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Jakob Dylan discusses the new Wallflowers CD, Rebel, Sweetheart, and tells Melissa Block about the ways his songwriting has changed over the course of five albums.

Of all the big names to emerge from the Twin Cities music scene in the '80s, Soul Asylum is among the few that have weathered the test of time. With a career spanning more than two decades, the group has had plenty of time to hone its hook-filled alternative rock.

Keane's new Under the Iron Sea opens with a song called "Atlantic," a promising burst that all but announces, "We are now wriggling out of the imposing shadow of Coldplay."

With a versatile mixture of catchy melodies, lush harmonies and lazy organs and horns, The Long Winters' members craft clever, shimmering pop. Few of the group's songs stray from topics revolving around love gone wrong, but singer-songwriter John Roderick rarely takes the expected road.

Final Fantasy is the solo project of multi-instrumentalist Owen Pallett, who first achieved notoriety as a member of The Arcade Fire. Pallett makes music that marries the serious and the silly, informed by everything from Dungeons & Dragons to the songs on Top 40 radio.

On an itchy masterstroke, I.G. Culture leads a group called Quango, channeling George Clinton's Mothership Connection by exhuming "Frantic Moment," an obscure 1977 gem from Parliament-Funkadelic's late guitarist, Eddie Hazel.

Curtis Elledge, a research flower grower from Santa Cruz, Calif., presents a global selection of picks from the Dutch band The Ex to French "musique concrete" by Louis Sclavis.

On Brighter Than Creation's Dark, Drive-By Truckers offers an epic and emotional 19-song rock statement. The roots-music powerhouse knows its way around thundering Southern rockers, country ballads and, lately, Stax-inspired soul. Hear an interview and performance from WXPN.

While many contemporary songs draw from The Kinks' early garage-blues sound, later acoustic folk-rock or penchant for storytelling, Georgie James' "Henry and Hanzy" reflects the band's strong sense of nostalgia and the way it was influenced by old musicals.

Hear the Minneapolis-based indie-rock band Tapes n Tapes play songs from its second full-length album, Walk It Off. On the new disc, Tapes n Tapes' members achieve a more cohesive but still resolutely lo-fi sound.

Songs about alcohol and its effects are common currency in country music. But in "Drinkin' Problem," Lori McKenna goes in a different direction, sidestepping moralism in favor of getting under the skin of someone for whom the issue is an immediate concern.

After releasing his fourth album earlier this year, the alto saxophonist premieres a new set of compositions: a suite for jazz octet inspired by A.A. Milne's poetry for children.

Hayden's "Worthy of Your Esteem" demonstrates why the singer-songwriter was never meant to be a Beck-level star. The arrangement is pure bedroom-tapes quality, and he still sings in an unassuming, plaintive voice that approaches a mumble. Still, the song is a nuanced beauty.

In what's become one of the most anticipated showcases at SXSW, NPR Music and partner public radio stations present a can't-miss night of performances, March 13 at Stubb's.

Formed in 2000 from the ashes of the Minneapolis band Lifter Puller, The Hold Steady craft detailed musical universes, making them a critical darling and fan favorite. Hear the band perform from the forthcoming album Stay Positive on World Cafe with host David Dye.

Landlubbers beware: Peg-legged shipmates may invade your beer halls and cubicles soon. Sept. 19 is International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and Alestorm is at the ready.

The son of a church organist, Ade knew from a young age that music was his life's passion. He left grammar school in the 1960s, started a band and hasn't looked back since. He's been the member of multiple groups over the years, founded his own label and has been recording all the while. To date, he's put out more than 100 singles and LPs, and earned two Grammy nominations in the process.

What happens when two of the biggest driving forces in indie rock collaborate on album based on Jack Kerouac's beat poetry? The answer: 12 rapturous Americana songs recorded by Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service) and Jay Farrar (Son Volt, Uncle Tupelo), titled One Fast Move or I'm Gone: Kerouac's Big Sur.

Damien Jurado has experimented with everything from rollicking rock to electronic beats to found sound, but his stock in trade remains painfully intimate folk music. Traversing barren and dusty acoustic hellscapes, Jurado makes music that seems painstakingly constructed for consumption at 4 a.m.

Amidst swirling strings, reverberating vocal harmonies, gentle guitars and a dusty rhythmic shuffle, Shawn Lee temporarily gets caught in vaguely optimistic reverie as he sings, "I wonder if I'll ever feel this way again." But his sentiments turn pragmatic quickly.