Music

Are people still talking about 2012? Bring on 2013! Here, NPR Music editor Stephen Thompson discusses forthcoming albums by Atoms for Peace, Aaron Neville, Kacey Musgraves and Rhye.

Born Freddie Ross, Freedia is one of the biggest stars of New Orleans' hard-dancing, bass-pounding and sometimes gender-bending bounce music scene.

When postal rates went up this week, labels who ship CDs and LPs saw rates jump. They say the costs will make their way to music fans.

Haden's new album, Petra Goes to the Movies, recasts movie scores in an a cappella setting. From Psycho to The Social Network, her layered vocals offer a captivating interpretation of classic — and not-so-classic — theme music.

A cool ladies' man with a shaved head, Jimmy Van Heusen was one of America's greatest popular composers. He wrote "Darn That Dream," "Swinging on a Star," "All the Way," "High Hopes," "Here's That Rainy Day," "Come Fly With Me" and more.

The popular and prize-winning play Doubt has already been transformed into an award-winning film. Now, the Minnesota Opera is premiering an operatic version of the tricky morality play. Doubt's playwright describes the new project as the "fullest telling" of his work.

The South African icon's latest release is a live concert recording of his most powerful songs, which capture the spirit of his country's rise from apartheid to democracy.

Neville's latest album, My True Story, is a collection of the songs he grew up singing in the New Orleans projects. The sound of those early influences would guide him throughout a career spanning more than 50 years.

Known for his proficiency in jazz, the singer employs the tools of hip-hop on his latest album, No Beginning No End.

Like his father, John, Lennon prefers collaboration. That spirit comes through in his two new albums — one improvisational and the other a film soundtrack. Long resistant to the idea, Lennon is becoming more like his parents in another way: He's taken up a cause.