All Songs Considered Folgen

From our friends at Pop Culture Happy Hour: What makes for an unshakable rap verse — the kind that shifts your world view and sticks around years after the first time you encountered it? This month marks 50 years since the birth of hip-hop, so we reached out to some NPR colleagues and a few hip-hop luminaries and asked them what hip-hop verse changed their lives.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Singer Paul Simon surprised fans earlier this year by releasing Seven Psalms, his first album since 2018. It was surprising not because so much time had passed, but because he had originally said his previous album, In the Blue Light, would be his last. In an interview with All Songs Considered's Bob Boilen, Simon said he was ready to retire from music and pursue other creative projects, like painting. This week, we go back to that 2018 conversation when Simon first announced he was done making new music. He talks about his dreams, the creative process and life's biggest questions. "We don't have the capacity to understand the great mysteries of life and God or no God or infinity," Simon says. "We just can't get it. It's beyond us, but that's fine."Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

NPR Music's picks for the best albums out this week include new releases from Jon Batiste, Hozier, Rhiannon Giddens, Cautious Clay and more.Featured Albums:1. Jon Batiste — World Music RadioFeatured Songs: "BOOM FOR REAL," "Hello, Billy Bob," "Be Who You Are (feat. JID, NewJeans & Camilo)," "Uneasy (feat. Lil Wayne)"2. Hozier — Unreal UnearthFeatured Songs: "Anything But," "De Selby (Part 1)," "Eat Your Young," "Butchered Tongue," "Who We Are"3. Genesis Owusu — StrugglerFeatured Songs: "Leaving The Light," "Stay Blessed," "Freak Boy," "That's Life (A Swamp)"4. Rhiannon Giddens — You're the OneFeatured Songs: "Way Over Yonder," "You Louisiana Man," "If You Don't Know How Sweet It Is"5. Cautious Clay — KARPEHFeatured Songs: "Fishtown," "102 Years of Comedy (Intro)," "Karpehs Don't Flinch"Lightning Round: DeYarmond Edison — EPOCHQuavo — Rocket PowerReneé Rapp — Snow AngelTalking Heads — Stop Making Sense (Deluxe Edition)Other notable releases for Aug. 18:Alana Springsteen — Twenty SomethingBirdy — PortraitsBobby Rush — All My Love For YouFiddlehead — Death is Nothing To UsGrace Potter — Mother RoadMargaret Glaspy — Echo The DiamondMick Jenkins — The PatiencePanda Bear, Sonic Boom & Adrian Sherwood — Reset In DubRuss — SANTIAGOShamir — Homo AnxietatemTash Sultana — Sugar EP.Teddy Thompson — My Love of CountryLearn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy