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The musician, political folk-song enthusiast, inventor and film-strip maker uses outdated equipment to explore new dimensions. His electronic instruments seem to come right out of '50s science fiction.

Joseph Arthur has had a busy 2008. The singer-songwriter and painter has released four EPs and one full-length album, Temporary People, this year alone. Arthur talks about his new releases, his music style and the differences between music and painting.

Local Colombian music permeates the soundscapes crafted by the band Aterciopelados. But what gives the group's music its universal appeal is something less tangible: a quality of dry-eyed optimism that proves both persuasive and reassuring in these troubled times.

The artist-in-residence at New York's Middle Collegiate Church is on a mission to transform the way people think about organists and their instruments. On his new CD Revolutionary, he plays a virtual pipe organ that uses computers, amplifiers and speakers to create a big, bold range of sound.

Vocalist Howard Tate found success in the '60s and '70s, thanks to a voice Elvis Costello called "the missing link between Jackie Wilson and Al Green." After overcoming addiction and homelessness, Tate is back to spread a message of hope and second chances.

Bishop first journeyed to Chicago in 1960 in search of the blues. Still active after 45 years, the legendary bluesman just released a new album, The Blues Rolls On, featuring B.B. King, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes and George Thorogood playing classic blues tunes.

Nothing is more conspicuous, yet more invisible, than a big truck. Luke Doucet spends so much time on the road as a touring musician that he began to imagine what it would be like to live the life of a trucker. "Long Haul Driver" gets it just right on his seventh album, Blood's Too Rich.

Fresh Air's jazz critic takes a fresh look at the reissue of the album Head On (Blue Note/EMI), a 1971 session led and recorded by Bobby Hutcherson.

Artists typically known for their careers in adult-oriented musical genres occasionally venture into writing songs geared toward kids. Children's-music blogger Stefan Shepherd previews a few new notable releases from They Might Be Giants, The Nields and others that parents and children can both enjoy.

Leonard Bernstein wrote his Mass to memorialize John F. Kennedy. But conductor Marin Alsop says that the dizzyingly eclectic work reveals more about its composer than anyone else.