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All Songs At 15: What Our First Webcast Got Right

Thursdays this year we're celebrating All Songs Considered's 15th birthday with personal memories and highlights from the show's decade and a half online and on the air. If you have a personal memory about the show you'd like to share, drop us an email: allsongs@npr.org.

In November 2004, Bright Eyes, the moniker/band of Conor Oberst released two singles from two new albums that were about to come out. "Lua," is from I'm Wide Awake It's Morning and "Take It Easy (Love Nothing)" would be on the album Digital Ash in a Digital Urn. I wanted to do something special for these releases and when I noticed Conor was coming to the 9:30 Club I thought that we should broadcast it. As a teen I used to listen to a radio show called The King Biscuit Flower Hour, one hour concert recordings and loved the idea of listening to a live show on the radio. So I approached the 9:30 Club, a place I have a long history with since I walked on stage on their opening night in 1980 with my band Tiny Desk Unit. The club loved the idea, Conor and company loved the idea and on January 29, 2005, we did a live audio webcast at the club.

All Songs Considered co-host Robin Hilton remembers that night as a near-disaster, thanks to an opening set by the band Tilly and the Wall that involved multiple F-bombs being dropped about 30 seconds after we were live, as the band was psyching up the audience for the show. But I remember the night as the best Bright Eyes show I've ever seen. The band was brilliant and we thought you should take a listen. Conor has done so much in the past 10 years, currently reviving his Desaparecidos project, which showcases the more punky/political aspect of his song writing. There's more coming from them on our site soon. Stay tuned by signing up to our newsletter.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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.