Randy Newman was recently asked by Blender magazine to comment on the two Presidential candidates' lists of their top 10 favorite songs. Specifically, he was asked which candidate would get his vote "based solely on this list," to which Randy responded, in a statement that was edited down for the article, that, while he likes Senator McCain's musical choices, "you can't tell anything about a person from the music they like."

Congratulations to Randy Newman, whose new release, Harps and Angels, debuted at #30 on Billboard's Top 200, a career high. Randy is SPIN magazine's Artist of the Day for the "brilliantly written pop standards" on Harps and Angels, a "musically, as well as lyrically, intricate and intriguing" album from "one of the most respected songwriters this century." The Cleveland Free Times concludes that "Harps and Angels is both a great Randy Newman album—which is an impressive feat on its own—and a brilliant and important album in the wider context of popular music."

Works by Laurie Anderson and Steve Reich will share space at New York's Museum of Modern Art with the perhaps not surprising company of John Cage, Andy Warhol, and Sonic Youth and some slightly less likely pairings with the likes of Jimi Hendrix, Devo, and The Cars. It's all a part of MoMA's multimedia exhibition Looking at Music, which begins today and runs through January 5, 2009, and explores the connections between art and music during the 1960s and '70s.

The fifth and final season of HBO's The Wire is out on DVD today. The New York City's Museum of the Moving Image recently held a panel with the show's creator, David Simon, and several cast members, which you can now hear online. MOMI's Chief Curator David Schwartz, begins the proceedings by saying, "It's hard to figure out how to introduce this program with the proper amount of hyperbole, because the argument among critics seems to be whether this is one of the greatest shows in television history or the greatest show." The New York Post calls it "unmissable TV"; The Scotsman says it's "magnificent" and "seriously addictive."

After performing at the Virgin Mobile Fest in Baltimore this weekend, Wilco gears up for its performance at Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts tomorrow night. The Daily Gazette out of Schnectady, New York, more than an hour away, says "Wilco is worth the trip." Next to a sold-out show at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool. With all the travel, Wilco is also making an effort to reduce its environmental impact with a new ride-sharing initiative. Also, label mate David Byrne has his own ideas for reducing congestion, promoting bike use.

Congratulations to John Adams, who has been named a winner of the 2008 Opera News Award. The New York Philharmonic's music director designate, Alan Gilbert, will present the composer with the award in a ceremony on November 16 in New York City; Gilbert will lead the Metropolitan Opera's production of Adams's Doctor Atomic in October. This year's other award recipients are sopranos Natalie Dessay and Renée Fleming, mezzo-soprano Marilyn Horne, and baritone Sherrill Milnes.

Congratulations to Audra McDonald, who as been nominated for an Emmy Award for her performance in the ABC-TV version of A Raisin in the Sun. Audra received a Tony Award (her fourth) for the 2004 Broadway stage revival of the seminal 1959 play by Lorraine Hansberry.

Congratulations to Punch Brothers: the band's take on "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" has been selected as one of three finalists in ESPN's Battle of the Bands, part of Baseball's Tonight's celebration of the 100th anniversary of that classic baseball tune. Chris Thile be stopping by the show Tuesday afternoon at 12:30 PM ET to answer fans' questions about the tune, the contest, the band, and anything else that might cross fans' minds. You can submit your own question now ...

k.d. lang received an honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from the University of Alberta in her native Canadian home province. In her acceptance speech during the university's commencement ceremonies in Edmonton, k.d. exhorted the university's graduates to dedicate their lives to helping others.

"Mr. DJ, can you play another song?" With those five words, David Byrne accepted his Lifetime Achievement Award from label mate and friend Laurie Anderson at the 12th annual Webby Awards ceremony Tuesday night in New York City. The Webbys, honoring the best of the internet, limit speeches for all recipients to just five words, making for some fittingly creative efforts on the part of award winners.

Congratulations to Punch Brothers' Chris Thile has been nominated for a 2008 Americana Award by the Americana Music Association. Chris joins an esteemed group of nominees in the Instrumentalist of the Year category, which also includes Sam Bush, Gurf Morlix, and Buddy Miller, who appears on Emmylou Harris's new album, All I Intended to Be.

In celebration of this week's release of Emmylou Harris's new album, All I Intended to Be, Epiphone guitars and Nonesuch Records are teaming up to offer fans the chance to win a new Epiphone EJ-200 acoustic guitar and a copy of the new CD.