It's getting harder to stay cool, and not just in meteorological terms. Trends come and go, and finding the best music amid the din can be time-consuming.
One way to keep up is NPR Music's Song of the Day, which features a new track every weekday. Each piece offers analysis of the music, links to each artist's Web sites and, of course, a chance to hear the song itself. Host Jacki Lyden recently spoke to Song of the Day's editor, Stephen Thompson, about this past week's selections.
After Lyden requests a definition of "candy-coated insects" — a phrase Thompson applies to songs by Metric, whose members disguise bitter lyrics under catchy dance-pop — the two play and discuss Metric's "Sick Muse" and Magnolia Electric Co.'s "Whip-poor-will," as well as uplifting late-career highlights from two music legends in their 60s. After discussing an unlikely cover of OutKast's 2003 hit "Hey Ya" (by organ legend Booker T. Jones of Booker T & The MGs), Lyden and Thompson marvel over the resilient voice of The Band's Levon Helm, who covers Muddy Waters' "Stuff You Gotta Watch" on his forthcoming album Electric Dirt.
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