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At first, The Avett Brothers' "Yardsale" unfolds as a fairly straightforward study of the mundane items at a neighborhood yard sale. But then, three-quarters of the way through, the North Carolina brothers shift gears radically, speculating about how nice it would be to burn the whole lot of it.

Later this year, vibraphonist Gary Burton will resign as vice president of Berklee College of Music, ending a three-decade affiliation with the school. NPR's Cheryl Corley talks with Burton about the move and his desire to do more performing and recording.

Grammy-winning singer Cassandra Wilson arrived on the music scene in 1990s with her innovative take on jazz. Wilson tells how her unusual approach has its roots in the music of trumpeter Miles Davis.

Jerry Douglas has played the dobro — a type of slide guitar — on over 1,000 albums. He tells of falling in love with the sound of the dobro even before he knew what it was.

Hot Club of Cowtown's five albums revive Western swing, a musical style made famous more than half a century ago by groups such as Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys. Group members stop by NPR's Studio 4B for a performance chat with NPR's John Ydstie.

If Herbie Hancock, Kraftwerk and Alan Lomax embarked on a field-recording expedition in Senegal, their collaboration might resemble Flügelschlag!'s exhilarating "Mendiani." The song's bluesy phrasing and unpredictable group interaction fit somewhere between hard-bop and early jazz-funk.

Maritime has a sweetly buzzing collection of ingratiating power-pop. Springtime anthems don't get much catchier than "Tearing Up the Oxygen," a wonderfully sunny gem propelled by bleeping synths and "ah-ah" choruses.

Singer Kele Okereke watches as society begins viewing him with suspicion in "Where Is Home?" Any instrument that's not a drum kit or a voice is almost beside the point: During the verses, guitars and keyboards hang around for atmosphere when they can be bothered to show up at all.

On "The Plot," White Rabbits' members demonstrate a fondness for twinkling keyboards, room-filling rock and snarling but seductive vocals. Playing a kind of pitch-perfect indie-soul, they draw inspiration from disparate sources like calypso and ska along the way.

A highlight of Peter, Bjorn and John's forthcoming Writer's Block — a concept album about the trials and tribulations of relationships — "Young Folks" is a breezy, melancholic slice of infectious pop.