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The Norwegian singer-songwriter's new album, Heartbeat Radio, draws from diverse musical and lyrical sources. Indie-rock and jazz both infiltrate his sound, while unlikely topics inspire his words.

Multi-instrumentalist Sam Rivers has sparked sessions by Miles Davis and Tony Williams, and he fostered New York's Loft Jazz scene of the 1970s. Now he's doing the same in the land of Mickey Mouse.

Guitarist Jeff Aug holds the world record for most concerts performed in different countries in 24 hours. Playing without a pick, he called it the Wounded Fingers Tour. In a session with Scott Simon, Aug recently demonstrated his three-finger guitar style. See the video.

Phish fans have much to celebrate right now. Five years ago, the jam-rock band band broke up after more than two decades. Now, it's back together and on the road, playing sold-out shows across the country. Member Trey Anastasio says the reunion feels like a second chance.

Public radio's favorite cowboy poet, philosopher and former large-animal veterinarian lost his father at an early age. But Black has a vivid memory of being regaled by a certain song about a young cowboy at bedtime.

Backspacer is Pearl Jam's first studio album since the musicians became free agents, finally fulfilling a seven-album contract with Sony. That process took 15 years. The band is now on its own, striking distribution deals with major corporations, a turnaround for the once very anti-corporate band.

He has been making music for 50 years now. He played with bluegrass great Ralph Stanley when he was still in his teens, went on to have a streak of country hits and then went back to bluegrass. Now he's returned to the songs he learned from his father when he was a young boy in eastern Kentucky.

NPR Music's Song of the Day features a new track every weekday, with analysis of the music, links to each artist's Web sites and, of course, a chance to hear the song itself. Here, Song of the Day editor Stephen Thompson talks about recent selections by Malcolm Middleton, Japandroids and My Morning Jacket's Jim James.

Supergroups have a long tradition in popular music. Willie Nelson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson once joined forces as The Highwaymen. There were the Fania All-Stars, The Four Tenors and Audioslave. Now Conor Oberst, Mike Mogis, Jim James and M. Ward, calling themselves Monsters of Folk, have released their debut album.

All summer long, we've been hearing personal stories inspired by songs of summertime from musicians, writers and listeners. The series comes to an auspicious end with submissions from two listeners, who offer memories of music overheard: The Four Seasons' "Sherry" and The Four Preps' "Big Man."