Music

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Many musicians say that the second album is harder to write than the first, especially when a debut is successful: There's more pressure, higher stakes, fewer ways to surprise and less time to work. The Colombian band Bomba Estéreo faced down that imposing empty canvas when it entered the studio to record a followup to 2009's hit Blow Up.

Hailing from Detroit, the Mexican-American folk musician will play live for us during the Global Village! 

L.A.'s He's My Brother She's My Sister will play their mix of folk, glam and western swing during their live session on the Global Village.  They're touring in support of the new CD Nobody Dances In This Town.  Tune in for a chance to win tickets for the show that night at Woodland's Tavern!  Erica Blinn and Teen Fiction will open up!

It's difficult to overstate Cafe Tacvba's impact on Latin music since the Mexican band first surfaced in the early '90s. So we were thrilled to get the band's own perspective, as members Enrique "Quique" Rangel Arroyo and Emmanuel "Meme" del Real Diaz join us on this week's show.

Every so often, people at an NPR station discover a song they can't get enough of. On those occasions, we ask them to share their obsession with the nation. Ben Famous is the music director at KCEP Power88 in Las Vegas. He spoke to Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep about a new cut from R&B heavyweight Avant. It's called "You and I," and it features Keke Wyatt. "The first time we played it," says Famous, "the phone lines lit up, and people were like, 'Who was that?' 'What was that?'"

Boston's The David Wax Museum will bring their blend of American roots, traditional Mexican folk and indie rock and play a few songs live during the Global Village! 

Charlie Sheen claimed “tiger blood,” but the blood of rock/pop fusion artist Marco Benevento’s newest album Tiger Face claims a whole new phrase of experimentation.

Stephen Colbert loves music and loves to sing. That's why Fresh Air's Terry Gross asked him to bring a few songs that mean a lot to him and tell her why. For example, as a kid, Colbert discovered his first lesson about character acting through "King Herod's Song" from Jesus Christ Superstar, even though he thought the words were scandalous at first: "Oh, so you are the Christ? You're the great Jesus Christ. Prove to me that you're no fool. Walk across my swimming pool."

John Lennon loved word play; he wrote songs that have not only become standards, but also milestones, like "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" and "Strawberry Fields," which he wrote with the Beatles, and "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance," which he wrote on his own. For most of his life, he also composed letters to friends and family; then lovers, as he grew up; and strangers, as he grew famous. His notes, letters and postcards often contained small, funny drawings and self portraits.

In 1969, four moppy-haired musicians named John, Paul, George and Ringo walked single file on a London crosswalk and made one of the most iconic album covers of all time. Today, a steady stream of Beatles fans and London tourists are still eager to walk in the footsteps of the Fab Four on that famous stretch of asphalt.