All Songs Considered

Who’s the Mariah Carey of Halloween? Labels and artists are trying to capitalize on spooky season, but these are the songs that belong in the creepy canon, from the truly terrifying to simply seasonal and nostalgic.

Note: An earlier version of this episode appeared on All Songs Considered in 2025.

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Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

Featured artists and songs:

Phoebe Bridgers: “Killer” from ‘Stranger in the Alps’
Fever Ray: “If I Had A Heart,” from ‘Fever Ray’
Sufjan Stevens: “John Wayne Gacy, Jr” from ‘Illinois’
Jack Lenz: “Goosebumps” (theme from the TV show)
Disneyland Records: “Chilling, Thrilling Sounds of the Haunted House”
Alice Cooper: “Welcome to My Nightmare,” from ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’
Oksana Linde: “Horizontes lejanos,” from ‘Travesias’
Florence + the Machine: “Everybody Scream,” from ‘Everybody Scream’
Ethel Cain: “Housofpsychoticwomn,” from ‘Perverts’
girl in red: “We Fell In Love In October” (single)
Mimicking Birds: “Bloodlines,” from ‘EONS’
Van Morrison: “Moondance,” from ‘Moondance’
The Cramps: “I Was A Teenage Werewolf,” from ‘Songs the Lord Taught Us’
Dead Man’s Bones: “My Bodies a Zombie for You,” from ‘Dead Man’s Bones’
Vince Guaraldi: “The Great Pumpkin Waltz,” from ‘The Great Pumpkin’

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A super deluxe box set of The Beatles' legendary 1965 album Rubber Soul has just been released with brand new mixes, demos and outtakes that show The Beatles breaking up with the past, their fans and everything people knew and loved about the band. 

In this conversation with All Songs Considered host Robin Hilton, Giles Martin, the producer behind the new mixes and son of late Beatles producer George Martin, talks about why Rubber Soul was such a pivotal album for the band, how the music was changing, and why it sounds “reasonably bleak.”  Martin also explains how the AI tools he used to update the mixes work, how he preserved the original spirit of Rubber Soul and more.

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Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

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We get big and loud this week with a surprise drop from Phoebe Bridgers and her song “On Video,” from the Primetime soundtrack; the monstrously disjointed “Placeholder” from Gilla Band; widescreened shoegaze from the Danish artist Trentemøller and more.  

NPR Music’s Dora Levite joins host Robin Hilton as they share their picks for the best new songs out now.

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Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

Featured artists and songs:
(00:00) Intro
(03:22) Phoebe Bridgers: “On Video”
(10:26) Gilla Band: “Placeholder”
(17:25) Trentemøller: “Swerve”
(23:31) Wednesday: “Carolina Murder Suicide (Avey Tare Remix)”
(30:29) serpentwithfeet: “sentinel”
(36:37) Lily Konigsberg: “Free Byrd”

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Our latest mix of the week’s best new songs swings from the shoegaze rock of rising LA band untitled (halo) to Bach’s “Air on the G String” performed by pianist Víkingur Ólafsson. We’ve also got singer Lizzy McAlpine’s breathtaking ode to her late father, the laid-back grooves of polymath Sen Morimoto, the extraordinary voice of Scottish singer Beth Taylor and more.

NPR Music’s Tom Huizenga joins host Robin Hilton.

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Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

Featured artists and songs:

(00:00) Intro

(02:05) Sen Morimoto: “Chewing Gum”

(09:27) Víkingur Ólafsson: “Air on the G String” (Johann Sebastian Bach)

(16:56) Lizzy McAlpine: “The Crowd”

(25:51) Beth Taylor: “My Lagan Love”

(33:49) untitled (halo): “easy rider”

(41:58) inti figgis-vizueta: “Samara (Maple Seed) Mvmt. III - Find Roots”

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We’re back with another round of the best new songs out now, including the universe-splitting “Blister Sunrise” from M83, Shygirl’s bone-rattling and euphoric “Alyse,” subversive funk from Asher White and more.

NRP Music writer and editor Sheldon Pearce joins host Robin Hilton.

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Questions, comments, suggestions or feedback of any kind always welcome: allsongs@npr.org

Featured artists and songs:

(00:00) Intro

(02:02) M83: “Blister Sunrise”

(07:51) Shygirl: “Alyse”

(15:13) FKJ & Labrinth: “Little Little Voice”

(22:21) Renny Conti: “Leaving the Zoo”

(30:57) Asher White: “My Day at the Casino”

(38:36) Rachel Chinouriri: “Make Believe”

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