Music

As a radio producer, I've been trained to never let a piece begin with the sound of a person's breath; it's sloppy. So when I first heard the remix of Hot Chip's "Look At Where We Are" by Four Tet, the tape-cutter in me dove for the delete button. Right before the music starts, you can clearly hear a sharp intake of air from singer Alexis Taylor.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, my weekly Can I Just Tell You essay.

First, though, we want to introduce you to a multiplatinum-selling artist with four albums to her credit, many awards, the face of a model, the voice of an angel. Her name is Lira.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "FEEL GOOD")

Canadian rower Michael Braithwaite is pumped and probably a little nervous. It's the day before the double sculls (two person team) competition at the London Olympics and the British Columbia native is hoping his strong arms and shoulders will bring him gold.

Sometimes there's just no room for subtlety. Sometimes you hate everyone and everything because that's the only way the world makes sense. Sometimes you wonder what the musical equivalent of a panther rattling a barbed-wire cage is. Well, maybe only Gaza has thought of that last one.

The career of the experimental rock trio Liars has been defined by nomadic wanderings, both geographically and sonically. Formed in L.A., the trio relocated to Brooklyn, then to rural New Jersey, and eventually to Berlin, before returning to L.A.

Texas native Kat Edmonson possesses astonishing vocal control: She glides effortlessly between tones, and can move from a lilting falsetto to a raspy growl with ease. Her debut album, 2009's Take to the Sky, finds her exploring the roots of classic pop and jazz songs — an approach she continues on its sequel, this year's Way Down Low.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. That old expression came to mind when I read the headline of a recent press release:

'Grand Funk Railroad, Boston, Kansas at Aberdeen Proving Ground, August 11'