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Two New Jersey men have found a way around high gas prices and traffic jams. The mile long trip from Hoboken across the Hudson River to their Manhattan office takes about a half-hour to paddle. They also get their exercise in for the day.

Singing about one's imminent death requires a certain level of delicacy, because it's way too easy to dive into melodramatic gloom. But Sonnymoon's "Just Before Dawn" — in which Anna Wise's ethereal vocals float across Dane Orr's palpitating soundscape as she contemplates mortality — takes on a more hopeful, universal tone. "Every night, you should have someone to hold," Wise sings, "to tell you that you did okay when your mind is against you."

Intense fighting in Lebanon has killed more than a dozen people over the past week. One deadly battle was sparked by the murder of an anti-Syrian Lebanese cleric. The violence is stoking fears that the conflict in Syria is spreading to its neighbors.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business is: a last song.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CELEBRATE")

WHITNEY HOUSTON AND JORDIN SPARKS: (Singing) Everybody's been so uptight, and forgetting to live the life.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This final recording by the 1980s and '90s pop star, Whitney Houston, was released yesterday. "Celebrate" debuted on Ryan Seacrest's radio show.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "CELEBRATE")