World Cafe

In recent years, indie-folk singer-songwriter M. Ward has dabbled in the retro pop sounds of She and Him with Zooey Deschanel and joined forces with Conor Oberst and Jim James in Monsters of Folk.

For World Cafe's 13th episode of Latin Roots, Latin-music expert Ernesto Lechner talks tango. Lechner was born and raised in Buenos Aires, which is widely regarded as the genre's birthplace.

Though John Lydon remains best known as Johnny Rotten, former lead singer of The Sex Pistols, his music career didn't end with the pioneering punk act's split in 1978. Lydon formed Public Image Ltd shortly thereafter and dropped his adopted stage name. Widely considered the first post-punk band, PiL experiments with a wide palette of sounds, including dub, rock and disco.

Together nearly 30 years, the reggae band Third World is one Jamaica's most popular and decorated musical acts, with listeners around the world and 10 Grammy nominations to its name. Partly responsible for mainstreaming reggae music, the group formed in 1973 and built a solid following playing the Kingston reggae scene, making its debut at Jamaica's Independence Day celebration.

David Lynch must know something we don't. There's a name for people like him — not director, not writer, not producer, not even photographer, but auteur. Lynch thoughtfully combines images and music, working with composer Angelo Badalamenti to breed a unique atmosphere in creations such as the TV series Twin Peaks and the film Blue Velvet.