I still haven’t quite figured out how NPR works. I know there are a bunch of stations around the US, each operating on a real shoestring budget. They’re called ‘affiliates’. And as well as their own output, they also take shows made centrally by the NPR organisation. As anyone who’s ever listened to any NPR stations in real time can tell, there’s a world of difference between the stuff made locally and that brought in from the centre.
All Songs Considered is one of NPR’s hidden gems, and possibly the best music radio show currently broadcasting. Presented by Bob Boilen, a man who never lets his obvious love of the music he plays prevent him from sounding anything other than lugubrious, the programme is usually a round up of current releases. The writer Barney Hoskyns recently mentioned a genre called ‘NPR Artists’ and I guess those are the acts All Songs Considered champions. Majoring in the kind of songwriters operating in the field that used to be called ‘Americana’, they avoid the US mainstream, and are all the more interesting for that – everyone from Bob Dylan to Fleet Foxes, Amadou & Miriam to Neko Case, Anthony & The Johnsons to Franz Ferdinand have all been recently featured.
There are a number of great things about the show. Firstly, it’s podcast without any edits – which means you get the tracks featured in full, rather than just the intro & fade out. Secondly, they have an irregular series of guest DJ shows, where an artist comes into the studio to talk about influences and current favourites. These are entertainingly shambolic, and usually accompanied by the sound of Boilen shuffling through a pile of CD’s as he attempts to find the track being discussed. Recently Bonnie Prince Billy showed up and talked about how much he loved The Monster Mash, Randy Newman raved about Ray Charles and Portishead revealed a hitherto unsuspected Hendrix influence.
However, the best thing about All Songs Considered is their series of podcast concerts. Full length and unedited, they’ve given me some of my favourite listening of the last twelve months. Tom Waits, Orchestra Baboab and Spiritualised have all featured. And I’ve listened to the show featuring Leonard Cohen at the Beacon Theatre in New York least once a week since it was first posted.
There are drawbacks with the show. Black music is mostly noticeable by its’ absence. But given that you can find hip hop, reggae, house and any number of other Black styles all over the internet, it’s carping to berate the show for a single failing. Instead, celebrate and enjoy a unique show – not only in the American broadcasting landscape, but across the interweb as a whole.
It was great to come across this piece by Matt. A listen to the current podcast of All Songs Considered was enough to nudge me into subscribing via iTunes.
As Matt mentions, full tracks are played, and throughout, there is a fan’s enthusiasm for the music.
From this week’s podcast, John Vanderslice (great name, but who am I to talk?) was unknown to me, but I have become an immediate aficionado.
My car journeys would be much more tedious if it wasn’t for NPR podcasts.
Well done to Between Dogs and Wolves for highlighting this one.
All Songs is presented by Bob Boilen, not Boynton. There’s an interview with him on the Radio Academy website. Nice man, curious taste but always intriguing.
Apologies Trevor, my bad. Corrected.