Music

Country singer-songwriter Matraca Berg makes her second appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live in Charleston, W.Va..

As part of our year-end wrap up, we are sharing the best Fresh Air interviews of 2012. This interview was originally broadcast on Feb. 21, 2012.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

We've been looking back at some of the stories we heard on MORNING EDITION in the past year and bringing you encore performances of our favorites. 2012 marked the 50th anniversary of the first Bond film, "Dr. No." and to help 007 celebrate, we investigated one of the ingredients that helps make Bond films so Bond.

(SOUNDBITE OF JAMES BOND THEME SONG)

MONTAGNE: Ah, yes, the music. This is one of the most famous themes in movie history, and here's the part that gives it that secret agent feel.

In this edition of World Cafe, Beat Latino host Catalina Maria Johnson sits down with host David Dye to discuss the Christmas music traditions of Latin America. One thing that sets Central America's music apart from that of North America, she says, is the fact that a lot of it is made for dancing.

Every Christmas season is accompanied by an abundance of holiday album releases, but few of the artists who make them bother to take the Christmas show on the road. The Polyphonic Spree, however, is not your average band. Formed in Texas by bandleader Tim DeLaughter in 2000, this massive group — the number of members often nudges toward 20 or more — is well-suited to re-imagine popular Christmas music, combining the instrumentation of a rock band with the layered harmonies of a choir.