had a hand injury. And over the years he wrote a number of very lengthy slow moving pie that he called his Quiet Giants. And this music that we're going to hear is from one of them called Chapter eight. And that is Chapter eight of the Song of Solomon from the Bible. And if you don't know that book of the Bible, it's basically secular poems about dating and love. So here is just a snippet of this music that really unfolds very quietly, very slowly. I mean, we're all under a lot of stress these days, right? This is better than Xanax. I just love how that is just so unabashedly slow and deliberately beautiful.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, it's so beautiful. And this is again, just one small part of this whole section is about 15, almost 16 minutes long. And it itself is also part of. Of a much larger.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, an hour long piece or so. This is a part of a piece called Chapter 8, which is based on the eighth chapter of the book of Song of Solomon in the Bible. And we have the State Choir of Latvia, the Riga Cathedral Boys Choir and a youth chamber choir. Cellist Patrick Dominga Andres Mustinen is conducting and they are in the Jesuit Church of Lucerne, Switzerland. And the church part is really important in this piece because of. You have to have a very reverberant space.

[Bob Boilen]

You know, it's funny you mentioned how he had injured his hand and decided to turn to composing. And I thought, can you imagine if composer was your safety like that? It's like, well, I can always, I can always fall back on being a composer. But you said that this was better than Xanax. And I agree. We have done a couple of episodes on the show Songs to Calm the Nerves. We did more Songs to Calm the Nerves and we've got another episode coming up actually very soon, even more Songs.

[Stephen Thompson]

To Calm the Nerves of Songs to Calm the Nerves.

[Bob Boilen]

But this would have fit perfectly with that whole mix.

[Stephen Thompson]

Alexander Knifel's nerves weren't calm his whole Life because in 1979 he was among other composers that were blacklisted by the Soviet Union Composers Forum. So he turned to composing film scores for money to keep the families running. And he composed about 40 film scores. And they're also very interesting. But this piece is just, it's very special. It's. It's an hour long. You just let it wash all over you.

[Robin Hilton]

Support for NPR. And the following message come from LinkedIn ads. One of the hardest parts about B2B marketing is reaching the right audience. When you want to reach the right professionals, use LinkedIn ads. LinkedIn has grown to a network of over 1 billion professionals. Target buyers by job title, industry, company role, seniority, skills, company revenue, all the professionals you need to reach in one place. Get a $100 credit on your next campaign. Just go to LinkedIn.com allsongs Terms and conditions apply only on LinkedIn ads.

[Bob Boilen]

All right, Tom, I know you've got one more cut that you want to play for us today.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah. And it's by pianist George Xiaoyang Fu, and he's a D.C. native. He debuted as a teenager with the National Symphony Orchestra, but now he teaches at the Royal Academy of Music in London. And, Robin, I know you're a pianist.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah.

[Stephen Thompson]

And did you ever have to practice etudes?

[Bob Boilen]

Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, these are.

[Stephen Thompson]

These are little piano pieces that. That get you to focus on some particular area, like fingerings or octaves or cross hands or whatever.

[Bob Boilen]

I mean, you say little piano pieces, but they can get very challenging.

[Stephen Thompson]

Absolutely. And they started out maybe not so interesting, but then, you know, Chopin came around and turned the whole idea of a piano etude on its head and made these etudes, or studies, they call them, that are fully fledged works of art with personalities and flamboyant artistic depth. And George Foo's new album is really all about etudes because he takes the etudes that Claude Debussy wrote in 1915 and puts them on the front and tail end of the album. And in the middle, there are some etudes written especially for him. And then there's one of his own, which is not technically an etude, but it is very much in the etude style. And that is what we're going to listen to. It's Passa Kaglia on a Theme by Radiohead. And all you Radiohead fans, I'm wondering if you can actually pick out which tune it is.

[Unknown]

Sa.

[Bob Boilen]

Okay. You know how you said, I'm a piano player? I take it back. I'm not a piano player. No, I cannot. I actually cannot play the piano if that's where the bar is.

[Stephen Thompson]

Not like that. Right. So it was pretty easy to pick out the tune, right?

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, it was definitely airbag.

[Stephen Thompson]

Right.

[Bob Boilen]

Which is the opening cut to OK Computer.

[Stephen Thompson]

And I love how that theme comes back and evaporates at the top of the keyboard right there at the end.

[Bob Boilen]

Oh, at the very end. I know. It just. It's like to remind you where we've been. Because he. It's kind of mind blowing. He starts with that theme, and then he begins to just completely color outside of the lines with it. He pulls the whole thing apart.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yeah, totally. I mean, it's called Passecaglia on a Theme by Radiohead. And Passecaglia, it's hard to define, but one simple way to define it is that it's a series of variations over a repeating bass line. And so George Foo, the pianist who wrote that and performed it, was fascinated with that bass line and wanted to do something with it for years. And like you said, he just takes it and dissects it through the series of variations and obsesses with different parts of it. And I love these several, you know, totally concussive climaxes. And you just keep wondering, like, well, where. What rabbit hole are we going down next?

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, but the airbag's always kind of.

[Stephen Thompson]

In there, always in there, which is.

[Bob Boilen]

Really mind blowing to me. And it always feels like it's just about to completely fall apart. Like it's just spinning so wildly, and it's. It's chaotic, and it feels like it's just gonna completely go off a cliff and somehow the center holds.

[Stephen Thompson]

Yep. Yeah. There have been pianists, you know, in the past who have done a lot with Radiohead stuff. I'm thinking of Christopher O'Reilly, you know, back like 15 years ago, 20 years ago. This is something else, though. This really goes very deep, like you say, takes it all apart, puts it back together.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, you know, Tom, I mentioned how we're celebrating our 25th anniversary of all Songs Considered. We're looking at a different year on each episode. We're up to 2007. We did a version of the show for all songs considered Sweet Sixteen, the 16th anniversary, where we did 16 number one songs.

[Stephen Thompson]

Right.

[Bob Boilen]

And you know what song we picked for 2007? Radiohead's body snatcher.

[Stephen Thompson]

Ah, there you go.

[Bob Boilen]

From the. From the album In Rainbows. Did you see that segue? How we're getting to the 25th anniversary?

[Stephen Thompson]

You are a radio professional.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah. It's exactly what you would expect from the world's greatest podcast.

[Stephen Thompson]

True. Indeed.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, thanks as always, Tom, for hanging out and sharing such incredible music.

[Stephen Thompson]

Oh, it's always a pleasure, Robin.

[Bob Boilen]

All right, here's Stephen Thompson talking about our number one songs from 2007.

[Unknown]

Well, I'm just gonna kick it off with a song that, to me, embodies the year 2007. Just the sound of so much of what Was Around. And also just one of the straight up best songs of the year, Feist.

I feel it, Satan. The wings are wide the wings are.

[Bob Boilen]

Wide.

[Unknown]

Wild card inside Wild card inside oh, I'll be the one who break my heart I'll be the one to hope I'm not no more than I.

[Bob Boilen]

Knew before.

[Unknown]

I know more than I knew before I didn't rest, I didn't stop.

[Bob Boilen]

I'm actually getting a little choked up. Listen to this. It takes me back and it is just so perfect. Oh, this is from the Reminder.

[Unknown]

I mean, there are some artists you wish they put out records a little more often, but they'll put out an album every five to eight years. Feist springs immediately to mind. Fiona Apple springs immediately to mind where I sit there and I think, like, aw, man. They only have five or six albums over the course of 25 years. And I can't think of a bad song on one of those albums.

[Bob Boilen]

So this was 2007. Then she had medals, like, four years years later in 2011. Then it was another six years. We got pleasure. But she just had multitudes a couple years ago in 20. And it's flawless, Absolutely flawless. You're like, okay, well, she's been doing this for, you know, 25 years or so now. I mean, I wonder how much more.

[Unknown]

Gas is she gonna start phoning it in? Does not start phoning it in on multitudes.

[Bob Boilen]

Oh, my God.

[Unknown]

Fly away, Fly away.

[Bob Boilen]

Well, I've mentioned this several times as we've been going through these decades, that we did a version of this show for our 16th anniversary. And on that 2016 show, the number one song we picked was Radiohead's Body Snatchers. But I'm gonna go with this one. And I bet you're gonna know it pretty quickly, at least when the synth line kicks in.

[Unknown]

Totally. Is this mgmt?

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

I'm feeling rough I'm feeling wrong in the time of my life let's make some music make some money Find some models for wives.

Talk.

[Bob Boilen]

Talk about getting choked up this is one of those songs, you know, it's got such a hooky little synth line. The beat's killer. But this song is so heartbreaking to me. It's such a sad story, song of chasing fame and your life falling apart in the process. But, you know, there's this moment where he talks about how he's gonna miss his sister and his father and his dog and his home and missing boredom, you know, all these sweet, innocent things of his youth. Oh, and it just crushes me.

[Unknown]

I love a deceptively sad song.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

And boy, if you were making a movie, if you were making a period piece set in the year 2007, this is your opening credits.

[Bob Boilen]

Right.

[Unknown]

You know, you want to set the scene for exactly what 2007 in music felt like. I mean, the feist song.

[Bob Boilen]

Yeah, no, it's Fault falls into that too.

[Unknown]

But this is kind of also picking up like that era of songs where you've got like Matt and Kim and Peter, Bjorn and John, where there's just like a certain busy pop where it's just like songs that are extremely fussed over and engineered in such a way that they are maximally enjoyable.

[Bob Boilen]

Do you think that song sounds like they fussed over it? Maybe they did. I don't know.

[Unknown]

I think, I think they're like studio rats, you know, who like layered all these sounds to create something that would feel effortless.

[Tom Huizenga]

I'll miss the playgrounds and the animals and digging up worms.

[Unknown]

I'll miss the comfort of my mother and the weight of the world.

[Bob Boilen]

All right, until next time, Stephen, thanks.

[Unknown]

Thank you, Robin.

[Bob Boilen]

Before NPR Music, I'm Robin Hilton. It's all songs considered.

[Unknown]

Up a different G like.

[Robin Hilton]

Support for this podcast and the following message come from Lagunitas Brewing Company. Challenging the status quo and crafting stories along the way, featuring a wide range of innovative craft brews and non alcoholic options. It's good to have friends. Learn [e-mail] this message comes from Warby Parker. If you wear glasses, you know how hard it is to find the perfect pair. But step into a Warby Parker store and you'll see it doesn't have to be. Find a Warby Parker store near [e-mail] retail. This message comes from CarMax. CarMax knows that finding the right car is all about exploring your options, like the option to shop your way on your schedule at CarMax. You can browse, compare and pre qualify online. Then finish up at the store or simply start on the lot. The choice is yours because at CarMax you're in the driver's seat. Start the search for your next car today at CarMax. The way car buying should be.