Jill Fusilli describes better than most the wide musical world of Americana in his Wall Street Journal review of this year’s Awards show.

Emmylou Harris, Justin Townes Earle, Jim Lauderdale, John Fogerty and Buddy Miller

Big winners: Buddy Miller and Justin Townes Earle

This collection of some of the most culturally relevant and evocative photos I’ve ever seen has been haunting me since the VSL featured it last week. The astonishing shots are the work of Associated Press photographer Emilio Morenatti, who began covering Afghanistan in 2003 and is currently based in Pakistan. Here’s a sample:

Much this week has been written and reported about Wednesday’s massive release of remastered versions of all of the Beatles’ 13 albums, but none of it, perhaps, is more fun to read than Chuck Klosterman’s piece for the Onion A.V. Club.

Also, here’s a cool Bob Boilen post that outlines the differences between the mono- and stereo versions.

And here’s some fun Beatles’ algebra for you:
“One After 909″ + “Revolution #9″ – “Yesterday” = 9-9-09

If you think the art of creating great album covers is dead, think again. Above is the amazing creation that Dan Perkins (a.k.a. Tom Tomorrow) made for Pearl Jam’s Backspacer. The story of how they became aligned highlights parallels in two industries that are rapidly evolving: newspapers and music.

David Cerny is an artist who pokes his finger into the ribs of the Czech and European establishment. Here’s an interesting profile from today’s New York Times about his punk craft and  lively sense of humor.