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When he stood up in a South African courtroom during his treason trial in 1964, Nelson Mandela declared that he was "prepared to die" for his cause. As Mandela turns 90, a documentary studies the pivotal moment when he became a worldwide symbol of the struggle for freedom and democracy.

Fela Kuti fathered the musical movement Afrobeat and its crown prince, 25-year-old Seun Kuti. The Nigerian singer is leading his father's band, Egypt 80. On his self-titled debut album, he's added some American influences but kept his songs sharply pointed and political.

Triumph the Comic Insult Dog's bark may be worse than his bite: The canine puppet has been mocking Hollywood celebrities for over a decade now. Robert Smigel, Triumph's creator, talks about the furry late-night fixture and his other comedy projects.

Before it took over Latin dance halls worldwide, bachata arose from Dominican shantytowns as a kind of lower-class party music. Now, a recent CD and a series of concerts are bringing the genre's early acoustic tradition back into the spotlight.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Harps and Angels, Randy Newman's first album in nine years.

His sharp-tongued lyrics have skewered rednecks, kingpins and heartless politicians. Newman has riled a long list of people — and it's likely to grow with the release of his new CD, Harps and Angels. He may be the most misunderstood songwriter ever.

As medal-winners step up to the podium in this year's Summer Olympics, commentator Miles Hoffman says, we're bound to hear quite a few national anthems, some of which come equipped with bad poetry and stilted music.

Despite a constant flood of new music, people still like to insist it was all better in times past. But Marianne Faithfull, who has survived a bunch of musical decades, recognizes that right now is a golden era of its own. Her new record, Easy Come, Easy Go, is all covers, but alongside old standards are what might be some new staples.

The folksy songwriter returns with his second album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, now with a more upbeat, countrified sound. Yet even with the shift, Perkins continues to wrestle with his past.

Eva Ayllon is sometimes called Peru's Tina Turner. On Kimba Fa, the 30-year veteran takes all sorts of liberties with Afro-Peruvian music, adding in piano and sometimes a brass section, as well as jazz harmony and ideas from other Afro Latin styles.