All Songs Considered

This week we're obsessing over the hilarious and harrowing “Where’s My Phone,” from Mitski, a slightly softer solo cut from Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, the confounding but wondrous wordplay of Father John Misty and more.

NPR Music editor Hazel Cills joins host Robin Hilton.

Featured songs and artists:

Mitski: “Where’s My Phone,” from ‘Nothing’s About to Happen to Me’

Robber Robber: “The Sound It Made,” from ‘Two Wheels Move the Soul’

Tinariwen: “Sagherat Assani (feat. Sulafa Elyas),” from ‘Hoggar’

Kim Gordon: “NOT TODAY,” from ‘PLAY ME’

Father John Misty: “The Old Law” (single)

Vero: “100 Calls,” from ‘Razor Tongue’

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This week on All Songs Considered: U2 surprise-dropped a new EP that opens with a scorching critique of the government crackdown on immigration; Lana Del Rey inched closer toward releasing her long-awaited album with a haunting and strange ode to love and obsession, while singer Arlo Parks takes a bold step out onto the dance floor. All that and more as host Robin Hilton and NPR Music’s Sheldon Pearce share their picks for the best new songs of the week.

Featured artists and songs:

(00:00) Intro

(01:50) U2: “American Obituary,” from ‘Days Of Ash’

(10:24) Arlo Parks: “Heaven,” from ‘Ambiguous Desire’

(17:37) Lana Del Rey: “White Feather Hawk Tail Deer Hunter” (Single)

(25:22) Baby Rose & Leon Thomas: “Friends Again” (Single)

(31:58) James Blake: “I Had a Dream She Took My Hand,” from ‘Trying Times’

(39:08) Bella Kay: “Steady,” from ‘a couple minutes out’

And here's a link to Sheldon's piece on Jill Scott and Brent Faiyaz that was discussed during the show's intro: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/19/nx-s1-5713600/jill-scott-brent-faiyaz-rnb-review

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If you watch HBO’s The Pitt, you might have heard the gorgeous new song called “Need Someone” that Andrew Bird wrote for a recent episode. We’ve got that on this week’s show along with reflections on fitting in by letting go, from Gia Margaret and Ratboys; shoegaze from Draag, the twitchy glitchy sounds of Mandy, Indiana and more.

NPR Music’s Dora Levite joins host Robin Hilton to share the best new songs they’re obsessing over this week.

Featured songs and artists:

(00:00) Intro

(02:18) Draag: “Finding Fear,” from ‘Miracle Drug’

(09:35) Mandy, Indiana: “Try Saying,” from ‘Urgh’

(14:59) Andrew Bird: “Need Someone” (single as featured in ‘The Pitt’)

(20:38) Ratboys: “Open Up,” from ‘Singin’ To An Empty Chair’

(28:49) Gia Margaret: “Everyone Around Me Dancing,” from ‘Singing’

(35:30) By Storm: “Can I Have You For Myself,” from ‘My Ghost Go Ghost’

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Support the show with a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And tell a friend!

Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@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.

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The Beck rarity “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” has finally hit streaming services and we can’t get enough of it. We’ve also got new (not-yet-announced) projects from Friko and Asher White, a witchy new cut from the duo Sibyl, the Polish composer and guitarist Szymon Wójcik and more.

NPR Music’s Lars Gotrich joins host Robin Hilton.

Featured songs and artists:

(00:00) Intro and The Grammys

(03:31) Beck: “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime,” from ‘Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime’

(12:29) Rat Penat: “Kijiji,” from ‘Over Easy’

(18:26) Friko: “Seven Degrees,” from ‘Something Worth Waiting For’

(25:27) Sibyl: “Witch Wife,” from ‘Sibyl’

(30:42) Asher White: “Casper,” from ‘Jessica Pratt’

(38:22) Szymon Wójcik: “it’s only begun,” from ‘when you rub your eyes, you see things you can’t describe’

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Reports from late last year about the demise of MTV were overstated; but it got us thinking about the network’s legacy and most memorable moments. So, on this episode, we remember the best of MTV with a list of our top 20 videos from its golden era.

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NPR’s Tom Huizenga joins host Robin Hilton for our first spin of the best songs we’re hearing in 2026, including new ones from Big Thief’s Buck Meek, the genre-hopping artist Joji, “fragile hope” from composer Daniel Bjarnason and more.

Featured artists and songs:

Buck Meek: “Gasoline,” from ‘The Mirror’

Pekka Kuusisto & Sam Amidon: "Way Go, Lily" (Arr. by Nico Muhly / Adapted for orchestra by Bernard Rofe), from ‘Willows’

Joji: “Love You Less,” from ‘P*** In The Wind’

Joyce DiDonato & Time for Three: “Because I could not stop for Death," from ‘Emily - No Prisoner Be’

Jana Horn: “Don’t think,” from ‘Jana Horn’

Daniel Bjarnason & The Iceland Symphony Orchestra: “Fragile Hope,” from ‘The Grotesque and the Sublime’ Support the show by leaving a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. And tell a friend!

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We look ahead to some of the albums we’re most excited about for the new year, from sure bets like Dry Cleaning, Ásgeir and Beverly Glenn-Copeland to rumored releases from Noah Kahan, Robyn, The xx and more.

Dry Cleaning: “Cruise Ship Designer,” from ‘Secret Love’

Julianna Barwick & Mary Lattimore: “Perpetual Adoration,” from ‘Tragic Magic’

Ásgeir: “Smoke,” from ‘Julia’

Joyce Manor: “All My Friends Are So Depressed,” from ‘I Used To Go To This Bar’

Beverly Glenn-Copeland: “Laughter In Summer (with Elizabeth Glenn-Copeland),” from ‘Laughter In Summer’

gobbinjr: “Just a dream,” from ‘crystal rabbit moon’

Danny L Harle, Oklou & MNEK: “Crystallise My Tears,” from ‘Cerulean’

August Ponthier: “Handsome,” from ‘Everywhere Isn’t Texas’

Mumford & Sons: “Rubber Band Man (with Hozier),” from ‘Prizefighter’

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• Gwenifer Raymond: "Bleak Night in Rabbit's Wood," from 'Last Night I Heard the Dog Star Bark'

• Hayden Pedigo: "Houndstooth," from 'I'll Be Waving As You Drive Away'

• TAKAAT: "Isghmar," from 'Is Noise, Vol. 1'

• Rafael Toral: "You Don't Know What Love Is," from 'Traveling Light'

• Laura Snowden: "This Changing Sky," from 'This Changing Sky'

• Madala Kunene & Sibusile Xaba: "Wemfana," from 'kwaNTU'

• William Tyler: "Star of Hope," from 'Time Indefinite'

• Jorge Espinal: "ají de pollería," from 'Bombos y Cencerros'

• Vernon Reid: "Meditation on the Last Time I Saw Arthur Rhames," from 'Hoodoo Telemetry'

Want more? See the full Viking's Choice list for the best guitar music of 2025.Enjoy the show? Share it with a friend and leave us a review on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org


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In our final look back at our number one songs from the past 25 years, we visit Modesto, take an existential stroll through Petco, and find it all so confusing.

Note: This is a recurring series in celebration of All Songs Considered’s 25th anniversary. A shorter version of this episode ran earlier in the year.

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We take a motorcycle road trip to Wisconsin in our annual search for the true spirit of the season. And, of course, we meet some special guests along the way. 

Thanks for another amazing year, and happy holidays!

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