Every night — or really, early morning — during South By Southwest, Bob Boilen, Carrie Brownstein, Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson will meet up on some random street corner in Austin, Texas and break down the events of the day. And every morning during the festival we'll post these lively and increasingly loopy recaps here and on the blog. In this second installment, the gang met up around 2:30 a.m. to rave about NPR Music's SXSW daytime party at The Parish, which included Brooklyn Rider, Smith Westerns, Local Natives, G-Side, Surfer Blood, and Sleigh Bells. They also talk about some of the shows they were able to catch later that night in venues all across Austin.

SXSW is upon us. In the first late night dispatch from South By Southwest, Bob Boilen, Carrie Brownstein, Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson recap the day's events from the streets of Austin, Tex. Here they share their favorite moments from NPR Music's SXSW showcase at Stubb's that included Visqueen, The Walkmen, Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Broken Bells and Spoon. They also highlight other bands they've been able to see so far and preview what's in store for the rest of the week.

On this edition of All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen chats with NPR Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein, All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton, and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson about some of the bands they're most looking forward to seeing at this year's South by Southwest festival and conference. Hear music from some great discoveries, including the metal group Black Cobra and rapper Rye Rye.

Bob Boilentalks with Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) and James Mercer (The Shins) about the duo's new project, Broken Bells.

All this year, NPR Music is celebrating the 200th birthday of pianist Frederic Chopin with an ongoing series of live performances, interviews and commentaries. (You can find everything at Chopin at 200.) Chopin was just 39 when he died, and in his short time as a composer, he contributed more significant works to the piano than any other composer before or since. On this edition of All Songs Considered, we feature one of his impromptus, performed by pianist Yundi Li. Also on the show: a welcoming song from Joanna Newsom's triple-length album; the stunning arrangements of Owen Pallett, formerly known as Final Fantasy; the open space of Pantha du Prince's minimal electronic music; hard-hitting soul from Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings; and a prime cut from The White Stripes' live concert documentary, recorded across Canada.

This month, the first nine albums of legendary Nigerian musician Fela Kuti are being reissued. They've been remastered and sound better than ever. On this edition of All Songs Considered we here an extended cut from Kuti's stunning 1972 album, Shakara. Also on the show: a new, posthumous album from Malian guitarist Ali Farka Toure and kora player Toumani Diabate; Shearwater's dramatic new concept record The Golden Archipelago; the wind-swept, ethereal world of electronic musician Eluvium; a new collaboration between Portland, Ore. artists Laura Gibson and Ethan Rose; the haunting, mournful sounds of Richard Skelton; and some incredible new guitar rock from The Archie Bronson Outfit.

Each year on All Songs Considered, we celebrate Valentine's Day with a mix of our favorite love songs. We've done listener picks and lesser-known love songs, and even invited filmmaker John Waters in to spin some of his favorite music for Valentine's Day. This year, we decided to mix it up and feature breakup songs. On this edition of All Songs Considered, you'll hear songs of love and loathing from Beck, Flight of the Conchords, Justin Timberlake, soul singer Bettye Swann and more.

After releasing the appropriately titled Distortion in 2008, The Magnetic Fields' members return with a cleaner, mostly acoustic sound. The new album is Realism, and we've got the opening cut, "You Must Be Out Of Your Mind." Also on the show: The Preservation Hall Jazz Band resurrects the voice of Louis Armstrong, a strange new opera from The Knife, the surprising string quartet Brooklyn Rider, Giant Drag and The Heligoats.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, we're featuring two bands from Sweden that make gorgeous, otherworldly music: the duo known as jj and a band called Fredrik. We've got selections from both on the program, along with new music from The Besnard Lakes, Surfer Blood, Midlake, singer-songwriter Josiah Wolf and a group called The Hotrats covering a classic from Pink Floyd.

All Songs Considered's latest mix features new solo music from Sigur Ros frontman Jonsi, Neutral Milk Hotel's Jeff Mangum appears on a new benefit CD called Stroke: Songs For Chris Knox, the T-Rex-inspired garage rock group Smith Westerns, Louisiana's Givers, New Zealand pop from Lawrence Arabia, we remember the music of Jay Reatard, and the folk duo Drug Rug.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with Spoon frontman Britt Daniel and drummer Jim Eno about the band's latest album, Transference, and take questions from listeners posted in an online chat room. Transference, the band's seventh full-length studio release, shows why the band has been one of the most reliably gratifying bands of the past 15 years, with a tight mix of two-beat rhythms, spiky piano grooves and crisp guitars.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen talks with Banning Eyre (Afropop) and Rob Weisberg (WFMU's Trans Pacific Sound Paradise) about some of the standout artists at this year's GlobalFEST. The annual world music and cultural festival, held each winter in New York City, is a brief but intense, one-day event featuring more than a dozen international bands and artists.

Danger Mouse has produced some of the most memorable music of the past decade, collaborating with the likes of Sparklehorse, Beck and The Black Keys. Now comes a new project with James Mercer, frontman for The Shins. Danger Mouse and Mercer are calling their venture Broken Bells. The duo's new, self-titled CD isn't out until March, but you can hear a sneak preview in this edition of All Songs Considered. Also on the program: new music from Yeasayer, the Swedish pop group Shout Out Louds, and some great discoveries from Freelance Whales and Local Natives. Also, we celebrate our 10th anniversary with a look back at our very first episode of All Songs Considered.

As has become customary in the past few years, Lars Gotrich's near-OCD list-making habit revealed a certain strain of outer sound that pervaded his headphones in 2009. It was decidedly heavier and louder, a pillaging that galloped with ramming speed. Oh, and plenty of pretty drones.

For this year's holiday music mix, host Bob Boilen chats with Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein, All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton, and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson about some of their favorite seasonal songs of the past decade. Hear a mix of re-imagined classics and new holiday tunes by Sufjan Stevens, Bob Dylan, Laura Gibson and more.

Host Bob Boilen talks with Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein, NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson and All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton about the year in music. What were the biggest surprises of 2009? What were the best new bands, or the best songs? Listen and let us know what you think by sharing your comments at www.npr.org/allsongs.

Hear a countdown of the top 25 albums of 2009, as selected by All Songs Considered listeners in our online ballot.

The highly anticipated new record from Spoon isn't out until January, but you can hear a cut from the record now, exclusively on All Songs Considered. "Written In Reverse" is the first single from the album, called Transference. It may be Spoon's best record yet. Also on this edition of All Songs Considered: surprising new music from chanteuse Norah Jones, the amazing hip-hop artist Brother Ali, Devendra Banhart's major label debut, Tegan and Sara, and essential music from "Weird Al" Yankovic.

This edition of All Songs Considered features a discussion on some of our picks for the decade's 50 most important recordings.

In this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen looks back at some of the defining trends, sounds and historic moments that made the '00s stand out, in a roundtable discussion with Monitor Mix blogger Carrie Brownstein, All Songs Considered producer Robin Hilton and NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson.