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Sometimes a cover song is so good, so singular that it completely eclipses the original version.  Think Sinéad O'Connor doing Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Jimmy Hendrix lighting up Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” or, of course, Whitney Houston’s defining take on Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”  On this week’s show, we share some of our picks for cover songs that are better than the originals, talk about why, and what, exactly, a cover song needs to become a classic.

NPR Music’s Dora Levite and Lars Gotrich join host Robin Hilton.

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

(00:00) Intro and the top five G.O.A.T.s 

(06:06) Al Green: “I Wanna Hold Your Hand”

(09:58) Björk: “It’s Oh So Quiet”

(12:28) Aretha Franklin: “Respect”

(16:22) Low: “Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me”

(19:45) Andrew Paul Woodworth: “Fight For Your Right to Party”

(25:10) Yaeji: “Passionfruit”

(28:13) Shonen Knife: “Top of the World”

(32:06) Wednesday: “She’s Actin’ Single (I’m Drinkin’ Double)”

(34:54) Low: “Fearless”

(36:37) Harry Nilsson: “Without You”

(39:57) Beyonce: “Before I Let Go (Homecoming Live Bonus Track)”

(42:35) Gary Jules: “Mad World”

(49:19) Chaka Khan: “I Feel For You”

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At the outset of The Ripple Effect, NPR Music’s series on the Grateful Dead, we asked fans to share stories about how they fell in love with the band. The response was overwhelming: wry, emotional and personal. It was overflowing with shared experiences that underline exactly how crucial the community that surrounds the Dead is to the band’s legacy.

Now that we’ve reached the end of Days Between, we’re closing The Ripple Effect by listening to voice memos from you: Deadheads and people who love Deadheads, lifelong fans and late converts. We’ll hear about first shows, encounters with the musicians and multiple cross-country road trips.

Check out all of our coverage from The Ripple Effect: The Grateful Dead's long, strange trip might keep going forever

Hosts: Felix Contreras, Isabella Gomez Sarmiento
Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
Editors: Jacob Ganz, Hazel Cills
Visuals: Jackie Lay
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Executive Director: Sonali Mehta

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Ravyn Lenae. Margaret Glaspy. Overmono. Host Stephen Thompson chats with Liz Warner from WDET in Detroit about their favorite albums out Friday, August 7. Plus, a handful of NPR Music writers and critics offer their personal picks in the lightning round.

The Starting 5

(00:54) Album No. 1
- Ravyn Lenae, 'Blue Island'

(08:03) Album No. 2
- Overmono, 'Pure Devotion'

(15:26) Album No. 3
- Margaret Glaspy, 'I Am Both'

(21:42) Album No. 4
- Man/Woman/Chainsaw, 'Cannonball'

(27:36) Album No. 5
- Arun Sood & Angeline Morrison, 'Donn/Dubh'

(32:43) The Lightning Round

- The Mountain Goats, 'Days'
- Ceremony, 'Tell Me You're Dream'
- Cletus Strap, 'rappers suck.'
- Various Artists, 'Sittin' With Blaze: A Tribute To Blaze Foley'
- Roy Montgomery & Martha Skye Murphy, 'Nebular'

Sample the albums via our New Music Friday playlist and see our Long List of notable releases on NPR.org

Credits
Host: Stephen Thompson
Guest: Liz Warner, WDET
Audio Producer: Noah Caldwell
Digital Producer: Dora Levite
Editors: Otis Hart, Elle Mannion
Special thanks to Lars Gotrich, Sheldon Pearce and Ann Powers

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To celebrate Ana's world premiere as a DJ -- a gig playing for 5,000 people in Central Park, which she definitely, absolutely prepared for -- this week we present her summer playlist. We've got song of the summer contenders (Aitana's "SUPERESTRELLA"), sleeper hits we missed when they dropped (Quevedo's "EL BAIFO"), and bubbly classics-in-the-making we keep coming back to (Rawayana's "Se Vienen Cositas"). Plus, Felix balances the bangers with chill-out room Uruguayan jazz, a psychedelic guitar jam and a trio of sisters from Austin.

Artists and songs featured in this episode:

(02:23) Quevedo, "EL BAIFO"
(05:07) Camilo y los Cruzers, "Descarga Rockeada"
(09:23) Aitana, "SUPERESTRELLA"
(16:44) Alejandra Gala, "I Dare You"
(22:14) Rawayana, "Se Vienen Cositas"
(25:51) The Tiarras, "Vida Libre", "Black Sheep (unplugged)"

This podcast episode was produced by Noah Caldwell. Suraya Mohamed is the executive producer of NPR Music.

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We open this week’s show by reflecting on the loss of Glen Hansard, an artist who was critical to shaping the sound and spirit of All Songs Considered in its earliest days. We then share some of our favorite new tracks of the week, including a King Princess cover of Neil Young’s “Helpless,” cheeky pop from Coco & Clair Clair, a stunning ambient track from Adam Wiltzie and the late composer Jóhann Jóhannsson, and more.

NPR Music’s Dora Levite joins host Robin Hilton.

Support the show with a review on Apple or Spotify wherever you listen to podcasts. 

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

Featured artists and songs:

(00:00) Intro and remembering Glen Hansard

(03:24) Coco & Clair Clair: “Coldplay”

(08:34) Claudia Isaki: “Origami”

(15:30) Slayyyter: “brand new chanel$”

(23:17) King Princess: “Helpless”

(31:01) Dawuna: “I am a Woman too...”

(36:50) Adam Wiltzie & Jóhann Jóhannsson: “White Gloves & Turtlenecks”

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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