Everybody loves the Punch Brothers featuring Nickel Creek mandolin player, Chris Thiele. The performance here comes from NPR Music's extensive coverage of the 2010 Newport Folk Festival (other concerts from this series are mentioned on the Music Station Picks for August.)

On display here: musical grooves galore, impeccable musical cohesiveness and a truly genuine sense of fun that makes it easy to love the Punch Brothers the first time.

For news/music stations, AAA stations, eclectic formats and all stations whose listeners love music that transcends musical categories.

Highly recommended.

This is the 78 party where you want to receive an invitation.

From Fonotobia, the weekly program and series from WYPR, Ian Nagoski takes us meaningfully deep into his collection of 78s. This show offers exotic and unusual vocal stylings from India, Switzerland, East Texas and "South" New Jersey.

Scratchy sounds are not the point, and not a distraction here -- this is a deeply rich hour of music and compelling storytelling, presented by a music collector who has not gathered any collector-nerd moss along the way.

That being said, one person's rich and exotic music is another person's un-listenable music. Some of it I found difficult to hear, but the overall content and presentation are well done and definitely worth an audition.

Solid hosting, story telling and historical context supports the music.

For all the things this program is, and thankfully is not, Fonotopia has enormous potential to fit within your weekly or monthly documentary slot.

Other programs from the Fonotopia Series, including Music of the Ottoman Empire and early Southern Gospel Music, can be found here.

While the debate as to who's the best James Bond of all time rages on (well actually there is no debate...), most agree about the uniform greatness of the Bond music, from the signature blasts of high brass and low guitar gyrations to the classic Shirley Bassey "Goldfinger" and Paul McCartney's "Live and Let Die."

Host Edmund Stone plays the range of Bond movie music, including the lesser known, even touching cues representing the softer sides of 007. There were certain expectations for the Bond music template, and those notes of relevance are included as well.

James Bond movies are what they are, but the music is near universal, so I'm confident this show can fit within a variety of formats.

Janean Jorgenson and her musical theater program series, "Matinee," are back with several new programs including Scoundrels & Villains.

Broadway has saved some of its best music and character studies for its bad guys and its not-so-nice women. Listeners will hear a mixture of evil eye treatment from Broadway's main street, including "Camelot," "the Fantasticks," "Guys and Dolls," "Annie," "Oklahoma" and "Anything Goes." Recently-made standards, "Chicago" and "The Producers," and a few lesser known shows are also included.

Many of the songs were new to me; they don't seem to have entered the main stream in terms of familiarity. (One of the prices you pay for being bad on Broadway.) Still, the tunes are enjoyable and often a kick.

Also new from the in the Matinee series, Married ("songs of the joyful side of married life"), and I Love to Cry at Weddings ("ceremonies on stage may give some inspiration to current couples").