NPR streams cred: Harvey Milk, Sleigh Bells

What Harvey Milk looks, sounds like

​Not sure what fermented in NPR's kombucha this week, but today and yesterday the classically staid broadcaster posted full-album streams from two bands you would expect to see blown up just about anywhere else. Maybe it started with Carrie Brownstein's blog, or the success of All Songs Considered, or Sound Opinions. However and whatever, over the past few years NPR has made it clear they don't intend on repping Rachmaninoff and Gillespie forever.

Posted yesterday, Harvey Milk's new album A Small Turn of Human Kindness finds Georgia's finest tongue-cheeked stoner caterwaulers utterly slaying (Creston Spiers has a voice most level bosses would envy), following up 2008's Life...The Best Game In Town with more of the lovely same: playfully soundtracking your trip to the hot dog stand. Stream the album on NPR.

​When you repeat something over and over and over it can become meaningless, the syllables merging and syncopating until all you hear is one big consonant and vowel fistfight. Sleigh Bells. Sleigh Bells Sleigh Bells Sleigh Bells Sleigh Bells Sleigh Bells Sleigh Bells. The hype cogs have been perpetually grinding this band through their works since The New Yorker's Sasha Frere-Jones named their CDR his favorite record of 2009 (a me-first that has worked out nicely for both parties), their demo's in-the-red production and straight-ahead rock-rap-made-good vibe was at least interesting, and possibly great. Now that their proper first record has been released, we wait and watch. And stream the album on NPR.