All Songs Considered

All Songs Considered: Olivia Rodrigo covers The Magnetic Fields, Noah Kahan channels his mom, and more

March 17, 2026

Key Takeaways Copied to clipboard!

  • Noah Kahan's new single "Porch Light" from the upcoming album 'The Great Divide' is highlighted as a powerful, authentic step forward for the artist, with the song being sung from his mother's perspective about his struggles. 
  • Olivia Rodrigo's cover of The Magnetic Fields' "The Book of Love" is praised for successfully flipping the original's tone, finding sadness and loneliness in a song previously perceived as purely joyful. 
  • The discussion touches on the search for authentic experience in a curated world, exemplified by Ages and Ages' song "Feel Amazing" and the general theme of navigating reality versus artificiality, including concerns about AI. 

Segments

Podcast Intro and Tiny Desk Update
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(00:00:00)
  • Key Takeaway: NPR Music’s Tiny Desk Contest judges are currently selecting their favorite entries for the ‘Top Shelf series,’ with daily highlights featured on NPR Music’s Instagram stories.
  • Summary: The episode opens with sponsor messages and a brief update on the NPR Music Tiny Desk Contest. Judges are in the process of selecting their favorite entries for the ‘Top Shelf series.’ Daily highlights of great entries are being featured on NPR Music’s Instagram stories until the Top Shelf series begins.
Noah Kahan’s New Music
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(00:01:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Noah Kahan’s new single “Porch Light” is from his upcoming album ‘The Great Divide,’ set for release on April 24th, and is noted for showing an elevated, authentic direction beyond his 2022 breakthrough album ‘Stick Season’.
  • Summary: The hosts update their running list of the year’s best songs, starting with Noah Kahan’s “Porch Light.” The song is from his new album, ‘The Great Divide,’ releasing April 24th. The track is sung from the perspective of his mother, referencing his public struggles with anxiety and depression, while the song’s title symbolizes home and safety.
Olivia Rodrigo Cover Analysis
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(00:09:27)
  • Key Takeaway: Olivia Rodrigo’s cover of The Magnetic Fields’ “The Book of Love” is lauded for its successful inversion of the original’s sonic qualities and for revealing new layers of sadness in the classic love song.
  • Summary: Olivia Rodrigo’s cover of “The Book of Love” appears on the Warchild recordings compilation ‘Help (2)’. The cover flips the original’s plucky instrumental and washed-out vocals, featuring a washed-out instrumental with sharp vocals from Rodrigo. This interpretation finds sadness in a song previously heard as funny and joyful, making listeners appreciate both artists anew.
Ages and Ages Existential Track
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(00:18:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Ages and Ages’ song “Feel Amazing” from the album ‘Fine Thanks and You’ addresses the aching search for tangible, authentic experience amidst sanitized, curated versions of reality.
  • Summary: The hosts discuss the feeling of emptiness in the current age, leading into the song “Feel Amazing” by the Portland band Ages and Ages. Lead singer Tim Perry explained the song reflects on searching for authentic experience, like ’the waterfall without the gift shop.’ The track features a hypnotic, looping instrumental contrasted by the repeated, cutting phrase ‘I wanna feel amazing.’
Aldous Harding’s Self-Reflective Song
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(00:24:50)
  • Key Takeaway: Aldous Harding’s “One Stop,” the first single from ‘Train on the Island’ (May 8th release), is described as a bold, sparse, and self-reflective piece resembling a free association of inner monologue.
  • Summary: Aldous Harding’s song “One Stop” is characterized as a departure from her typically sad material, sounding bold and honest. The lyrics feel like a stream of consciousness, revisiting past moments, including an encounter with an idol, John Kale. The song’s structure, featuring a strummy guitar that fades out, implies a lack of resolution, suggesting the start of a journey.
Ryan Lott Video Game Score
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(00:34:07)
  • Key Takeaway: Ryan Lott (of Sun Lux) composed the relentless and complex soundtrack for the video game ‘Marathon,’ featuring intricate layering and sounds that defy easy musical categorization.
  • Summary: Ryan Lott created the music for the new video game ‘Marathon,’ which is described as having relentless action. The soundtrack, released in two volumes, is sonically complex, featuring sounds and effects that are difficult to identify or trace the construction of. The segment played “Discontent” followed by a transition into “Planetary Relocation Psychosis.”
Underscores Pop Single
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(00:39:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Underscores’ single “Tell Me (U Want It)” from the album ‘You’ is an exciting, digital, and glitchy pop song designed to make the listener feel like the main character in mundane settings like malls and airports.
  • Summary: The final track is “Tell Me (U Want It)” by Underscores, from the album ‘You,’ releasing March 20th. The artist describes the album as music for malls, airports, hotels, and supermarkets, emphasizing the dramatic main-character feeling. The song features a digital, glitchy sound and includes a notable vibe shift toward the end that gets ‘weird and dark.’