"Collapse Into Now" isn't perfect, or groundbreaking, or even a complete return to form, but it proves that R.E.M. -- in their thirty-first year -- is still capable of making satisfying songs.

In a city mostly known for hip-hop duos like Bight Club and the now-defunct MC/VL, Koo Koo Kanga Roo stands out as the only team of family-friendly rappers. With songs like "Rollin' In the Minivan" and "Don't Wanna Do My Chores," Koo Koo manages to make their music and live shows appealing to both kids and adults.

Singer-songwriter Nicole Atkins has gone through a lot of life changes in the last couple of years, and they're all laid bare on her new album, "Mondo Amore."

The Eelpout Stringers perform in studio on Radio Heartland.

In recent years, Lucinda got married. Many of us were worried she would run out of subject matter. No worries here, it turns out!

DeVotchKa's music is part of a trend that includes artists like Andrew Bird, Beirut and Calexico seemingly sprung from an alternate reality in which the British Invasion never reached American shores and yet the alternative movement flourished anyway.