Despite the distance and the almost 10 years since their last record, the three songs they perform from Down in the Weeds, Where the World Once Was, are intense, with lyrics that are not always decipherable, filled with struggle and hope — in other words, the way I like them. I asked 35 artists about a song that changed them forever and then wrote essays linking the artist with their inspirational song. His all-female collaborators — Endea Owens on acoustic bass, Negah Santos on percussion, Sarah Thawer on drums, and Celisse Henderson on guitar and vocals — were an inspiration. Bob Boilen writes electronic music with friend Michael Barron; both were founding members of the psychedelic dance band Tiny Desk Unit (1979–1981), for which Boilen played synthesizer.
I'm also a musician with a love for electronics and folk music. Singing and seated behind him is Becky Stark, better known as Lavender Diamond, along with their daughter. Jon Batiste came to the Tiny Desk with some surprises back in November of 2019. From the time I first heard them in 1977, few bands have encapsulated my musical aesthetics like Wire. Bob Boilen on Bright Eyes Tiny Desk (Home), September 28, 2020. I spent many an evening over the past 40 years, listening to their original, artful bursts of noise and imagery, seeing them in dark clubs in the '80s and beyond. In 2016 I completed my first book, "Your Song Changed My Life."
Jason Isbell And Amanda Shires: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, Phoebe Bridgers: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, Burt Bacharach & Daniel Tashian: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, Courtney Marie Andrews: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, Announcing The Winner Of The 2020 Tiny Desk Contest, Lucinda Williams: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, The Airborne Toxic Event's Mikel Jollett, Live Interview and Performance, Malawi Mouse Boys: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, Hamilton Leithauser & Family: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert, The 9:30 Club Is 40 Years Old. These days I make music under the name Danger Painters with former Tiny Desk Unit guitarist and musical soulmate Michael Barron. 243.8k Followers, 978 Following, 3,653 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Bob Boilen (@tinydesk) It was especially nice to get a taste of how the new songs, with their maximalist tendencies, sound live, and "Mariana Trench" was a particular highlight, sweetened with Becky's harmonies. For this Tiny Desk (home) concert, he and the rest of Bright Eyes channeled that stripped-back rawness, and I think these songs shine for it. Watch the Tiny Desk video, and read a message from NPR's Bob Boilen about it, below. After 18 years of directing, I am now hosting All Songs Considered full time for NPR.
Conor Oberst, joined by Mike Mogis in person at Omaha's ARC Studios, and virtually by Nate Walcott (and Becky Stark, aka Lavender Diamond, for a song) at LA's Lucy's Meat Market, played through three songs off Down In The Weeds, and "Shell Games" off 2011's The People's Key, their last album pre-hiatus. Introducing NPR Music's Tiny Desk (home) concerts, bringing you performances from across the country and the world. Tiny Desk Intimate concerts, recorded live at the desk of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. It's been about a month since the release of the new Bright Eyes album. Where I lived, in Washington, D.C, the options you could find if you wanted to hear rock and roll were nearly all bars, not clubs, and what you'd encounter there were bands playing mostly cover tunes, some hoping to sneak in a few originals, often to the dismay of the bar crowd. I would know — I was in one of those bands, Tiny Desk Unit. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space. Tiny Desk Unit reformed briefly in 2007. After performing her opening song, "Heat Rises," Nilüfer Yanya pauses to say a few things about herself, something we've been asking artists to do for these Tiny Desk (home) concerts. For me, it was beyond surreal to watch Wire performing at my desk, in broad daylight, in 2020.
Some of my favorite music was written then and can be found on the cassette I released called Music For Unitards. The New Orleans musician came to the Tiny Desk not with his late-night house band, but with an all-new cast. Down In The Weeds, Where The World Once Was, 10 great Bright Eyes covers by other artists, RELIVE IT: The 2019 Coney Island Mermaid Parade in pics, tour news: Tame Impala, Rina Sawayama, Front Bottoms & more, Mavis Staples, Zack de la Rocha & more joining Run the Jewel’s virtual conc…, Riley Gale honored with library, and a burger at Kuma’s, I Am The Avalanche announce first album in 6 years, share “Better Days”, watch the ‘Borat Subsequent Moviefilm’ trailer, Listen to Gorillaz, Elton John & 6LACK’s new song “The Pink Phantom”. Bob Boilen aboard Doug Aitken's Station to Station art train. We've made 10 albums and 2 EP's together. The Tiny Desk is working from home for the foreseeable future. It’s a far cry from the hotel bed in Austin we first filmed Phoebe on back in 2017, but her ambitions and talent run high. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us.
I showed up every day hoping I could make radio.
The show was wild and wonderful: effects pedals transformed her violin into a full-on band, with electronic beats keeping it all moving. OK, maybe it’s a green screen, but she and her team created a sweet mock-up of the Oval Office, with Phoebe performing behind a very special desk. It's the same spirit — stripped-down sets, an intimate setting — just a different space. Michael, Susan Mumford and I wrote an album for the RPM Challenge (the make-an-album-in-a-month challenge) called Sputnik Fell on my Birthday in honor of the passing of our drummer Lorenzo "Pee Wee" Jones. I've just finished Mikel Jollett's memoir, Hollywood Park, and it's extraordinary. It's been about a month since the release of the new Bright Eyes album. Midway through his set, he stopped to say, "it's the first time we're ever playing these songs, and it's the first time we're playing together." Bob Boilen. Mikel is best known as the front person in the band The Airborne Toxic Event, but his journey to his current life is both stunning and sad.
A week later, much of the world is more worried about COVID-19, though daily patterns here hadn't changed. In about a year I was somehow directing All Things Considered. In a few months I was performing at dc space in Washington, D.C. with Tiny Desk Unit. Bob Boilen on Bright Eyes Tiny Desk (Home), September 28, 2020. When Thompson joked to Gibson during a post-show interview that she should perform at Boilen’s desk the next time she came to D.C., the idea for Tiny Desk Concerts began forming in Boilen… In 1979 I quit my job running a record warehouse and bought an Arp Odyssey synthesizer. BOB BOILEN. In a few months I was performing at dc space in Washington, D.C. with Tiny Desk Unit.I joined Impossible Theater in 1982, writing music for a handful of original multimedia productions with some incredibly talented artists from Baltimore.
I joined Impossible Theater in 1982, writing music for a handful of original multimedia productions with some incredibly talented artists from Baltimore. For her Tiny Desk (home) concert, Phoebe Bridgers chose the White House. To hold us over while we wait for those shows to happen, Bright Eyes did a new Tiny Desk (Home) Concert. In 1979 I quit my job running a record warehouse and bought an Arp Odyssey synthesizer. music lover, bit of a tech geek and host/creator of NPR's All Songs Considered.