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The new album from the Philadelphia hip-hop band The Roots contains verses from the perspective of a child soldier in Sierra Leone, a campus shooter in America, and those in the grip of addictions. Rising Down may be the group's best album.

Singer Simone, the daughter of the legendary Nina Simone, is giving her mother's songs a new twist. She talks with Farai Chideya about her childhood, her mother's influence on her own music, and what it meant to create the big-band tribute album, titled Simone on Simone.

The singer Morrissey, who led the 1980s British band The Smiths, has just released his first recording in seven years. The CD, You Are the Quarry, reflects Morrissey's unique blend of the political and the personal, with songs like "Irish Blood English Heart" and "America is Not the World." Mikel Jollett has a review.

A French-style '60s band has taken New York by storm. But most of the members of Les Sans Culottes are Americans. Their act is a musical takeoff on the French pop music of an era far more famous in America for the British invasion led by The Beatles.

Rock concert posters produced some of the most iconic art of the '60s. Then came a period of decline. But an explosion of indie bands producing their own CDs has revived the genre. Producer Scott Carrier of the Hearing Voices radio project offers a review of the book Art of Modern Rock.

The new album 3 showcases Lafayette Gilchrist's maximalist jazz piano in a trio setting rather than with his seven-piece New Volcanoes band. Even in the more intimate arrangement, Gilchrist isn't afraid to make the box shout; this is jazz from artists influenced by everything from hip-hop to the D.C. area's distinctive go-go sound.

Critic David Bianculli is a big Beatles fan, and to pay homage to the 40th anniversary of the release of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he turns to other homages: On today's Fresh Air, Bianculli reaches into his record collection and pulls out favorite cover versions of the songs from the album.

The posthumous album from Joe Strummer, a leader of The Clash, reflects many elements of his career, with a mix of rock and reggae influences. Strummer died last December at age 50, and members of his final band, the Mescaleros, helped to finish Streetcore. Chris Nickson has a review.

The South Carolina band Sparklehorse has built a sizeable indie-rock following for their sad, strangely beautiful and sometimes just strange tunes. Their new album, Dreamt for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain, finds Sparklehorse indulging their talent for oddball prettiness — and brighten up a bit.

The New York band The Sharp Things employs a long list of instruments. Strings, wind, and brass contribute as much to their music as guitar, bass, and drums. Their debut album is Here Comes The Sharp Things. Chris Nickson reviews.