Introspective and fragile, the British album-cover designer Barney Bubbles shunned publicity during his life. Now his work is being celebrated in "Reasons to be Cheerful," a book by Paul Gorman.

All About Jazz: I'd like to get started with how you got into music, as well as your upbringing. Alfred Harth: It was a long time ago! My family's background is that of a quite well-supported middle class.

The organization that awards Grammys each year has opened a new museum that celebrates a wide range of musical genres - thanks in part to a man from Poughkeepsie and woman who lives in Ulster County.

T he front door shuts with a thud, and Hiba Siddiqui hears her father's footsteps, heavy from a day at work, plodding across the foyer.

Here's my take on the year 2008: it rocked. It rocked for me because it was the year I started writing this column, Within Earshot, where I get to review a new local music release every week.

FANS of ska, punk and mod music will be all a-quiver when Bowfinger bolt into Hitchin tomorrow night. Formed in 2005, the band are Iain Houston (vocals, lead guitar), Ed Coleman (vocals, rhythm guitar), Oli Carter (bass) and Barry Cooper (drums).

A five-year-old novel about punk rock Muslims in Buffalo, New York, has inspired many who reconcile religious observance with being an "angry American youth."

Special Intern Assignment! 1. I am welcome to Nardwuar's castle… which seems to be a tree stump on the edge of a forest that his band plays beside. 2. Repeating the line "welcome to my castle" for two minutes qualifies as both "music" and "song."

A five-year-old novel about punk rock Muslims in Buffalo has inspired many who reconcile religious observance with being an angry American youth.

The Noisettes talk about their upcoming album, Wild Young Hearts, and their favorite artists of 2008.