All Songs Considered: Olivia Rodrigo covers The Magnetic Fields, Noah Kahan channels his mom, and more

These days, it feels like the news changes every hour. Well, NPR has a podcast that does that too. NPR News Now brings you a fresh five-minute episode every hour of the day with the latest most important headlines in episodes that are clear, fact-based, and easy to digest. Listen to NPR News Now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode of All Songs Considered comes to you from the NPR Music Podcast. We've got new episodes of this show every Tuesday, Alt Latino on Wednesday, and we close out every week in the NPR Music Podcast with new music Friday. NPR Music also, of course, your home for Tiny Desks and the Tiny Desk Contest. Dora Levitt. I do love the Tiny Desk Contest. And you have been, you're one of the producers, and you've been going through all of the entries. We're like, where are we with that? We're close to wrapping it up, aren't we? I hope. I hope. Hopefully. What could happen? Right now, you included. Our judges are picking their very favorite entries. We call it our Top Shelf series. Yeah, I've already found. I haven't seen one yet that I think like this could be the winner, but... I actually, I found one that I did think could definitely be the winner today. I sent to Elmanian, the other producer of the contest, to look at our Desk of the Day series, which is on NPR Music's Instagram stories, where we highlight another great entry every weekday from now until when Top Shelf starts. But one of those entries, I was like, this could be the winner in my eyes. I loved it so much. Oh, wow. Well, I'm going to have to check that out. You're going to have to show it to me because the Artist Who Won last year, Ruby Abarra, that was the first video I watched out of all of them. And I thought, did I just see the winner? But... Yeah. Well, in this episode of All Songs Considered, we are talking best new songs of the week. It's actually been a minute since we did a show where we update our running list of the year's best songs. I thought we would start with this new cut that we just got from Noah Kahn. And I'm just going to say it right now. He's going to have a year. I mean, he's already a pretty big deal. Things really blew up for him back in 2022 when he released the album Stick Season. I didn't know there was like another level for him, but I think he's found it on this new album that we know is coming now. It's called The Great Divide. I've already heard a handful of singles. I got an advance on some of the music, and it is so good. This new single that he just dropped is called Porch Light. And we can talk a little bit more about it after we hear it. You're looking for it on top. See you're a half-assed half-apology. Then I think you picked the wrong time to make this call. It is not a real event that you stop thinking you're medicine, but I'm giving you the benefit because it's raining now. I'll tell you how the weather is, and you'll step into some eloquently rambling mixed message. And I should shut you down, but it's cold, and it's cold, and it's cold, and it's cold, and it's cold. And I don't know, I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone, I'm alone. I hope you tell me that you're finding down, that you lost a taste to face the crowd, that whatever made you famous made you sick. That you can only do it painless, that ain't up to you to make it out, and there ain't no shame in calling this thing quits. But you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't, you don't. You're at the coast, you're at the coast, you're at the coast, you're at the coast, and you're with us, and it's too loud. I hold everything, hold it at any faith at all. And I hope, pray for you, pray for you, I'll leave the ports that are on. A broke edge, more endless need, turns it off. So it goes, so it goes, so it goes. So it goes, so it goes, so it goes, so it goes. You act like we just sit up here and wait for you to reappear, but baby there are bills to pay and your dads roll me so. And I try to drown out all the talk, the eyeballs in the parking lots and tell people that ain't me you want, but I guess you're my fault. You're at the coast, you're at the coast, you're at the coast, you're at the coast. And I choke, and I choke, and I choke, and I choke on the wind. And I spit it into my lungs. I hold everything, hold it at any faith at all. And I hope, pray for you, pray for you, I'll leave the ports that are on. A broke edge, more endless need, turns it off. So it goes, so it goes, so it goes. And I... ...hold it, spit it into my lungs. I hold everything, hold it at any faith at all. And I hope, pray for you, pray for you, I'll leave the ports that are on. it all. A room gaze, morning with me turns it all. So it goes, so it goes, so it goes." Doesn't he just sound like this unstoppable force? He really does. To be completely honest, I never felt connected to Stixie's Inn, and it was so popular, and It is music that I feel like I would like. I really like folk and country music. Yeah. But yeah, hearing Porchlight and hearing these new singles, he really sounds like he feels locked into the music that he really wants to make. Yeah. And yeah, it's really amazing, which is why I never felt connected to Stixie's because it didn't feel totally authentic to him. Oh, really? Yeah. Because I feel like he's really poured himself into all of these songs, which is partly what this song Porchlight is all about because he has opened up his life so much in his music in ways that he feels like maybe, like I don't know, like he feels a little guilty about revealing so much of his family life and whatnot in these songs. And this song Porchlight is sung from the perspective of his mom. He's imagining his mom singing to him. You know, at one point he sings, I'd ask how you've been, but it's all over the internet, right? You know, or there's another moment when he sings, it's not irrelevant that you stop taking your medicine and I'm giving you the benefit because it's raining out. Like all these very clear references to a lot of the struggles he's had with anxiety and depression and, you know, he's a real advocate for mental health. All of that comes through. And I felt like that was in Stixie's in too, but yeah, this new batch of songs, really powerful. Yeah. He really has such a strong sense of place and memory in the lyrics and also just like sonically as a whole and with all the imagery that's coming out with the album too, that picture of the window with the kids playing. Yeah, well even Porchlight, it's awesome. Porchlight says, I'm waiting for you. Porchlight says, we're home, this is home, and all of the comforts and safety and familiarity that that implies the idea of home. And it's like, we're leaving a light on for you, you're welcome anytime. It's such a simple little image, Porchlight, a Porchlight, but it says so much. It really does. So the album is called Great Divide, that song again was called Porchlight. This album is coming out in April, at the end of April on April 24th. You know, one thing that's interesting about Noa Khan's music is he takes this folk music form and he blows it up into these sort of fist in the air anthems, and it works so well. Yeah, I feel like that ability to kind of build upon something that we know so well, like this folksy sound that Noa Khan has is really what sets apart these big name pop stars and stars from each other. And another person that did that recently in a way that really spoke to me was Olivia Rodrigo. What she did was so incredible. It's a cover of the Book of Love by the Magnetic Fields, and it was released on the most recent compilation from War Child Recordings called Help To. пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад пад boring no one can live the damn thing it's full of charts and facts and figures and instructions for dancing and I I love it when you read to me and you you can read me anything the book of love has music in it in fact that's where music comes from some of it is just transcendental some of it is just read done but I I love it when you sing to me and you you could sing me anything the book of love is long and boring and written very long ago it's full of flowers and heart-shaped boxes and things we're all too young to know and I I love it when you give me things and you you ought to give me wedding rings you ought to give me wedding rings oh I am the biggest sucker for a cover song in the world. There's nothing that I love more than a cover. Recorded cover, a cover at a concert, I just, it's my favorite thing in the world because it's so clear when an artist does a cover that this is something that they love and it's such a nice way to be in conversation with a song and an artist that you respect and are influenced by. And the thing that makes a cover so great and that Olivia Rodrigo does so well here is keeping the same feeling of the song but making something that feels very different. And in the original Magnetic Fields Book of Love, the instrumental in the guitar is so plucky and sharp. Plucky and spare and corky. Yeah, exactly. And, but the vocals are very washed out and very large. And I feel like here, Olivia Rodrigo flips that and has this like very, very washed out instrumental. And her vocals are so sharp. It's such an unexpected cover for so many reasons. One being what you were saying going into it. Like she's this massive pop and rock star selling out stadiums. And which could not be more opposite than the Magnetic Fields, which is sort of the quintessential indie rock and pop band. And also totally different generations. But she really, I think she just really, really sticks the landing with this cover to your point. And it's such a great cover makes you appreciate the artist who's doing the cover in new ways. But also then makes you appreciate the artist that's being covered in new ways. And you hear both of them in completely different contexts. And this works so perfect. It's such a perfect compliment to the original. I think she finds a little bit of sadness in this song. A little bit of loneliness. And in a song that to me is one of the greatest love songs ever written, period. I have only heard Joy and Laughter. And it's a very funny song, the Book of Love. Nobody can lift the damn thing. The Book of Love is so big and heavy, right? But hearing Olivia's version here, yeah, it kind of finds this little, it's sort of like the ending of The Graduate where they found true love finally and they run off together and they're sitting in the back of the bus. And then this sort of sadness kind of comes over them. I don't know. It's brilliant cover. I really like the way that you said that because there is when I listen to this cover and then I went back to the Book of Love, the original one, I was like, oh, this isn't as sad as I remember it being because I listened to Olivia's first. She also, I mean, she's so brave for covering just a quintessential song. Well, right. That's been heard a million times. A million times, yeah. And she's so good at paying homage to these like classic hits. She does the same with Paramore. Yeah. Well, this compilation, it's called Help Two. Bunch of other great artists and songs on it too. Arlo Parks is on it. Aruj Off-Tob. Cameron Winters. Cameron Winters. Cameron Winters on it. I think Arctic Monkey's like first song in a bunch of years. New song is on it. Totally worth checking out. Wet Leg, which I was surprised to see. Yeah. It's on there as well. But yeah, I'm so glad you picked this one. These days, it feels like the news changes every hour. NPR has a podcast that does that too. NPR News Now brings you a fresh five minute episode every hour of the day with the latest most important headlines in episodes that are clear, fact-based, and easy to digest. Listen to NPR News Now on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. You know, Dor, before the show, we were sitting in here just kind of going off on all the awful things in the world. We thought that could just be the show, just us talking about all the things that are in the news right now. But I've been thinking a lot lately about AI. It's kind of hard not to, given how much it's been in the news lately. But you know, just the whole debate about what is real, what is not real, what does that even mean? You know, there's a lot more going on in the AI debate than just that. But that's the part that's really been on my mind. And I've been struggling with what this means for my kids. And I mean, well, I mean, honestly, for everybody. Like, you know, what does it mean when we're not only living our lives through our screens, but when everything that's coming to us through our screens isn't even real? Yeah. Right? So there's this great new song from the band Ages and Ages. This is a Portland band that I've loved for years, Ages and Ages. Great new song I want to play that kind of reflects on all of this, on how empty the current age can feel and the idea of sort of, I don't know, like desperately wanting something tangible and real and authentic to hold on to. The song is called Feel Amazing. I'm watching the freeway on a weekday and the lights lit up so crazy. I'm the rails. I cannot dance. I can almost hold in my hands. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I wanted to be real and I want to feel amazing. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I wanted to be real and I want to feel amazing. I'm the rails. I cannot dance. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I wanted to be real and I want to feel amazing. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I wanted to be real and I want to feel amazing. I don't know what I want, I don't know what I said. I wanted to be real and I want to feel amazing. Amazing. I just love ages and ages so much. Do you know ages and ages? I don't. Yeah, so, but they're the kind of band when I listen to them, I think, why isn't this one of the biggest bands in the world because their music is so infectious, so catchy, like this whole song, feel amazing. It's like such a breezy, playful take on what is essentially existential fatigue, right? Like why are we even here? Like I don't know what I want. I just know that I want it to feel real and I want it to feel amazing. I mean, halfway through the song, when it breaks, the chorus just keeps looping and looping, which I really love and they just keep repeating, I just want to feel amazing and it feels like even they're catching onto their own song. Yeah, do you think like he's starting to believe it? Yeah, yeah. So that's Tim Perry is the lead singer, main guy in the band. I hit him up and said, so like, where was this coming from? And he says that he was thinking about, and I'm quoting him here, about the search for authentic experience in a world where so many of these experiences have been repackaged and sold back as more sanitized and curated versions of their original selves, which I thought was really interesting. And then Tim goes on to say, when we search for meaning or satisfaction, what we're really aching for is a real experience, the waterfall without the gift shop. I love how he put that. I just want the waterfall. I don't want the gift shop with the waterfall. I love that. That's so, I really like the way that he put that. When I was first listening to this song, I was like, it's so cool how when they sing feel amazing, that cuts through the kind of hypnotic looping instrumental in the back. And I was like, oh, maybe the feel amazing is the most authentic part of that. And that's why it cuts through. But now almost listening to you read kind of the intention behind the song, that feel amazing feels more synthetic. Oh, interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Love this band ages and ages. If you don't know the band or maybe it sounds familiar, you can't remember. They had this incredible album called divisionary a number of years ago that I really fell for it had the song divisionary do the right thing, which has become my anthem for life. Do the right thing. Totally should check that out. They did a tiny desk back in 2014. Everyone should check it out. The new album from ages and ages is called. Fine. Thanks. And you. And that song was called feel amazing. You're going to totally bring us down now or where we go on from there. I'm going to just bring everyone down to like self conscious mania. I know that that's what we're wanting or self aware mania maybe is better. Wow. You're really selling that. Yeah. Yeah. So stop. You know what I could really go for some painfully self aware mania. Yeah. So and I feel like I'm making it sound more manic than it actually is by calling it manic. But I really do think that this new track one stop by Aldis Harding is one of the most self reflective and honest pieces of music I've heard in a really long time in a way that's incredibly refreshing. Wow. All right. So Aldis Harding the song one stop. I've been way too long. There's a tree that I used to climb. Calling that one star. Put my things in a long line. I love the streets here at night. I'm on the right. What. Things I know for a long time. I'm at the real John Kale. He had no words but a door. I packed the stage while he a rise. I read myself. I read myself. Imagining from the block. Imagining. Why would I know I wouldn't meet you. Why would I know I wouldn't hold. Why would I know I wouldn't meet you. I'm on the right. What. Kick around in the big brown. So the loss I tell. Send me up and I can't get down. I'm wearing big grass to town. I read myself. I read myself. Imagining. Imagining from the block. Why would I know I wouldn't meet you. Why would I know I wouldn't hold. Why would I know I wouldn't meet you. Why would I know I wouldn't hold. Why would I know I wouldn't meet you. Why would I know I wouldn't hold. Why would I know I wouldn't meet you. Why would I know I wouldn't hold you away. I've never been, I believe in you Why would you want to hold me? Why would you want to hold me? Why would you want to hold me? I'll never do it again, unless you wanna do it again I really love how this feels like such a true inner monologue of self, like affirmations and exploration and how sparse it is Yeah, I'm really curious to hear what it is that speaks to you in this song I mean, I really love Aldous Harding a lot This song kind of surprised me because a lot of her stuff can be just crushingly sad This is sort of one of the biggest or boldest sounding things that I've heard her do I think the thing to me, because I do agree, it's a pretty big departure from what she normally does And I feel like why I was so drawn to it is because the lyrics feel like such a free association into her mind and into what it is to go throughout your life in a self-conscious way, but still in a confident way Yeah, I was having a hard time teasing out exactly what the song is about It seems like she's revisiting her past a little bit I'm not sure if she's addressing somebody that she had a... Maybe someone she had a complicated relationship with or even a falling out and she's saying like, enough time is past, I'm willing to reconnect if you are I don't know, I wasn't entirely sure To me, it feels like the thoughts that you have right as you're falling asleep when you're at your most alone when you think back onto just awkward and strange moments that you've experienced that you might have really prepared for The line that of course pops out to me as I met the real John Kale That's true, it's like, oh, I've thought of this thing Yeah, this random thing is coming into my mind and I'm gonna fixate on it The line is, I met the real John Kale, he didn't have any words, but I don't mind Yeah, that's cool Yeah, like that's cool, this is like, maybe someone that I've been idolizing my whole life and it was kind of awkward and not everything that it was made out to be That kind of makes me think a little bit about the Mitski song we got this year Where's my phone? Where it feels like these are just all these random thoughts that are popping in her head as maybe as she's trying to get to sleep or something or maybe while she's randomly just trying to find where she left her phone But yeah, that gives it some good context for me My favorite moment in the whole song, honestly, is with that back third when the guitar comes in, that strumming guitar and then it starts to fade, I'm like, no, no, keep going, it is so good but I love the fade because that kind of implies there's no resolution here and this is just the beginning of a journey, maybe Yeah, I read it in the same way of like, I can have all of these thoughts and feelings and anxieties swirling around, but when the guitar comes in it's just like, and then on to the next thing Did you watch the music video by Nishit? I haven't seen the video yet, no It's just her doing like an interpretive dance in an open space I definitely need to check it out. I have a running list of my all-time favorite dance videos that I've dancing in them and I'll pull it up every now and then, show the kids and stuff Yeah, maybe that's one to add to it So this is the first single off of Aldous Harding's new album, Train on the Island which is going to be released May 8th of this year Dora, I don't imagine you're much of a video game player, are you? Are you a gamer? I, as you can probably imagine, am a very obsessive person so if I find a game, I will do nothing but that and I used to play only Minecraft in creative mode for like, hours on end and Sims 4 So you know your limits and you just don't even Yeah I'm not much of one, partly for the same reason that I just don't have time Like, I really enjoy them Yeah But I did, I bought a PlayStation 5 solely to play The Last of Us, part 1 and 2 Yeah Which were incredible, that was like a year or two ago and I've not touched it since, I just played those games and that was it Did you watch the TV show first and were you like, I want to play this game? No, actually I wanted to play the video game first and then I watched the show and it was really pretty, like the sets I thought, wow, there was a moment in the first season where they come up on this big building and I thought, oh my god, that's the building from the game, they matched it so perfectly That's what I heard, that it was just like almost a shot for shot, especially in like the first episode of the video game Yeah Well, I asked because there's this new game out now that I might actually play solely because of the music that I heard from the video game The video game is called Marathon and one of my all-time favorite musicians, Ryan Lott, did the music for the video game It just came out, I don't know a lot about the game I did read some reviews that said that the action in it is relentless That's what I read too Yeah, like relentless and if you listen to the soundtrack that Ryan did, it is also relentless In fact, most of the tracks all run together, he's released it in two volumes I want to play a bit of a song called Discontent from Volume 1 of the Marathon soundtrack And because they run together, we're going to hear just a little bit of the song that comes after it called Planetary Relocation Psychosis So Discontent from Ryan Lott and the album Marathon Discontent from Volume 1 of the Marathon soundtrack Discontent from Volume 1 of the Marathon soundtrack Discontent from Volume 1 of the Marathon soundtrack Discontent from Volume 1 of the Marathon soundtrack Discontent from Volume 1 of the Marathon soundtrack So when it goes into that part there with the panting, the breathless panting Which could not be more appropriate, that's the beginning of the next song But what even is that? I'm listening to that, how is he making these beats? How is he distorting them like that? Maybe to other musicians, maybe it's not as complicated as it sounds to me, but it blows my mind The layering of all of the different sounds is so wild every time I listen to this again I feel like I hear a new piece of it And I can only imagine, this totally blew me out of the water in terms of what I consider a video game soundtrack to be Yeah, I didn't really, and maybe this is because I don't play a lot of video games But I didn't realize they could be this specific There's so much going on, so many quick turns and change ups and things bouncing around And like you say, one little sound that'll just sort of gurgle up in one little moment and then is gone But this is the thing that I love so much about Ryan Lott's music and Sunluck's So if you don't know Ryan, I guess I didn't mention this, Ryan Lott, also of the band Sunluck's He makes music that I just don't understand, like I listen to it and I think I don't know what instrument that is I don't know how he's making that sound, I don't know how he's doing that effect I don't know how he's pieced all this together Most music I listen to, and this is no shade against more obvious music because there's a lot of it I really love But most music I listen to is like, I can hear the seams of it I can hear where it's all stitched together I can hear the different elements and how they work together His is just madness to me I totally agree And the madness that he uses isn't overwhelming though Right, yes It's so, I don't know, it feels like just like an incredibly layered painting It's so incredible So impressive So that was two songs, discontent and then a little bit of planetary relocation psychosis from volume one of the Marathon soundtrack from Ryan Lott But Dora, I know you've got one more you want to play and I actually think this is a good companion piece to the Marathon soundtrack Completely, especially since we ended with that kind of like breathy outro and this begins with a breathy intro Oh that's true, yeah Yeah, they fade nicely into each other So this is an artist called Underscores and she has an album coming out March 20th this Friday called You And this is one of the singles off the album, Tell Me and then Imprantheses, You Want It And it's one of the most exciting pop songs I've heard in a really long time And it's because Underscores really gets at the need to like dramaticize your life She explains the album as it's music for malls, airports, hotels and supermarkets Which this kind of music is my favorite type to listen to in those settings Because it makes you really feel like the main character of the situation And in the music video for this single you see her kind of being chased and running around malls and airports and hotel rooms And kind of weaving this like action movie style montage against something just completely mundane Yeah this definitely has a little bit more of a pop sheen to it than the Marathon soundtrack But it gets a little garbled, it feels very digital, little glitchy There's a great vibe shift near the end of the song that I really really love, gets a little weird and dark We'll go out on this, the song again, Tell Me, You Want It from the album You and that's the letter You And the artist Underscores Thanks Dora, this is some good stuff Thanks Robin, glad you like it Alright, I'm Robin Hilton, it's all songs considered from NPR Music Looking back, I told her I'm unaware Is this doing anything for you baby You gotta tell me you want it, tell me you want it Cause later on that is good, baby, baby is it for me You gotta tell me you want it, tell me you want it You gotta tell me you want it, tell me you want it You gotta tell me you want it, tell me you want it You gotta tell me you want it, tell me you want it You gotta tell me you want it, tell me you want it Time and says I'm thinking too big, we all will be back We're destined for this Yeah you spread more and more, I've heard from you too To see something in me, tell me what it is Yeah oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh You got it, tell me you want it, tell me you want it So baby just get up, you sure me no reason to hide it You better tell me you want it, tell me you want it I've fallen for that I've come, but you doesn't want to be invited But baby I'm right up high Do you know me, you're a new one, I know that I've got you behind me I can take you off, you've been gone since six in the morning Six in the morning Hide yourself in a double curtain, I'll get what I want In a fight I'll write after I get it as I don't even want it I don't even want it, yeah Don't you know me? Runnin' runnin' I'll get you behind me I can take you off, you've been gone since six in the morning Since six in the morning Since six in the morning I miss on the type of person I get what I want And I fight it right after I get it I don't even want it Don't even want it, just kidding, yeah Tell me you want it You gotta tell me you want it Tell me you want it You gotta push through the building And fight it out, baby You gotta tell me you want it Tell me you want it Ha ha ha ha You gotta tell me you want it You gotta tell me you want it Tell me you want it Tell me you want it You gotta tell me you want it You need it You gotta tell me you want it