Much of the news regarding the Middle East these days is negative, dealing with war, economic struggles, corruption and so on. But this Sunday, various religious, ethnic and artistic groups from UCLA are coming together to sponsor “At the Crossroads: Music and Culture of the Middle East” to offer an alternative, even if it’s just for an afternoon.

It’s the little things that make The Sea and Cake’s latest album, “Everybody,” the perfect star-watching-on-a-summer-night album that it is ““ background music that rarely begins to get boring.

If you think it’s difficult to persevere in the music industry as a lone singer-songwriter, try doing it as a nine-person band. That’s been the struggle for ““ and the appeal of ““ the San Diego-based fusion group, the B-Side Players.

It’s still early, but Andrew Bird’s “Armchair Apocrypha” is likely to end up on nearly every indie fan’s best-of-the-year list.
Bird’s idiosyncratic blend of genres shines through invariably on “Armchair Apocrypha,” as does a controlled and conscientious use of the electric guitar, improved from its use on his highly lauded 2005 release, “The Mysterious Production of Eggs.”
Giving the songs legs are spry and syncopated drums and an incredibly diverse and adroit use of the violin, his native instrument.

Air
“Pocket Symphony”
Astralwerks Records
Air’s music is exactly what the band’s name connotes: ethereal and breathy, creating something of a dreamland within itself. While in the past that tendency toward dreaminess proved wholly enjoyable, it’s a different story on Air’s fourth album, “Pocket Symphony.”
The French duo, comprised of Nicolas Godin and Jean-Benoît Dunckel, have put together tracks for “Pocket Symphony” which nestle under a darker and more dramatic cloud than much of their previous work.

Visiting UCLA professor Lorenz Gamma has crafted his career as a professional violinist through variation. He has performed various types of classical works solo, in small ensembles and in large symphonies, and has ventured into the worlds of Mexican and Cambodian music in the recording studio.

In 2005, classical pianist Christopher O’Riley had what he called the best rock and roll experience of his life at Royce Hall, performing his famed piano renditions of Radiohead and Elliott Smith songs to a noisy, enthusiastic crowd.

For an enterprising artist such as Erin McKeown, an album of obscure swing covers rotating around playfully sinful motifs was just the next step in an 11-year career of spunk, smarts and ingenuity.

The little white boxes popping out of students’ messenger
bags and backpacks, keeping them company between classes and at the
gym, prove that the iPod has revolutionized music as we know it.

Willie Nelson
“Songbird”
LOS HIGHWAY RECORDS
Some say old dogs can’t learn new tricks, and Willie
Nelson proves with his new album, “Songbird,” that
they’re probably right.