Music

While the new year is still fresh, let's take a look in the rearview mirror at some of the noteworthy happenings in the classical music world. Were you listening last year? See if you remember the big, and not-so-big, stories from 2012 in our quiz.

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Atlas Genius, a project led by Aussie brothers Keith and Michael Jeffrey, has a pop sensibility that's hard to deny. "Trojans" caught my attention immediately, so we were thrilled to welcome the band in for a live session and get a preview of songs from its forthcoming full-length debut, When It Was Now.

Last year's collaboration between St. Vincent (Annie Clarke) and David Bryne was surprising on many levels. The album they wrote and recorded together, Love This Giant, is inspired and artful, if not as immediately accessible as some of the solo work each of them has made in the past. On stage, performed live at the Strathmore music hall in Bethesda, MD, the songs found their heart and soul.

Having joined hands around the globe to usher in the New Year, we'll circumnavigate the world of Celtic music with Afro-Balkan-Latin-Urban-Country-Celtic fusion.

Copyright 2013 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

It's playoff season in the NFL. As part of Tell Me More's 'In Your Ear' series, the Baltimore Ravens' Brendon Ayanbadejo shares some of the songs that keep him motivated on and off the field.

"Telescope," the fictional hit single by the fictional country star Juliette Barnes on Nashville, is sung by the actress who plays Juliette, Hayden Panetierre. If it didn't become a real-life hit when the song was released a few months ago to country radio stations, it wasn't for lack of catchiness, courtesy of producers T-Bone Burnett and Buddy Miller.

Amkoullel, a 33-year-old Malian rapper, sings about self-image, immigration and respect. He's among a new generation of young rappers in Mali, mixing traditional instruments with new themes. He has played all over the world, performing with Malian legends Salif Keita, Ali Farka Toure and Toumani Diabate.