Music

• Simon Rattle announced yesterday to the Berlin Philharmonic that he will be leaving his position there as artistic director and chief conductor in the summer of 2018. Said Rattle, "In 2018 I will have been with the orchestra for 16 years. Before this I was chief conductor in Birmingham for 18 years. In 2018 I will be nearly 64 years old. As a Liverpool boy, it is impossible not to think of the Beatles' question, 'Will you still need me ...

With their debut album, Gorilla Manor, Local Natives' members skillfully combined triumphant harmonies with bone-shaking percussion in irresistible fashion. Now on their second release, Hummingbird (out Jan. 29), which was produced with the help of The National's Aaron Dessner in Brooklyn, they've returned with a pared-back approach, placing more emphasis on those sweeping dramatic moments.

On the next Galactic Travels, the month-long focus on Mystified continues.  The Featured CD at Midnight will be Coming Days on Attenuation Circuit Records.

In the Latin music scene, there's always an innate pairing of the musical styles bomba and plena as one genre, but the two Afro-Puerto Rican genres are quite distinct. In this, the 27th segment of Latin Roots, Aaron Levinson discusses the birth of bomba and plena, as well as the different musical and rhythmic paths the genres have taken.

More than 30 years have passed since the British band Graham Parker and the Rumour called it quits. While Parker never left music, he's always dismissed talk of a reunion with The Rumour — until now. The group is back with a new album, tour and high-profile film appearance.

Parker and The Rumour recorded and released their latest record, Three Chords Good, last year, and just wrapped up a handful of shows across Europe and the U.S. In addition to the album, the band also appeared as itself in Judd Apatow's latest movie, This Is 40.

The music of Mystical Weapons, a duo formed by Sean Lennon and Deerhoof drummer Greg Saunier, is entirely improvised — made up on the fly without any agenda or deeper meaning in mind. But in the hands of video director and animator Martha Colburn, the group's latest single, "Colony Collapse Disorder," takes on apocalyptic themes with swirling religious symbolism.