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John Doe is the founder and bass player for X, the 1980s punk-rock band. He's also an actor, appearing on such TV shows as Carnivale and Roswell. He kicks off our annual summer "what are you reading" feature with an eclectic list ranging from the L.A.-noirish John Fante to Louise Erdrich and Natsuo Kirino.

Director John Carney's new film Once features Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova as two musicians who tell their story in song. Hansard is the lead singer of the Irish band The Frames. Irglova was only 17 when the movie was made — and neither of them are professional actors.

Listeners of The Hold Steady's classic rock sounds may also want to have on hand some resources - namely a Bible and a background in pop culture - in order to decode the lyrics.

His former band Wall of Voodoo broke up in 1983, but Stan Ridgway is still spinning stories of intriguing, eccentric characters in song. He talks to NPR's Liane Hansen about his new CD.

Members of the British punk band The Mekons have been making music together for about 30 years now. Though they started as contrarian rockers inspired by The Sex Pistols, their new album, Natural, is mostly acoustic.

Two new offerings show her versatility on clarinet and tenor sax. On Poetica, the Tel Aviv-born New Yorker leads a small jazz combo and a string quartet. Then there's Noir, a CD that celebrates a modified big-band sound.

The Boston band's second album provides a perfect soundtrack for thoughtful, beautiful times. Gem Club reveals new intricacies on In Roses, which sounds more resplendent with more ambient passages. The voices and cello merge and weave together perfectly.

The Winter of Mixed Drinks is the third album from the Scottish band Frightened Rabbit. Though dark, it's less melancholy than their previous records, and draws inspiration from the rural Scottish village where frontman Scott Hutchison penned its songs.

Washington, D.C., lounge kings Eric Hilton and Rob Garza discuss their new album, Culture of Fear, and how working as a duo and not a full band has allowed them to remain versatile.

The San Francisco band's latest is called Father, Son, Holy Ghost, but the reverence it displays is more musical than spiritual.