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New Mix: Pusha T And Rivers Cuomo Join Zeds Dead, Amber Coffman, TOY, More

Clockwise from upper left: TOY, Twin Limb, Amber Coffman, Zeds Dead, Agnes Obel
Courtesy of the artists
Clockwise from upper left: TOY, Twin Limb, Amber Coffman, Zeds Dead, Agnes Obel

Last week, after I played a monstrously good guitar rock cut by Major Stars, Bob Boilen rolled his eyes while foolishly claiming the guitar solo was dead. So we did an entirely scientific poll (it wasn't scientific) on Twitter to see what listeners thought. As I expected, the vast majority — nearly 70 percent — said, "No, Bob." The guitar solo is not dead.

So this week, after rubbing Bob's face in it (it's the only way they learn), I took pity and allowed him the first spin. What I heard left me breathless — the unbelievably gorgeous "Stretch Your Eyes" from the Danish singer Agnes Obel.

We've got that and a whole lot more on this week's show, including a visit from NPR Music's Saidah Blount who premieres a new cut by the English psych rock group TOY.

Bob and I also remember our longtime friend and NPR colleague Robert Goldstein, who passed away over the weekend. Robert was, among many things, the music librarian here at NPR. But was his band Urban Verbs that inspired Bob to play music back in the late '70s. You can read more about Robert in this remembrance from Bob and NPR's Tom Cole. In honor of Robert, we close our show with a song from the band's first album for Warner Brothers from 1980, called "The Only One Of You." --Robin Hilton

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Robin Hilton is a producer and co-host of the popular NPR Music show All Songs Considered.
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.