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The Contenders, Vol. 15: The songs we can't stop playing this week

By Robin Hilton,
Stephen Thompson
Published August 27, 2024 at 10:48 AM CDT
The Peter Cat Recording Co.
Salihah Saadiq
/
Courtesy of the artist
The Peter Cat Recording Co.

This week, we check back in on our running list of the year's best songs — contenders for a spot on the inevitable best-of 2024 lists we'll post at the end of the year.

Our latest update includes some pro-tips for staying engaged with life as we get older, how to be happy in a world you can't control, the art of letting go and more from the likes of Arooj Aftab, Great Grandpa and Japandroids.

We've also got a slightly less-dystopian single from The Smile, the shape-shifting sounds of Delhi's Peter Cat Recording Co. and the blood-slowing music of fingerstyle guitarist Yasmin Williams.

Featured artists and songs

  • Arooj Aftab: "Raat Ki Rani," from Night Reign
  • The Smile: "Don't Get Me Started" (Single)
  • Japandroids: "D&T," from Fate & Alcohol
  • Peter Cat Recording Co.: "I Deny Me," from Beta
  • Great Grandpa: "Kid" (Single)
  • Yasmin Williams: "Virga (feat. Darlingside)," from Acadia

Copyright 2024 NPR
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New Music All Songs Considered
Robin Hilton
Robin Hilton is the Senior Podcast Producer for NPR Music. He also hosts the New Music Friday episodes of All Songs Considered.
Stephen Thompson
Stephen Thompson is a host, writer and reviewer for NPR Music, where he speaks into any microphone that will have him and appears as a frequent panelist and guest host on All Songs Considered. Thompson also co-hosts the daily NPR roundtable podcast Pop Culture Happy Hour, which he created with NPR's Linda Holmes in 2010. In 2008, he and Bob Boilen created the NPR Music video series Tiny Desk concerts, in which musicians perform at Boilen's desk. (To be more specific, Thompson had the idea, which took seconds, while Boilen created the series, which took years. Thompson will insist upon equal billing until the day he dies.)