The band Office Romance, which includes two members of the rock band Les Savy Fav, performs a few new seasonal tunes on its latest EP, I Love the Holidays.
Somali-born rap musician K'naan is known for telling gritty stories about his childhood in war-torn Mogadishu through hip-hop music. On Country, God, Or the Girl, the edginess of past songs has been replaced with a polished pop sound.
The kids' music scene and the punk rock movement have a lot in common: Both have a DIY attitude and seem unconcerned with mainstream success. The bands Play Date and The Boogers have combined the genres, making kids' music using the infectious hooks of classic punk rock.
On her new album, the pop star tries to show she's not just in the business for the money. As critic Ken Tucker says, "Like pop stars ranging from Madonna on back to Chuck Berry, Ke$ha wants it both ways: mass-audience success and artistic acknowledgment."
Sitar player Ravi Shankar died Tuesday at the age of 92. Brian Q. Silver, a sitar player with over 40 years of experience, talks about playing the unique instrument and how Shankar popularized the Indian musical style.
When he was just 10 years old, Shankar began performing in Europe and the US with his family's Indian dance troupe. But at age 18, Shankar gave up all the glitter to study with a guru who taught him the sitar. He became a master, and introduced the West to his country's music.
Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews a new, seven-disc Charles Mingus box set chronicling the jazz legend's mid-'60s live performances. The records, Whitehead says, "can be a little raw, as if the explosive music caught the engineers by surprise."
"Good music is good music," violinist Angèle Dubeau says. The Canadian musician interprets theme music from Halo, Angry Birds and other video games on her latest album.