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The violinist has spent his life stretching the definition of classical musician. Here he describes his introduction to the violin and his collection of instruments.

The Washington, D.C., band These United States writes novelistic songs packed with dense narratives and loose, ragged-edged folk, rock and Americana. While Jesse Elliott is the main creative foundation, the group is known to rotate in any number of musicians it picks up. The band discusses and performs songs from its new album, Crimes.

Nothing is more conspicuous, yet more invisible, than a big truck. Luke Doucet spends so much time on the road as a touring musician that he began to imagine what it would be like to live the life of a trucker. "Long Haul Driver" gets it just right on his seventh album, Blood's Too Rich.

Four Last Songs, by German composer Richard Strauss, is a song cycle marked by the awareness and acceptance of death. A new recording captures world-famous soprano Renee Fleming as she sings his last pieces for a second time — this time with a new direction.

As a member of the multiplatinum rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, Flea wouldn't seem to need higher education to further his career. But the bassist has just enrolled as a freshman at USC's music program. For Flea, it's an opportunity to learn the academic side of music.

When recording its latest album, Snowflake Midnight, Mercury Rev turned to publicly created and shared electronic instruments and software to create ethereal and deeply textured layers of sound. The band's members discuss their process of incorporating technology and losing themselves in music.

The musician, political folk-song enthusiast, inventor and film-strip maker uses outdated equipment to explore new dimensions. His electronic instruments seem to come right out of '50s science fiction.

Rapper Snoop Dogg's latest release, a collaboration with Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, is a recent example of urban desi, which blends South Asian pop culture with American hip-hop. Originating in the U.K., the style of music is spreading in the U.S. and India.

Bishop first journeyed to Chicago in 1960 in search of the blues. Still active after 45 years, the legendary bluesman just released a new album, The Blues Rolls On, featuring B.B. King, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes and George Thorogood playing classic blues tunes.

Artists typically known for their careers in adult-oriented musical genres occasionally venture into writing songs geared toward kids. Children's-music blogger Stefan Shepherd previews a few new notable releases from They Might Be Giants, The Nields and others that parents and children can both enjoy.