Music

British band Hot Chip has made a career out of exploring the collision point between heart-rending indie rock, cleverly self-aware pop and spastic, dancefloor-ready beats.

Transcript

JACKI LYDEN, HOST:

Recently, a friend handed me an Iranian music CD and said you have to hear this. My friend is an Iranian filmmaker and once, long ago, he took me to an underground jazz concert in Tehran. It was dramatic traveling through back alleys to get to the gig and I did a story on it for NPR then in 1997.

One of the musicians I met that night was a bass player named Marob(ph). Speaking through a translator, he mentioned the freedom music creates, even in an authoritarian society.

Dhani Harrison formed thenewno2 as an arts collective during a very dark period. With the passing of his father, George Harrison, and the September 11 attacks fresh in our collective consciousness, he needed a fresh direction to help bring some clarity to the swirling chaos of emotions. Channeling these complicated feelings, and with the support of some enduring friendships, Dhani has delivered thefearofmissingout, a layered and confident album that brings his individual voice to the fore.

I guess it's not that big of a surprise, but according to last week's poll, 67 percent of you haven't heard Big Star's #1 Record. One of the nice side benefits of doing this series is that it gives people a chance to discover great albums they've never heard before, so if you're part of the 67 percent that hasn't heard Big Star, take some time to listen. You'll love it.