World Cafe

Becoming a rock star has major implications — just ask John Mayer. The singer-songwriter's personal history and relationships are all public knowledge, thanks to the enormous media attention that the 34-year-old attracts. The attention in turn attracts trouble, but Mayer, who has just released his fifth solo studio album, tries to take it all in stride.

Known for exploring the complexity of human hurt in ways that are both personal and universal, Janiva Magness is a widely praised blues and soul singer. Magness writes from a serious place, and fittingly, her music isn't to be taken lightly: She often weaves a difficult personal history into her songs, but, as her new album's title suggests, Magness pushes through tough times on Stronger for It.

Almost every record you know that was a 1960s radio hit had a secret weapon — a crew of L.A. backing musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." This group, which included the likes of Glen Campbell, Hal Blaine and Carol Kaye, helped artists ranging from the Partridge Family to the Beach Boys make great-sounding albums.

Joachim Cooder is no stranger to collaborations, nor is he new to scoring soundtracks, yet Cooder's newest project combines his past experiences in an unexpected way. Son of legendary guitarist Ry Cooder, he took to the drums early on, and eventually played in the famous documentary Buena Vista Social Club. He's also worked behind the scenes, writing for the soundtracks of films such as Lars and the Real Girl.

Hailing from Okemah, Okla., with a serious talent for writing Americana music, John Fullbright is often compared to Woody Guthrie. But Fullbright isn't riding on the coattails of the great folk artists who came before him; in fact, he describes himself as a songwriter, not just a musician, because he's determined to play his own music. By the time Fullbright graduated high school, he was playing festivals, and he's now appeared at SXSW three years in a row.

Many fans of American rock love Neal Casal's guitar work, whether they know his solo music or not. Primarily a solo artist and guitarist for Ryan Adams' backing band The Cardinals, Casal built his career on country-rock sensibilities and tireless output. His first solo album came out in 1995, and since then, he's kept up his solo work while playing with The Cardinals, Chris Robinson of Black Crowes and countless others. In spite of his constant involvement in various projects, he's also put out 10 solo albums, the latest of which is titled Sweeten the Distance.

Rodrigo y Gabriela plays everything from heavy metal to jazz to acoustic folk. The duo started out in a thrash-metal band in Mexico City, but moved to Dublin in 1999. From Ireland, its inventive instrumental music spread to the U.K., then to Europe and the U.S. before finally finding its way back to Mexico. Rodrigo y Gabriela's big break came in 2006, when the pair's self-titled debut topped the Irish charts. In 2008, 11:11 became a mainstream success in the U.S., boosted by prominent placement on MTV and ESPN's Monday Night Football. In spite of a busy touring schedule, the duo was able travel to Cuba and spend time in the studio to craft its ambitious new album, Area 52.

Zeus' music sounds as if it's being beamed straight out of the '70s, but a shared interest in making music that recalls The Band isn't what brought the Canadian group together. Most of Zeus' members were brought into Jason Collett's backing band, and from there decided to play together outside of their work with Collett. Members Rob Drake, Carlin Nicholson, Mike O'Brien and Neil Quin released their EP Sounds Like Zeus in 2009, and followed it with 2010's Say Us.

We've heard from Alt. Latino co-host Felix Contreras in the past, but here we'll hear from the show's other half, Jasmine Garsd. Garsd was raised in Buenos Aires and connected with the Argentine rock scene in her teens. She moved to the U.S. after high school, an experience which exposed her to American music; she now co-hosts Alt.Latino, a weekly show on NPR Music which explores music from all over the Western hemisphere.

Since beginning his "open-source" musical project in the 1990s, Lorin Ashton and his Bassnectar alias have become nearly superhuman. Bassnectar is associated with a community of devoted Bass Heads, several non-profit and charity organizations and shows of such epic proportions, they're called Bass Centers. Ashton describes his music as "the motion of [his] cells bouncing back at the world," and tens of thousands of people connect with it as a deeply human pursuit, as well. Last year, he sold out a New Year's Eve show attended by 10,000 fans.

Loudon Wainwright III has the makings of a great legacy many times over. His children — including Rufus and Martha — are successful musicians in their own right, and Wainwright's body of work has obviously influenced them.

Beck has been an influential creative force for two decades, popular for his sharp, intelligent and often humorous lyrics. Slickly genre-hopping from punk to folk, alternative and electro, he's put out albums both acoustic and electric, but always innovative. Today's installment of World Cafe revisits three of his interviews from the past decade or so.

When The Ting Tings exploded onto the pop scene in 2007, their grunge-chic style and sound were destined for success. Now, five years after the debut of their hit single "That's Not My Name/Great DJ" and four years after their first full length, We Started Nothing, The Ting Tings are back. Grungier than ever, the duo's new album, Sounds from Nowheresville, is accompanied by dark, violent music videos and a tour that involves front woman Katie White haphazardly throwing every piece of musical equipment that she can find. If this is your idea of fun, Sounds from Nowheresville may be the soundtrack to your summer.

Despite the slow, twisting, synth-looping style of Polica, the group's album came together in only a few recording sessions. Recovering from the breakup of her folk rock band Roma di Luna and the breakup of her marriage to one of her bandmates, Channy Leaneagh turned to friend and collaborator Ryan Olson, founder of Gayngs. The two worked together on Gayngs' album Relayted in 2010 and they were interested in working together again. Leaneagh had written a collection of songs during her breakups and Olson had R&B-esque electronic tracks that he wanted to use.