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Saxophonist and clarinetist Ned Rothenberg has always been a musical cosmopolitan. Early on, he studied jazz with George Coleman and shakuhachi flute in Japan. Rothenberg's new album, Inner Diaspora, sends him back to his roots.

The songs of singer-songwriter Patty Griffin are full of heartbreak and longing — so much so that a friend recently challenged her to write a happy song. She discusses that song and her new CD, Children Running Through.

Propelled by clicks, pings and a ghostly backing vocal, "Belarus" is a characteristically oblique Low song: It's built on phrases that set the scene without making a meaning clear, and it draws its power from an arrangement that's both understated and overpowering.

After nearly 25 years, The Tragically Hip continues to thrive, thanks in part to its vigorous live shows. Still, it's remained on the outskirts of the U.S. music scene, despite massive fame in its native Canada. The band performs a concert from WXPN and World Cafe Live in Philadelphia.

A major label pop star in his native Norway, Sondre Lerche is more of an underground indie artist here in the United States. The singer-songwriter has just released his fourth album, Phantom Punch.

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.