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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Our first new mix of 2016 includes a David Bowie cover from Glen Hansard, premieres from Ray LaMontagne, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down and Laura Gibson and more. -
All Songs Considered is celebrating its Sweet 16 this month, so to mark the occasion on this week's show we're counting down our favorite songs from each of the past 16 years. -
This year, NPR Music published 84 sessions from behind Bob Boilen's desk. From a 23-piece band to a lone guitarist to a massive dance party, here are 15 highlights. -
In 2015, Iron Maiden reigned, a once-mysterious sacred music collective returned after 20 years away, and some Olympia punks smashed the patriarchy with a boot to the head. -
You voted! We counted! Here are the results of our 2015 Listener Poll for the year's best albums. -
Calling all undiscovered artists: This might be your chance to perform at music's most famous desk.
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It was a great year for lyricists, says All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen. His favorite albums of the year are proof of that richness. -
The year is almost over! Hosts Bob Boilen and Robin Hilton sit down with NPR Music's Ann Powers and Stephen Thompson to look back at the memorable moments and music of 2015. -
After the attack at a concert hall in Paris, this week's All Songs offers a space for reflection and solitude, and a celebration of the healing power, joy and community that live music can bring. -
For 35 years, a Bruce Springsteen concert in Arizona has been legendary. We have a video from that show — and more on The River box set.
