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The singer and multi-instrumentalist relies on violins, guitars and whistling to craft a unique sound that's difficult to describe. On his latest album, Noble Beast, Bird even uses his words as instruments, creating lyrics from archaic and esoteric words that conform to the melodies in his head.

We asked Adam Levine and Jesse Carmichael of the band Maroon 5 to share a piece of music that they love, that inspires them and that they listen to again and again. Hear why they chose Prince's Purple Rain.

Mainstream rock was in dire straits in the early 2000s, but out of a world of jaw-wired-shut self-plagiarizers and rap-rockers came arguably the power-pop anthem of the decade. Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle" is a hopeful, energetically poppy punk song about being yourself.

A product of the post-teen-pop, pre-Kevin Federline Britney Spears of early 2004, "Toxic" was the second single from Spears' fourth studio album, In the Zone. No longer apologetic or defensive for breaking away from her '90s virginal teeny-bopper image and sound, the Spears in "Toxic" is out to have a good time on her own terms.

Once upon a time, an NPR Music series called JazzSet With Branford Marsalis visited clubs, concerts and festivals across the country and around the world. Today, our founding host runs his own record label, and JazzSet visits the Marsalis Music Stage at Newport, where Chilean-born Claudia Acuna sets political folk songs to the sounds of jazz.

La Roux is a British pop duo — 21-year-old singer Elly Jackson and synth player-producer Ben Langmaid — with a style that blends passionate vocals with strict mechanical beats. The pair's self-titled debut album went No. 1 in England and Europe this year, and now it's out stateside. Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews.

At age 4, Bruno Mars was delighting crowds with his "Little Elvis" impersonation. His success as an adult didn't come as quickly, but fame came calling after he produced several big hits.

He grew up with John Coltrane, gigged with Art Blakey and shared the silver screen with Tom Hanks. Now, on the eve of 80, illustrious saxophonist and jazz composer Benny Golson is re-creating his greatest ensemble: the six-person Jazztet.

He didn't see it coming when his sensitive crooning launched him to pop fame in 1996. But with one Tony Award-winning musical in the books and another production on the way, his work as a stage composer has put him in the spotlight again.

They run the increasingly influential Merge Records, but Superchunk band mates Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance have still managed to squeeze in some recording time. They've just released Majesty Shredding, their first new album of guitar-fueled rock in almost a decade.