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They're an odd couple. Angel-voiced Scot Isobel Campbell and gravelly grunge rocker Mark Lanegan of Seattle combine their talents on the CD Ballad of the Broken Seas. Campbell tells Liane Hansen about life after Belle and Sebastian.

The British music press is hailing a new band, the Arctic Monkeys, as being as big as the Beatles — or at least as big as Oasis. The first-week release of the band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, sold over 118,000 copies.

Thirty years ago in Paris, a publicity stunt for a wine shop started a revolution for the Napa Valley. In 1976, a blind tasting pitted the best wines from France against wines from California -- and the Californian wines won.

Tom Brosseau understands the sentimental pull of places — the way a building or a town can come to life in memories as vividly as loved ones do. He often sings about home as more than a bricks-and-mortar construct: It lives, breathes, feels, and dies.

A "super-max" is the highest security prison in the penitentiary system. It's here the worst offenders -- or the most endangered ones -- serve their time in near isolation. There is only one federal super-max in the United States, located in Florence, Colo.

Gospel singer Vickie Winans is best known for her electrifying stage presence -- she can light up concert hall or church with her rousing versions of gospel standards. She's embarked on a nationwide tour, bringing her signature style to a new generation of fans.

The crew of a U.S. Navy submarine that crashed into an undersea mountain in the Pacific was relying on a chart that did not indicate the mountain was there, according to an investigative report.

Philosopher-chef Jose Andres has been on a mission to ignite America's passion for the flavors of his native Spain. To help that process along, Andres has written a cookbook, Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America.

President Bush accepts his party's re-election nomination Thursday, the last night of the Republican Convention. In his acceptance speech, the president underscored his efforts to make the country secure in the years following the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Liliya Karimova is a young Tatar woman from Kazan, Russia, currently living in the United States. A graduate student in Kansas, she has been struggling to understand her ethnic and religious background.

Carlos Santana is having a big year: the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, the 20th anniversary of Supernatural, and now a new album featuring Spanish vocalist Buika, Africa Speaks.

The Disco Biscuits' members call their sound "trance-fusion" — a mixture of jam-band and electronic music with bits of Frank Zappa, rock, techno, jazz, soul, blues and classical. It's no surprise that the band writes its music for live shows and then records it, instead of the other way around.

In September, Medley released a solo album titled Damn Near Righteous — his first release since the death of Righteous Brothers partner Bobby Hatfield. Hear an interview and in-studio performance by the soulful pop legend.

These United States' "First Sight" begins unassumingly, offering few hints of the verbal flood to follow: a bevy of images, all delivered with the same gentle intensity. These small melodic bits pull and push the listener's attention, moving continuously under layered melodies and a wash of words.

Canadian twin sisters Tegan and Sara Quin began performing together at an early age, moving from high-school punk bands to an eventual deal with Neil Young's record label. Hear an interview and in-studio performance by the pair, which just released its fifth album, The Con.

With a voice suitable for both rock and folk, Vandaveer's Mark Charles Heidinger has a natural flair for the delivery of the latter. Through the simple tune and optimistic lyrics, he imparts a universal message in "However Many Takes It Takes."

Valli just released his first new studio album in 15 years, showing that he still has what it takes to be a pop singer. Romancing The '60s is a collection of songs he says he's always wanted to record. Hear an interview from WXPN.

Led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel, American Music Club lives up to its name by mixing very different types of American music. When it began in 1982, the band characterized what would become "slowcore," a style marked by its crawling pace. Hear an interview and performance.

Enticing teens to read of their own free will during the one time of year they're not locked up in school is a daunting task. Here are a few books that can steal even the most reluctant readers away from Guitar Hero — if only for a few hours.

Another batch of tender, heartbreaking, expansive, raw, unrelenting, labyrinthine new songs on this episode of All Songs Considered.