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The Walkmen's members have been friends since they were in elementary school in Washington, D.C., but only formed in 1999 out of the ashes of Jonathan Fire*Eater and Recoy. Since then, the group has become one of rock's rising stars, with a taut, infectious sound and a gift for bold pop hooks.

Love seldom comes easy in Macy Gray's ballads. Betrayal, abandonment and even physical violence often pepper her songs, as she offers vivid accounts of love affairs that sometimes seem too real for comfort. On "Strange Behavior," she dives into a lurid melodrama.

Formerly half of the iconic country duo The Louvin Brothers, Louvin is the latest country war horse to see his career resurrected by well-meaning hipsters. Revisiting his gospel-influenced, early-'50s classic, "Great Atomic Age" neatly conjures up the twin menaces of nuclear angst and eternal damnation.

When words alone fail to illuminate the confounding mysteries of the heart, music lends a hand. Whether it's unrequited love, a fleeting affair or love that lasts a lifetime, there's a song for it. NPR listeners share "their" songs — along with the stories of bliss, bitterness and bygone times that make the music meaningful.

Lily Allen is pop star with a quick wit and a sharp tongue. After a string of hits in the United Kingdom last year, the 21-year-old artist has released her CD Alright, Still in America. She explains her creative process and inspiration.

Though it runs only two and a half minutes, The Apples in Stereo's "Sun Is Out" functions as a charming, modestly shambling mini-epic, complete with discrete movements that culminate in a full-on power-pop blowout. The effect remains infectious and beguiling throughout.

Idlewild's Make Another World pairs dark lyrics with brightly blustering, timeless rock arrangements. "In Competition for the Worst Time" opens the disc on the exact right note, declaring its presence with welcome walls of grinding guitars that serve as an ideal tone-setter.

The Serious Monkee had chops as a songwriter, as well as an unusual sound: a glossy merger of country and rock that took what The Byrds had been doing a step closer to pop. Magnetic South foreshadows the country-rock of The Eagles, whose debut arrived two years later.

Country music singer Charlie Louvin and his brother Ira Louvin were regulars at the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s. Charlie Louvin has just released his first studio work in over a decade, featuring Elvis Costello, George Jones, Will Oldham, Jeff Tweedy and more.

Media shorthand has reduced the music of the '80s to a set of telltale signifiers: big hair, skinny ties, and so on. But a few surviving documents, among them Richard Barone's fantastic Cool Blue Halo, demonstrate that the era was fruitful for classic pop.