Music

West has been busy in both the music and gossip worlds: He's just released a new album, titled Yeezus, and fathered a child. Rock critic Ken Tucker says West's constant blending of his public life and his music makes his new record all the more striking — and at times problematic.

Bobbie Hanvey is a prolific photojournalist and radio interviewer from Northern Ireland. His son Steafán is a musician, currently on tour in America. In a video featuring their photos and music, father and son reflect on art, their relationship, and the period of turmoil in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles.

After months of speculation, West's latest album reveals itself as a trim, 10-song, 40-minute effort that's heavy on electronic and industrial influences. It's also another piece of the puzzle to one of pop music's most compelling — and frustrating — figures.

The 23-year-old jazz phenom's debut album showcases her takes on vintage jazz and blues numbers by Bessie Smith, Fats Waller and others. You can trace some of her effects back to jazz greats like Sarah Vaughan, Betty Carter and Abbey Lincoln.

The Arab Spring countries are still in the process of remaking themselves. Consider Libya, where militia fighters continue to roam the streets, yet a new private radio station does not hesitate to criticize the armed groups.

Coffee is present throughout Latin song, but it's rarely just about a cup of joe. The drink, its colors and its flavors are often used as ways to discuss sociopolitical realities.

Long before became known as Will Schuester — the lovable Spanish teacher and show choir director on TV's Glee — Morrison was dancing and singing, garnering Tony nods for his work on the Broadway stage.

This week, the Internet radio broadcaster bought a radio station in Rapid City, S.D., in an effort to get the more favorable royalty rates given to terrestrial broadcasters. But the move has songwriters and composers up in arms.

In 2009, the singer-songwriter says she asked herself the question, "Who am I?" The answer led her to make plans to retire. Four years later, she's re-emerged with a new album called SongVersation, as well as a new sense of who she is as an artist.

The singer-songwriter has said, as he was writing his new album Still Fighting the War, that "a theme of perseverance through hard times revealed itself." Rock critic Ken Tucker says the record is no downer, and that Cleaves finds complex sentiments and wittily phrased ideas in many of his new songs.