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Lorenzo Da Ponte wrote the librettos for Don Giovanni and other Mozart operas. The Venice-born writer helped bring the Mozart's works to life, seeming to know exactly what the composer wanted to say, the author of a new Da Ponte biography says.

One day, musicologist John Work happened to record an obscure street singer's blues talent. Discovering that field recording leads commentator Bruce Nemerov to reflect on how the blues were marketed before World War II.

One of the most beautiful, disquieting hip-hop tracks in recent memory, J Dilla's "Stop" packs its 99 seconds with melancholy strings and electric guitars, rugged beats and turntable scratches. The track is built on samples of Dionne Warwick's "You're Gonna Need Me."

William Darondo Pulliam (a.k.a. "Double D" or "Dynamite D") worked in the San Francisco Bay Area from the 1960s through the early '80s, but he'd also been a teenage musician. After cutting some tracks in a studio, Darondo walked away from music.

Luisito Quintero's Afro-Latin-inflected "Love Remains the Same" captures the carefree bliss of strolling through crowds on a warm, breezy afternoon, when everyone sparkles with a sun-kissed glow and each hour unfolds with newfound wonder.

Music journalist Ashley Kahn talks with guitarist and songwriter Al Anderson about his new album, After Hours. Anderson has been in the music business for four decades. He has written a string of country hits for Nashville's biggest stars. Despite his success as a songwriter, Anderson says the urge to perform again has proved too strong to resist.

Ejigayehu "Gigi" Shibabaw has a truly international sound. By mixing jazz, electronica and even dub music elements with traditional Ethiopian styles, Gigi creates upbeat, hopeful music. Her range of styles and beautiful voice bring her very international sound to life.

Pick a Bigger Weapon is the new CD from the San Francisco Bay Area progressive rap group The Coup. Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone magazine offers a review of the album, which mixes nostalgic beats and rhythms from the 1970s with contemporary political messages.

Radio station owner Ralph Epperson kept the twangy sound of live bluegrass, old-time gospel and mountain music cruising over the airwaves from his North Carolina radio station WPAQ long after other broadcasters had stopped. Epperson died Wednesday at age 85.

Firmly anchored in the stuff of southern legend, The Drive-By Truckers' songs are full of love and loss. They played songs from their latest album, A Blessing and a Curse, at NPR's studios.