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The rock band Wilco's latest CD, A Ghost is Born, was recorded during the lead singer's battle with an addiction to painkillers, among other distractions. Many of the Chicago group's songs reflect this tense and hallucinatory period in the singer's life. Critic Tom Moon has a review.

The 1970s Memphis rock band Big Star never reached commercial success, but the group is often cited as a precursor to the grunge of the 1990s, as well as today's power-pop. A new compilation, Big Star Story, assembles some of the songs from the group's three full-length albums. NPR's Will Hermes has a review.

Band of Horses, founded by former Carissa's Wierd [sic] members Benjamin Bridwell and Mat Brooke, makes its debut with an amazing amalgam of psychedelic pop and epic, intense rock that recalls the expansiveness of The Flaming Lips.

Frequent Day to Day commentator Gustavo Arellano reviews the self-titled debut album of Colombian singer Andrea Echeverri. For the past decade, she's been one-half of the popular rock band Aterciopelados. Her first solo CD extolls the joys of being a mother, featuring lush and sometimes lusty songs of romance and sweet melancholy.

John Brady reviews In the Reins, a seven-song collaboration between soft-voiced Florida folk singer Sam Beam, who records under the name Iron and Wine, and the band Calexico — border rockers from Tucson, Ariz., known for their eclectic tastes.

In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.

Jazz in its most flexible definition hits New York City in a marathon weekend every January. Here are some of the 120 bands to seek out, including Camila Meza, Makaya McCraven and Ray Angry.

In the 1930s and '40s, band singers were mostly blond, sophisticated and attractive. Ella Fitzgerald was awkward, gawky and even a bit chubby by comparison — but could she sing.

One of few women in a musical movement dominated by men, Pauline Black helped lead the 1970s U.K. ska revival with her band The Selecter. She discusses her complicated family history in a new memoir, Black by Design.

A Tempo Saturday (1/6 at 7 pm) looks at some of the works that will be presented as part of this year’s Prototype Festival in New York.