Arcade Fire Audio

Some of the greatest jazz groups have lousy names. No wonder all the “quartets” and “quintets” seem alike. Today, we examine how to fix jazz’s image problem with Will Layman , a jazz critic who writes for Pop Matters, NPR and other publications; and Anne Mette Iversen , a composer and bassist who leads the Anne Mette Iversen Quartet.

Studio 360 considers the strange force of cuteness, and our biological urge to say, “awww!” or sometimes “ugggh” when we encounter the cute. And in Japan, anxieties about the atomic bomb may be masked in cuteness. Plus, a live set of smart indie pop from the band “Stars.”

For years, Broadway producers have been chasing a younger, more diverse audience than the relatively homogeneous crowd that usually fills the orchestra seats. Two new shows take a stab at it: "In the Heights" uses hip-hop and salsa to animate its family-friendly tale about the residents of a Latino neighborhood; "Passing Strange" is the tale of a Los Angeles-based alt-rocker named Stew. Joining us are Jeremy McCarter , theater critic of New York magazine; and Richard Zoglin , senior editor and theater critic of Time magazine.

Ann Powers , chief pop critic with the LA Times, and Colin Fisher , who researchs improvisation and creativity at Harvard University, discuss the role of muses in rock history why muses are so indispensable to artists.

Pitchfork Media founding editor Ryan Schreiber weighs in the best rock albums of 2007. Ryan Schreiber's top 10 albums of 2007: 1. Panda Bear, Person Pitch 2. LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver 3. Deerhunter, Cryptograms 4. The Field, From Here We Go Sublime 5. Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? 6. Animal Collective, Strawberry Jam 7. Dan Deacon, Spiderman of the Rings 8. Dirty Projectors, Rise Above 9. Grizzly Bear, Friend EP 10. Jens Lekman, Night Falls Over Kortedala

Jay-Z rode the coattails of an "American Gangster." Sanjaya overstayed his welcome on "American Idol." And the industry's high anxiety over the future of music got, well, higher. Soundcheck kicks off "Critics Week" with a recap of pop music in 2007. We talk with Ann Powers , chief pop music critic at the Los Angeles Times. Ann Powers' top albums of 2007 list (listed in no particular order) Sharon Jones, 100 Days 100 Nights LCD Soundsystem, Sound of Silver The Bird and the Bee, The Bird and the Bee Radiohead, In Rainbows MIA, Kala PJ Harvey, White Chalk Robin Thicke, The Evolution of Robin Thicke Of Montreal, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer? Lil Wayne [various mixtapes and appearances] Patty Griffin, Children Running Through

The College Music Journal, commonly known as CMJ, is putting on its annual marathon of music and film events starting tomorrow. Time Out New York music editor Mike Wolf gives us the cream of this year's crop of live performances.

Geeks and Greeks. Jazz legend Herbie Hancock tells us how starting out as a science geek led him to his radical musical experimentation. Playwright Charles Mee says the ancient Greeks built their plays like Rolls Royces. Mee explains why he still wanted to update a 2400-year-old classic by Euripides. And we’ll hear smart indie-pop from the Montreal band Stars, off their new record In Our Bedroom After the War .

The pop and classical music worlds roll out their biggest guns every fall. This year is no exception. We get a look at what's on tap from New York Daily News chief pop music critic Jim Farber and Billboard classical music critic Anastasia Tsioulcas .

Arcade Fire is arguably the hottest indie band around at the moment, having arrived on the scene just two years ago. Today, bassist Tim Kingsbury and drummer Jeremy Gara talk about being holed up in a 19th-century church near Montreal to live, work, and eventually produce their latest album, "Neon Bible."