Rock

Saturday Night Live's Fred Armisen and rock veteran Carrie Brownstein are the team behind the IFC show Portlandia. "All of the stuff that makes people different, that's the stuff that's celebrated" on the show, says Brownstein. "If you're normal ... it's no fun."

Before the Civil Rights movement, segregated American cities helped give birth to the Chitlin' Circuit, a touring revue that provided employment for hundreds of black musicians. Rock historian Ed Ward profiles two recent books which illuminate the conditions these musicians endured.

In the 1960s, it was hard to form a rock band, especially in New York. With connections, though, you could make it — and that's how one of the most mysterious and legendary New York bands, The Left Banke, came to be.

The Black Keys just released a new album called El Camino. Rock critic Ken Tucker says that, while the album retains the band's roots in blues and R&B, it's also reaching out to a wider audience with its pop and rock touches.

The psychedelic band has a complex legacy that goes beyond its big hit, "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida," critic Milo Miles says. A newly released concert recording from 1968 provides the best chance in decades for a fresh look at Iron Butterfly.

Director David Lynch -- the man who made Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks and Eraserhead -- has released his first solo album, titled Crazy Clown Time. Rock critic Ken Tucker says it's a strange trip that ends up making a lot of sense.

Boogie-woogie was a piano style that began in the early 20th century and later became a huge fad. Rock historian Ed Ward explains how the genre re-emerged as an important precursor to rock 'n' roll.

Joe Henry has produced albums by Solomon Burke, Allan Toussaint, Hugh Laurie and others. The versatile singer, songwriter and producer has just released Reverie, his 12th album. It features acoustic performances from a three-day jam session in his basement.

The former American Idol winner has just released her fifth album, Stronger. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the record doesn't contain Clarkson's strongest material, but still shows off her powerful vocal cords.

SMiLE may be the most famous unreleased album of all time, but it's not really unreleased: bits and pieces of it wound up on other Beach Boys albums. Now that EMI has assembled a definitive collection of the session tracks, Ed Ward has listened to them -- and wonders what the shouting was about.

Deer Tick has just released its fourth album, Divine Providence. Rock critic Ken Tucker says the album takes the Rhode Island band in a more raw-sounding direction.

Milo Miles reviews a compilation of overseas grooves that carry on psychedelic styles long after they were dropped in the U.S.

A band formed by Adam Weiner from Philadelphia and Dan Finnermore from Birmingham, England, Low Cut Connie has just released its debut album, Get Out the Lotion. Rock critic Ken Tucker says it's both a throwback to early rock and a vital collection of raucous new music.

Singer-songwriter Nick Lowe joins Fresh Air's Terry Gross for an in-studio interview and performance featuring several songs from his 13th solo album, The Old Magic.

Leiber, the lyricist behind "Jailhouse Rock," "Yakety Yak" and "Stand By Me," died Monday. He was 78. Fresh Air remembers the songwriter with excerpts from a 1991 interview with Leiber and his songwriting partner Mike Stoller.

Doe is probably still best known as co-founder of the punk-rock band X more than 30 years ago. Rock critic Ken Tucker says Doe's new solo album Keeper is less conflicted and more contemplative than his earlier works.

The New York trio Battles and the Chicago-based experimental rock band Cheer-Accident come from very different directions. But critic Milo Miles says that both groups have recently put out their most appealing records, without losing their cerebral side.

Stone is known to millions from the records he made with Sly and the Family Stone. But his early days, and the recordings he produced for his own Stone Flower label, add another dimension to the career of this enigmatic character, rock historian Ed Ward said.