Bob Boilen
In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
Significant listener interest in the music being played on All Things Considered, along with his and NPR's vast music collections, gave Boilen the idea to start All Songs Considered. "It was obvious to me that listeners of NPR were also lovers of music, but what also became obvious by 1999 was that the web was going to be the place to discover new music and that we wanted to be the premiere site for music discovery." The show launched in 2000, with Boilen as its host.
Before coming to NPR, Boilen found many ways to share his passion for music. From 1982 to 1986 he worked for Baltimore's Impossible Theater, where he held many posts, including composer, technician, and recording engineer. Boilen became part of music history in 1983 with the Impossible Theater production Whiz Bang, a History of Sound. In it, Boilen became one of the first composers to use audio sampling — in this case, sounds from nature and the industrial revolution. He was interviewed about Whiz Bang by Susan Stamberg on All Things Considered.
In 1985, the Washington City Paper voted Boilen 'Performance Artist of the Year.' An electronic musician, he received a grant from the Washington D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities to work on electronic music and performance.
After Impossible Theater, Boilen worked as a producer for a television station in Washington, D.C. He produced several projects, including a music video show. In 1997, he started producing an online show called Science Live for the Discovery Channel. He also put out two albums with his psychedelic band, Tiny Desk Unit, during the late 1970s and early 1980s. Boilen still composes and performs music and posts it for free on his website BobBoilen.info. He performs contradance music and has a podcast of contradance music that he produces with his son Julian.
Boilen's first book, Your Song Changed My Life, was published in April 2016 by HarperCollins.
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You can enter starting next week by sending us a video of you playing an original song at a desk. If you win, you'll come play a Tiny Desk concert and tour the country with NPR Music.
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The man behind the desk (when musicians aren't playing, anyway) shares his favorite performances of the year, which include a mix of old favorites, up-and-coming discoveries and a few surprises. -
The All Songs Considered host shares his favorite albums of the year, from Big Thief and FKA Twigs to Billie Eilish and Mdou Moctar.
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Felix Contreras traces the decade-long rise of sociological and musical forces that eventually birthed and cemented a style now called urbano. -
Sunny War has been homeless, busked on city streets and Venice Beach, left home feeling she was a burden to her mother, battled addiction and still found a way to bring joy to others thru her music.
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The Alabama Shakes singer and guitarist brought an eight-piece backing band to the Tiny Desk for a set of deeply personal and affecting songs.
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This week's All Songs Considered includes an all-new song from the late Leonard Cohen, lyrically devastating work from (Sandy) Alex G, a battle of inner demons from Chastity Belt and more. -
In this Guest DJ session, the off-the-wall singer talks about living out of his car and working at a warehouse before his Tiny Desk Contest entry went viral. He's since signed with Warner Records. -
The tracks Bob Boilen shares on this week's All Songs Considered all have a cinematic quality, from a new Thom Yorke cut for the film Motherless Brooklyn, to Ride's best new album in 20 years. -
This edition of All Songs Considered has songs of gratitude from Pinegrove, a take on intimacy from Norway's Jenny Hval, a song of quietude from Anna Meredith and the magic of the Mellotron.
