All Songs Considered New Music Friday: The best albums out Oct. 10
10 snips
Oct 10, 2025 Celia Gregory, host and programmer at WNXP in Nashville, shares local radio insights on fresh album releases. She and Rodney Carmichael explore Madi Diaz's raw heartbreak finale, 'Fatal Optimist,' and celebrate Princess Nokia's bold feminist rap in 'Girls.' They dive into the innovative sound of Makaya McCraven's 'Off The Record' and discuss the poignant posthumous Mobb Deep album, 'Infinite.' The conversation wraps with highlights of other notable releases, showcasing a diverse range of new music.
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Episode notes
Bare Heartbreak Reaches Acceptance
- Madi Diaz's Fatal Optimist is an intimate, mostly acoustic final chapter of a heartbreak trilogy.
- The record emphasizes raw voice and sparse arrangements that trace grief toward acceptance.
Girlhood Expressed As Rage And Joy
- Princess Nokia's Girls blends confrontational rap with pop and EDM to explore womanhood and rage.
- The album balances political truth-telling with celebratory, party-forward tracks.
Refusing Genre To Reclaim Identity
- Rodney frames Princess Nokia's career as resisting pigeonholing while reclaiming Afro-Indigenous and gender-fluid lineages in rap.
- The album reconnects with her 2016 breakout by mixing genres and unapologetic identity politics.