NPR Music

Troye Sivan’s 2023 album, 'Something to Give Each Other,' marked a turning point in the Australian singer-songwriter’s career. Its choreo-driven singles “Rush” and “Got Me Started” became viral hits, earned Sivan his first Grammy nominations and even spawned a Timothée Chalamet and boygenius spoof on Saturday Night Live. Soon after came the Sweat tour with friend and peer Charli xcx amid the hype of “Brat” summer. But while Sivan says it was a thrilling moment in his career, it also didn’t paint a full picture of what he was going through at the end of his 20s. His new album, 'She’s the Best,' gives the artist breathing room to dig into some darker feelings. Sivan sat down with NPR Music reporter Isabella Gomez Sarmiento to talk about honoring the women in his life, moving away from perfect pop music and making an “unsexy” album that reflects his true feelings. This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell and edited by Hazel Cills. NPR Music’s chief editor is Jacob Ganz. Our executive producer is Suraya Mohamed. Our executive director is Sonali Mehta. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Cameron Winter. Troye Sivan. Remi Wolf. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 9 with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Tshego Letsoalo from KALW in San Francisco, Aurora McGuckin from MVYRADIO in Massachusetts and Jewly Hight from WPLN in Nashville. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (00:39) Album No. 1 - Cameron Winter, 'Live at Carnegie Hall' (07:30) Album No. 2 - Troye Sivan, 'She's the Best' (14:45) Album No. 3 - Remi Wolf, 'Mud' (21:11) Album No. 4 - Jess Williamson, 'A Mile South of Heaven' (27:20) Album No. 5 - Danielle Ponder, 'Everything Has Changed' (34:40) The Lightning Round - Dawn Richard, 'creole culture' - Margo Cilker, 'Little White Cross' - Imperial Teen, 'All Over You' - heavensouls, 'cantu of the sower' - Joyce Wrice, 'Machiko' Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist. Credits: Host: Stephen Thompson Guests: Tshego Letsoalo, Aurora McGuckin, Jewly Hight Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell Digital Producer: Dora Levite Editors: Elle Mannion, Otis Hart Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Special thanks to Ann Powers and Sheldon Pearce Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

The music of Tim Bernardes fits as easily in the poetry of the cosmos as it does in the songwriting canon of his country. Brazil has a legacy of some of the greatest most intricate, emotional songwriting there is, and if you ask me, I’d argue Tim fits right into it. So, I invited him in to play a Tiny Desk for our annual El Tiny takeover. And, of course, I took the opportunity to pull him into the studio after – I absolutely needed to know what he’s been listening to. So, here we are again playing my latest and greatest new game: a special version of our typical guest DJ episode, where I ask them to recall different parts of their lives and themselves through music. No prepared songs or ideas. Let’s call this episode a musical tapestry painted by one of the greatest Brazilian singer-songwriters of this era. - Anamaria Sayre Artists and songs mentioned in this episode: - The Beatles, 'I Want To Hold Your Hand' - Os Mutantes, 'Caminhante Noturno' - Milton Nascimento, 'Nuvem Cigana' - Nelson Cavaquinho, 'Eu E As Flores' - Gilberto Gil, 'Luzia Luluza' - Antônio Carlos Jobim, 'Saudade Do Brasil,' 'O Boto' - Caetano Veloso, 'Minha Mulher' - Tim Bernardes, 'Realmente Lindo' This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music. Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

A super deluxe box set of The Beatles' legendary 1965 album Rubber Soul has just been released with brand new mixes, demos and outtakes that show The Beatles breaking up with the past, their fans and everything people knew and loved about the band. In this conversation with All Songs Considered host Robin Hilton, Giles Martin, the producer behind the new mixes and son of late Beatles producer George Martin, talks about why Rubber Soul was such a pivotal album for the band, how the music was changing, and why it sounds “reasonably bleak.” Martin also explains how the AI tools he used to update the mixes work, how he preserved the original spirit of Rubber Soul and more. Tell us what you think with a review on Apple or Spotify wherever you listen to podcasts. Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: [email protected] Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

Victoria Monét. Meshell Ndegeocello. Sons of Sevilla. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 2, with DJs from around the NPR Music network: Ayana Contreras from KUVO in Denver, Evan Miller from WYSO in Ohio and DJ Llu from Vermont Public. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round. The Starting 5 (01:53) Album No. 1 - Victoria Monét, 'Frequency Of Love' (08:40) Album No. 2 - Meshell Ndegeocello, 'Synonym' (15:28) Album No.3 - Helen, 'Linda's Head' (22:09) Album No. 4 - Wishy, 'Nature's Pill' (28:36) Album No. 5 - Sons of Sevilla, 'It Could Be Today' (34:27 The Lightning Round - Greg Freeman, 'All Set the Bone' - Miranda Lambert, 'Crisco' - Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth, 'Allison de Groot & Rich Ruth' - Lalah Hathaway, 'Made in Chicago' - Beth Taylor, 'The Deeps Have Music' Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist. Credits: Host: Stephen Thompson Guests: Ayana Contreras, Evan Miller, DJ Llu Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell Digital Producer: Dora Levite Editors: Elle Mannion, Otis Hart Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed Special thanks to Lars Gotrich, Ann Powers and Tom Huizenga Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy