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Roberts' sturdy indie-rock sound can feel comfortable, familiar and satisfying. Though his songs often portray dark themes, his sunny sense of humor often reveals their messages as tongue-in-cheek. Here, Roberts tells some of the heartfelt and twisted stories behind his new songs.

I'm Not Jim is a collaboration between Walter Salas-Humara of The Silos and award-winning novelist Jonathan Lethem. The duo Elegant Too rounds out this unlikely quartet, whose first record is a mix of giddy pop and mournful blues called You Are All My People.

On the new album Trombone Tribe, trombonist Roswell Rudd plays with a number of groups including his own sextet. Music critic Kevin Whitehead has a review.

When the gospel duo Mary Mary announced its tour dates for this spring, not one church was on the list of venues. Sisters Tina and Erica Campbell, who named their act after the two Marys in the Bible, have spent their careers taking gospel music out of its usual venues.

NPR's Tom Huizenga takes Scott Simon on a guided tour of a fascinating new set of opera CDs, documenting singers and their recordings from 1898 to 2007. Along the way, hear opera great Enrico Caruso in his first recording session and the penatrating sound of dramatic soprano Eva Turner.

Last year, Blind Pilot renounced traditional tour transportation and embarked on a trip that took it from Vancouver to San Francisco by bicycle. While on tour, it recorded its debut album, 3 Rounds and a Sound, which exhibits a minimalist folk-pop style driven by simple acoustic guitar, sparse drumming and captivating vocals.

The two Cuban singers and rappers grew up in a remote town poised between the Castro regime and an American military base. Their debut album, La Corona, is full of the struggles and passions of their peers — set to some of the freshest new sounds from the island.

The composer's imaginative treatment of character and situation, his sure instinct for dramatic and comic effects, and above all his radiant, supremely expressive musical portraiture have made La Boheme one of the world's most popular operas.

The Charmels' single "As Long as I've Got You" didn't garner much attention when it was first released in 1967. A small snippet of the song, however, now stands as one of The Wu-Tang Clan's most recognizable hooks. Follow the 40-year life cycle of the pop song, from historical footnote to fan favorite.

It's the tradition of jazz to interact with contemporary popular music, which is exactly what The Bad Plus does. Having just added rock singer Wendy Lewis to its lineup, the energetic jazz trio performs new standards from Nirvana and The Bee Gees in a session from Jazz24.