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The Coup realizes what the best blues and soul artists always knew: Focus on everyday people, and you'll never run out of stories. For nearly 15 years, the duo has provided one of the lone voices speaking to the trials and tribulations of working-class, inner-city black life.

The Motown combo of Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier and Edward Holland wrote many hits, from "You Can't Hurry Love" to "Heat Wave." In 1990 they were inducted into the Rock Hall of Fame. A new 3-CD box set -- Heaven Must Have Sent You -- is out. (This interview originally aired May 12, 2003.)

Hear a full concert online by singer/songwriter David Gray, originally Web cast live on NPR.org from the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. It's the latest in a series of live concerts from NPR Music's All Songs Considered.

The band the Shins have a quirky but compelling sound of ringing guitars and piercing vocals. Their smart and intense lyrics have made them darlings of the alternative rock scene. But after two albums and songs on TV's The O.C. and the film Garden State, the band is spending the spring doing a low-key tour of mid-sized venues.

One of the world's most beloved and admired sopranos, Dawn Upshaw has a way with complex modern works and also the tuneful melodies of classic American composers like Stephen Foster.

Carolyn and Mary Jane DeZurik grew up on a Minnesota farm, but they rose to musical fame in the 1930s. Their special talents included yodeling and imitations of birds and barnyard animals. Their story is told again by writer John Biguenet in the music issue of Oxford American magazine.

The American Music Center has commissioned six composers to write original compositions for its phone system. The idea is to make sitting on hold a more stimulating experience, and create new venues for electroacoustic composers. Robert Siegel talks with Joanne Cossa, the executive director of the American Music Center.

Producer Jennifer Sharpe collects what she calls "foreign tongue recordings." They're versions of hit songs from the American charts, sung by the original artists, usually in German, Italian or French.

The daughter of a Tamil revolutionary, Sri Lankan M.I.A. is now a rap sensation in England. The 28-year-old is known as much for her music as her life story. She combines the rhythms of global cultures with lyrics that some say incite revolution. Critic Oliver Wang reviews her CD Arular.

Melissa Block talks with Colin Meloy of the Decemberists, whose new CD Picaresque was recorded in a church in their hometown of Portland, Ore. Meloy likes to write songs that describe events outside his actual experience.