NPR Music 10: 2008
February 19, 2008
Bon Iver's For Emma, Forever Ago is released — again
Justin Vernon initially self-distributed his dreamy, career-making debut as Bon Iver. After seven months of buzz, it was rereleased by the indie label Jagjaguwar.
February 26, 2008
The New York Philharmonic tours North Korea
On a controversial trip led by music director Lorin Maazel and chaperoned by the U.S. Department of State, one of the oldest and most renowned orchestras in the United States flew to Pyongyang to give a concert — selections from the program included works by Wagner, Gershwin and Leonard Bernstein — that was broadcast on the DPRK's state television system.
February 27, 2008
Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova win an Academy Award for "Falling Slowly"
The film Once told a complicated story of love between a busker and an immigrant, wreathed with aching songs written by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Their success at the Oscars was a significant win for both independent music and film, punctuated by Hansard's earnest exclamation, "Make art! Make art!"
April 22, 2008
NPR Music publishes the first Tiny Desk Concert
You know the story: Laura Gibson played South By Southwest in 2008 at a loud bar that drowned out her quiet songs, so Bob Boilen and Stephen behind Bob's desk; "Maybe it's the start of something or maybe it's not," went the shrugged introduction. There are now nearly 700 videos and a yearly contest to determine who will be the next artist to play the Tiny Desk.
