The new Portishead album, THIRD, has been worth the nine years' wait.

Obama: the Motown President

Commentaries on music from NPR's Here and Now and elsewhere...

Author Tim Riley has written books on the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Madonna, and his most recent title is FEVER: HOW ROCK'N'ROLL TRANSFORMED GENDER IN AMERICA (Picador 2005). He is at work on a major new biography of John Lennon for W.W. Norton slated for 2009. His music commentary is featured regularly on NPR's HERE AND NOW, the nationally-syndicated show produced weekdays out of WBUR-FM in Boston.