NPR

• Olivia Rodrigo seems pretty sad, but does she still generate bangers? : Pop Culture Happy Hour | NPR
Olivia Rodrigo is back blending spikey rock with tender ballads. How do we feel about her evolving sound? Her third album you seem pretty sad for a girl so in love is a collection of fizzy, sometimes jagged pop songs about a love that goes amazingly well until it doesn’t.If you’re looking for other fizzy pop songs, check out: Taylor Swift re-enters her banger era in ‘The Life of a Showgirl’Sabrina Carpenter returns with the short and saucy 'Man's Best Friend'Harry Styles' new album has vibes all the time. Bangers, occasionally.Connect with Pop Culture Happy Hour:Letterboxd / FacebookOur weekly newsletterSupport Pop Culture Happy Hour+

• Fan favorite Boards of Canada returns with first new album in 13 years | NPR
The band Boards of Canada has a large and dedicated community of fans. Their 13-year-long wait for a new album is now over.

• The mysterious hunt for the band Boards of Canada's "Red Moon Party" | NPR
As Boards of Canada release their new album, 'Inferno', diehard fans remember the time when they trekked out into the Scottish countryside trying to find the band's so-called "Red Moon Party."

• This week's pop charts are all about The Weeknd — and the Grammys | NPR
This week, The Weeknd's new album Hurry Up Tomorrow debuts atop the Billboard 200 albums chart, and the biggest winners and performers from the Grammys experience big chart bumps.

• What was The Weeknd? | NPR
Abel Tesfaye's hedonistic alter-ego meets his end on Hurry Up Tomorrow, forcing listeners to ask just who we've been partying with all this time.

• The world of 'Eusexua,' according to FKA twigs | NPR | Jan. 24, 2025, 11 a.m.
You have your new album. You've just announced the huge Eusexia tour, and I think no one will be surprised to know that you are going to bring it back to Prague, where the inspiration came from ...

• Bad Bunny's politics of presence | NPR
Benito's Saturn Return leads to a folk revival on 'DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS,' remixing the poetics and politics of Puerto Rican roots music.

• Lil Baby and Bad Bunny have fantastic chart debuts | NPR
Two debuts claim the top two spots on Billboard's main album's chart: Lil Baby and Bad Bunny.

• Bad Bunny's 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos,' Explained : All Songs Considered | NPR
Alt.Latino hosts Anamaria Sayre and Felix Contreras, and NPR reporter Isabella Gomez Sarmiento break down what exactly makes the record so Puerto Rican and why its Bad Bunny's most reflective, ambitious and ingenious album yet.

• No surprise this week: Kendrick Lamar rules the charts | NPR
A week after Kendrick Lamar's new album, GNX, was surprise released, it proved to be a chart phenomenon, debuting at No. 1 on the album chart and claiming the Top 5 spots on the singles chart.

• No surprise this week: Kendrick Lamar rules the charts | NPR
A week after Kendrick Lamar's new album GNX was surprise released, it proved to be a chart phenomenon, debuting at No. 1 on the album chart and claiming the top five spots on the singles chart.

• On 'Small Changes,' Mercury Prize-winning artist Michael Kiwanuka lets down his guard | NPR
NPR's Ari Shapiro talks to Mercury Prize-winning singer-songwriter Michael Kiwanuka, about his latest album, "Small Changes," and his musical influences.

• Michael Kiwanuka strips back his sound on 'Small Changes' : World Cafe Words and Music Podcast | NPR
The English singer, songwriter and producer says his fourth record represents a period of big life changes.