One of the world's finest folksingers channels the spirit of Woody Guthrie at the NPR Music offices. As he has throughout his long career, Bragg finds a way to blend politics and music with grace, charm and a rough edge.

In this new video, a hand-drawn Sonny Smith falls in love with a woman who bleeds green blood, gets chased by a jealous cyborg husband and learns the cruel lessons of life.

The soulful band, known for being visually enigmatic in the media, requested that its New York City performance be filmed entirely in silhouette, with the lights dimmed low and shadows dancing to an evening of heartfelt love songs.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen hits the pause button on 2013 to take a moment to reflect on all the amazing live shows he's seen so far this year. After checking out more than 260 performances he's ready to name his favorite show for the first half of 2013.

We needed to figure out the best possible way to move NPR Music's Tiny Desk from our old headquarters to our new facility just north of the U.S. Capitol. So we had OK Go perform "All Is Not Lost" hundreds of times, as we transported the Tiny Desk from one home to the other.

Watch the band perform "No Need for a Leader," a tremendous cocktail of riff-rock and Black Sabbath-style psychedelia, recorded live at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Watch the singer perform 90 minutes of breathtakingly emotional music, recorded live at the 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C. Unpredictable and often mysterious, Blake's songs are intense and riveting, hopeful and thoughtful.

A record label used to actually be a label: a small, circular piece of paper that could represent a sound, an aesthetic and a standard. But if you only listen to MP3s, do labels matter to you?

The veteran country players mix corny humor, musical merrymaking and timeless vocal harmonies. With three songs from their album-length collaboration Buddy and Jim, Miller and Lauderdale perform an endearing set at the NPR Music offices.

If you haven't paid attention to him yet, the clawing, gnarly video for "Numb" is a perfect opportunity to catch up with Gary Clark, Jr., one of 2012's biggest arrivals.

How can music be happy and sad at the same time? Listen to Arnalds' work and you'll hear it. This performance at New York City's (Le) Poisson Rouge re-imagines the Icelandic musician's magnificent work with a small orchestra: 28 musicians known as Ensemble LPR, along with guest singer Arnor Dan.

Sharon Jones, whose new album, Give the People What They Want, comes out August 6, pours her heart out on a soulful new song, "Retreat."

A new video from Alpine, a six-piece ensemble from Australia, pairs an airy electronic song with a kaleidoscopic dance routine.

The Handsome Family's song "Woodpecker" tells the true story of Mary Sweeney, a woman who lived in the late 19th century and was known as the Wisconsin Window Smasher for her compulsive habit of breaking windows.

"A groove with a message" is how the director of Femi Kuti's new video describes the song. It's an apt way to think of all the music made by Femi Kuti, who is the son of legendary afrobeat musician Fela Kuti.

The soulful electronic artist makes a splash with a video that remixes David Lynch's Lost Highway.

In an extensive interview with NPR's Bob Boilen, the New York band talks about the long process and secret inspirations — including dancehall, hip-hop and smooth jazz — behind the songs on its third album, Modern Vampires of the City.

Brash, zany, brainy, scary and danceable, the New York quintet's music mixes rock and jazz like King Crimson at its fiercest. From the moment the band squeaks its first squawk at the NPR Music offices, it's clear that it's about to conjure up an adventure.

Baby Alpaca's singer Chris Kittrell based the video for his band's "Sea of Dreams" on an actual dream. The finished product is both calming and surreal, with layered images of planes, boats, blimps, fish, lighthouses, trains and flying cars.

In the video for Yellowbirds' "Young Men of Promise," the compelling animation doesn't try to match the music. Which only makes the moments when they align stand out.