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For more than 20 years, the alt-rock duo They Might Be Giants has been playing clever and contagious music for fans of all ages. Winning over college campuses and preschools simultaneously, TMBG has never compromised the quirky lyrics and eclectic sound for which it's loved.

Singer Durga Das performs music known as Kirtan, a form of very old call-and-response devotional music from India. But now, as Kirtan finds its way into American culture, it is evolving in unexpected ways. Part of the change is being led by a Jewish man from Philadelphia named David Newman — or, on stage, Durga Das.

The three opening chords of Mozart's Overture to the Magic Flute have some mystical significance in the Masonic order. But on the surface, it's pure delight. Claus Peter Flor conducts the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in a concert performance of Mozart's overture in Dallas' Meyerson Symphony Center.

Jim Nayder delivers a bouquet of stinky songs for Mother's Day, including Frank Sinatra's stunning performance of "Mrs. Robinson." Nayder hosts The Annoying Music Show, produced at WBEZ in Chicago.

Written around the time of World War One, Sergei Rachmaninov's "All Night Vigil" is an extraordinary choral music composition. A new recording of Rachmaninov's work from conductor Paul Hillier and The Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir is out, and music critic Tom Manoff says it's magnificent.

A vivid and unnerving ode to vampirism, Chad VanGaalen's "Red Hot Drops" does an exceptional job capturing its subject's sinister allure — the surrender and ease of "draining with no pain" — before rupturing into a rare moment of oddly funky release.

Todd Snider often writes songs with a slightly boozy country-rock swagger, paced by a steady intellectual metronome that's a tick or two ahead of most of his peers. Snider's new album, The Devil You Know, riffs on some of America's major political fault lines.

Tom Verlaine's rock band Television came of age alongside peers like the Talking Heads and Patti Smith. But for years, Verlaine has been an elusive presence on the music scene — his recent release of two CDs is his first public work in 14 years.

Every once in a while, rockers take a stab at reaching a new generation of listeners, with decidedly mixed results. The movies are a lucrative way into the tween market. Among the artists making music for recent animated films are indie rockers Ben Folds and Paul Westerberg.

Smartly sloppy, Cold War Kids' "Tell Me in the Morning" exudes soulful swagger, driven by bright, shimmering guitar and handclaps. With a great hook, a catchy chorus and many changes in between, the song conjures up the giddy thrill of discovering Gang of Four or The Jam for the first time, which is no small feat.