Ry Cooder's latest album, My Name Is Buddy, is due out on Nonesuch on March 6. "Hugely entertaining," exclaims the Observer. "It's a road trip through vernacular American music, dustbowl blues, gospel, folk and bluegrass in the company of three unlikely characters ... It sounds a little like Animal Farm as conceived by Woody Guthrie, or Bruce Springsteen's take on Wind in the Willows."

Musician Taylor Ho Bynum, a friend of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson's, reflects on the late singer.

David Byrne stops by New York public radio station WNYC to talk with Soundcheck host John Schaefer about creativity, copyright, and why he’s written a song cycle about Imelda Marcos. Byrne's Perspectives series at Carnegie Hall starts this Thursday, February 1.

Read along to the full lyrics of Randy Newman's "A Few Words in Defense of Our Country" while watching Randy performing the song live on video. An abridged version of the lyrics appeared in today's New York Times. A recording of the song is now available exclusively at iTunes.

Wilco is currently wrapping up work on a new studio album entitled Sky Blue Sky, which will be released on Nonesuch May 15. It is the first studio album since the group's 2004 Grammy Award–winning record, A ghost is born, and the first newly written and recorded material to feature the now firmly established band line-up of Jeff Tweedy, John Stirratt, Glenn Kotche, Mike Jorgensen, Nels Cline, and Pat Sansone.

Listen to Caetano Veloso's new album Cê and watch video interviews with Caetano and his band.

The Black Keys will perform live on NBC's Late Night with Conan O'Brien on Thursday, January 11. Tune in around 12:30 AM EST.

Listen to an interview with composer Peter Lieberson on NPR's Weekend Edition. Lieberson discusses Neruda Songs, his collaboration with his late wife, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson.

Scritti Politti's "The Boom Boom Bap," off the album White Bread Black Beer, was chosen as one of the Top 100 Tracks of the Year by Pitchfork. You can now pick up an exclusive, free Scritti Politti MP3, "The Last Time I Looked," at the site now.

Clint Mansell's score to the Darren Aronofsky film The Fountain was nominated for Best Original Score at the 64th Golden Globe Awards, to be announced live on January 15, 2007. The Nonesuch release of the film's soundtrack features performances by Kronos Quartet and Mogwai.

Karin Berg, a friend and colleague for many years, died on October 25 at the age of 70 after a long illness. A memorial service was recently held at St. Marks Church in Manhattan where friends and artists with whom Karin worked gathered to remember her. Here, Nonesuch Executive Vice-President David Bither offers his own remembrance.

The 2006 Grammy Award nominations are in, and four Nonesuch recordings have been given nods: Kenny Garrett's Beyond the Wall, the Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris collaboration All the Roadrunning, Ali Farka Touré's Savane, and the Broadway revival cast recording of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd.