Oct 23, 2026 · 46 min · 21 segments
Anderson .Paak and Cordae. Michael Kiwanuka. Fenne Lily. Host Stephen Thompson breaks down the best albums out Friday, Oct. 23 with DJs from around the NPR Music network…
Stephen ThompsonHost
Francesca HardingGuest
Erin WolfGuest
Alex NewmanGuest
Lars Gotrich
Ann Powers
Tom HuizengaGuest
All right, Alex, this is the part of the show where I always say, you know, there are too many records coming out in any given week.
We can't showcase them all, but we did want to do a lightning round with some of our other favorite albums out today, October 23rd.
And we're going to bring in a few different members of the NPR music team to give us their picks.
Shabazz Palaces is the most consistent and recent output of Ishmael Butler, who once upon a time was the conductor of Diggable Planets.
He, by my estimation, is by leaps and bounds the most creative force that has emerged from Shabazz.
hip-hop he has this insatiable curiosity in his music he uh has the ability to have nostalgia in his music but also be in the avant-garde but without being pretentious which is like juggling live fish with a bicycle on your nose i don't know how he does it And a song like Heliocentric, Immortality Manifesto, it sounds like Houdini and Too Short and your teenager's favorite rapper all together on a song.
Claude Mintz is a Phoebe Bridgers-approved singer-songwriter from Chicago who just goes by their first name, Claude, like Madonna or Cher.
Their music is sunny, catchy, a little dark, always relatable, with little touches that recall the sounds of 80s and 90s pop.
These are songs about good and bad relationships and the music and shared community that makes everything worthwhile.
So if you're into current jazz at all, and I know you are, then this year, I'm sure you've been enjoying the work of Josh Johnson, the saxophonist and composer who's in super cool ensembles like SML and the Openness Trio.
All right, Alex, this is the part of the show where I always say, you know, there are too many records coming out in any given week.
We can't showcase them all, but we did want to do a lightning round with some of our other favorite albums out today, October 23rd.
And we're going to bring in a few different members of the NPR music team to give us their picks.
Shabazz Palaces is the most consistent and recent output of Ishmael Butler, who once upon a time was the conductor of Diggable Planets.
He, by my estimation, is by leaps and bounds the most creative force that has emerged from Shabazz.
hip-hop he has this insatiable curiosity in his music he uh has the ability to have nostalgia in his music but also be in the avant-garde but without being pretentious which is like juggling live fish with a bicycle on your nose i don't know how he does it And a song like Heliocentric, Immortality Manifesto, it sounds like Houdini and Too Short and your teenager's favorite rapper all together on a song.
Claude Mintz is a Phoebe Bridgers-approved singer-songwriter from Chicago who just goes by their first name, Claude, like Madonna or Cher.
Their music is sunny, catchy, a little dark, always relatable, with little touches that recall the sounds of 80s and 90s pop.
These are songs about good and bad relationships and the music and shared community that makes everything worthwhile.
So if you're into current jazz at all, and I know you are, then this year, I'm sure you've been enjoying the work of Josh Johnson, the saxophonist and composer who's in super cool ensembles like SML and the Openness Trio.
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