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Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews the second album from the indie-pop duo The Bird And The Bee.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Magic Hollow, a new four-CD retrospective of the band The Beau Brummels, a '60s British Invasion-era pop group from California. Their biggest -- and only top 10 -- hit was "Laugh, Laugh."

Record executive Simon Cowell is a judge on the talent show American Idol, which begins a new season this month. The hour-long show is a spin-off of one Cowell helped create in Britain, Pop Idol.

Malian guitarist Habib Koite issues a new live album, Foly!. The double-disc release is an attempt to capture the flavor of Koite's live performances, which bring out the many influences in his blend of Afro-pop, from jazz to classical and rock. Music critic Banning Eyre has a review.

Coffee and Cigarettes, from iconoclast director Jim Jarmusch, is the culmination of years of filming vignettes centering on coffee shops. The movie features a variety of performers, from Tom Waits to Iggy Pop and Steven Wright. NPR's Bob Mondello has a review.

The cocktail-lounge sound of the 1950's has become perversely hip among young pop musicians, but no other band makes easy-listening music that sounds quite like Stereolab's. As reviewer Mark Jenkins explains, this London based group engages in sort of retro-futurism, using older keyboards to make the newest sounds. Their latest album is called "Emperor Tomato Ketchup," on Elektra Records. (4:30) (IN S

Singer Sheila Chandra is known for her explorations of pop music, which borrow heavily from her ancesteral roots in India and her home in London. Her latest CD is called A BONE CRONE DRONE and this time, the singer plays with musical drones as the backbone as she explores melody, harmony, and the links between Indian and Celtic music.

Liane speaks with Jim Sampas, producer of Badlands: A Tribute to Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska, which will be released Tuesday on the Sub Pop label. The Boss's dark and sparse album from 1982 is covered on the new cd by artists including Johnny Cash, Chrissie Hynde, Dar Williams, Ben Harper and others.

Bob Dylan's new album, Modern Times, hit the top of the record charts last week. Now 65, the singer-songwriter continues to explore blues and older pop styles with lyrics that frequently contain contemporary references.

Photographer Adam Kissick captured amazing SXSW moments in GIF form: an epic jump from Diet Cig's Alex Luciano, pop alchemist D∆WN's killer moves and thrash metal band Black Fast's shredding.