I had a conversation with a friend the other day who told me that the biggest thing he looks for in a great song is whether it has a strong bridge. I thought that was a pretty interesting observation, mostly because I don't really focus on the bridge when listening to a song. The intro, verses, and chorus are the obvious meat and potatoes, and are the most likely to get stuck in my head.

In music, a bridge is used to connect two parts of the song. Sometimes it's used to pause and reflect on what's already been said, sometimes it's meant to prepare for the climax, and some times it's just a nice variation from the typical verse-chorus tradeoff. Some songs have two or three bridges while others don't have any at all. Here's a well known example from The Who's "Baba O'Reily."

The conversation with my friend got me thinking, and I decided to take another look at some of my favorite songs. What I realized is that a lot of them have some powerful bridges that send shivers up my spine every time I listen. Take for example "Reckoner" off Radiohead's In Rainbows.

The whole song is beautiful, but probably the most gorgeous part of that entire album is when the drums cut out and Thom Yorke's stark falsetto is backed only by a clean guitar, softly swelling strings, and eerie vocal harmonies as he sings "because we separate like ripples on a blank shore." I get chills thinking about it.

It can also be a deceptively dormant break, leaving you anxiously waiting for the inevitable climactic boom waiting at the end. It's the tension that makes the release that much more satisfying, like in Beck's "Novacane."

What are some of your favorite songs with a bridge that really stands out?

Here are a few more of my favorite examples:

The Violent Femmes- Kiss Off

Death Cab for Cutie- We Looked Like Giants

The AP ran a story yesterday about Michael Jackson's album sales "exploding" since his death. The numbers are impressive -- but they may be even more impressive than traditional reporting and charting outlets like SoundScan and Billboard can quantify.

Though Number Ones, Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller outsold The Black Eyed Peas' latest release last week, none of them will crack the Billboard top 200 album chart (older albums are relegated to a 'catalog' chart). And the record-breaking 2.3 million downloads of Michael Jackson's tracks (3.3 million if you count Jackson 5 tracks) dwarf the 415,000 albums SoundScan reports he sold last week, 58% of which were digital downloads. 174,300 physical copies is still a really big number for a marketplace unprepared for a run on a particular artist or album, so it's a safe bet that many people actually bought the CD version on backorder (as of this writing, Amazon lists Thriller, Off the Wall and Bad as available "within 1 to 3 weeks").

Is this the moment digital stores like iTunes and Amazon MP3 prove themselves a real alternative? It seems clear that people went to online stores first and en masse. Brick and mortar stores (and even online versions of brick and mortar stores) obviously didn't have enough of the records in stock, and people didn't want to wait a week to hear MJ's songs.

Did you buy Jackson's music last weekend? Did you download or opt for the CD?

I can't seem to stop watching this. It's for the song "Stillness Is The Move" from the Dirty Projectors album Bitte Orca. It's hard to beat llamas and synchronized dancing.

Every Wednesday this summer, we're offering a quick course in early rock 'n' roll. Your professor will be Tom Moon, NPR contributor and author of the book 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. These overviews, mostly from the 1950s, are not intended to be comprehensive, but to help curious listeners dive in and explore some of the genre's often-overlooked building blocks. Whether you're a novice or a rock snob, join the conversation below...

THIS WEEK: The Proto-Rock Blues Titans of Chess Records

Of the semi-sacred locations where rock and roll first erupted, two stand out: Producer Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service, where Elvis Presley's voice was first captured on tape; and the Chicago-based Chess Records, home of Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and a superheated brand of urban blues that amounts to the rhythmic "source code" for rock and roll.

LINK

Chess quickly became a magnet for talent. On Muddy Waters' advice, guitarist, singer and songwriter Chuck Berry visited the label in 1955; he was promptly signed, and his rockabilly-influenced original "Maybellene," powered by an insanely infectious rhythm guitar riff, became a hit the same year.

LINK

The musicians of Chess were experts at updating and recasting the blues - one of the most infectious examples is guitarist Bo Diddley's two-bar chank-chank-chank, a-chank chank rhythm, which serves as the foundation for Bruce Springsteen's "She's the One" and countless other classics. It's still the blues, amped up a notch.

LINK

ESSENTIAL LISTENING
Howlin' Wolf: "Moanin' In the Moonlight."
Muddy Waters: "Hoochie Coochie Man."
Chuck Berry: "Maybellene."
Bo Diddley: "Hey Bo Diddley."

EXTRA CREDIT
Willie Dixon: "Walking The Blues"
Little Walter: "Mean Old World"

DISCUSSION
Besides 12-bar blues form, what other musical elements connect the Chess artists with the early rock revolution? Is it possible to trace a line from Chuck Berry to Bill Haley to the Rolling Stones? Do you hear similarities in terms of electric guitar tone, for example?

Chuck Berry was versed in the blues (many of his early B sides are magnificent slow blues tunes) but wrote a handful of the great early rock classics, including "Johnny B. Goode." Think he was listening to the work of artists associated with rock?

Much has been written concerning Led Zeppelin's reappropriation of Willie Dixon's "You Need Love" as "Whole Lotta Love." Is this creative derivation, or outright stealing?

I just learned about the death of an old friend. I began to loose touch with Don Bernstine when my music tastes went more toward Talking Heads and his went more toward Def Leppard.

I've spent the past few hours catching up on Don's life and he did pretty well for himself. Turns out he's the guy who bought so much of that great rock memorabilia for the Hard Rock Cafe.

This picture slays me on so many levels. Don and I worked in a record store together in 1973 when the first Queen record came out. We got one copy in the store, looked at the cover and both thought: "Who are these guys? This looks great!"
We blasted that record over and over. It was our common ground, I loved Queen for the band's unique, arty sound, and he loved them because they rocked. We even went to see Queen on the group's first U.S. tour.

Seeing Don sitting next to Queen's guitarist Brian May is like seeing an old friend who's just found his dream. It makes me happy and makes me cry at the same time.
Goodbye Don Bernstine, I'll miss you.

Download "Sant Feliu De Guixols (right-click or control-click and save to your computer)

Jeremy Enigk has been making smart, inspired pop for more than 15 years, first emerging as the frontman for the Seattle-based band Sunny Day Real Estate. Though the group never formally broke up, it's at least been dormant, while Enigk has resurfaced again with his third solo album, the whimsically titled OK Bear.

Enigk has an incredible voice, one filled with sorrow and beauty. A lot of the tracks on OK Bear soar majestically, if only for the passion in his vocals. Enigk recorded the album in Barcelona with a group of musicians introduced by a mutual friend. He says the band managed to turn most of the songs on OK Bear into heavier rock numbers, even if they were intended to be more restrained. Percussionist Victor Garcia, in particular, does a fantastic job of driving and pushing the mix on drums, with some tastefully unpredictable rhythms.

All that said, this is one of the album's more wistful moments. It's the closing track, called "Sant Feliu de Guixols."

Subscribe to the Second Stage podcast to automatically download each song to your computer.

Submit your music for possible inclusion in Second Stage or All Songs Considered.

Listen to Live Audio from the Apollo Theater

The Apollo Theater in Harlem has opened its doors today to the fans that have been gathering outside it since Thursday night. The theater, where Michael Jackson won Amateur Night in 1967 with the Jackson 5, has become an unofficial memorial to him. Today's tribute, which runs until 9 p.m. ET will include eulogies delivered by the Rev. Al Sharpton and others, as well as music videos and DJ sets.

Fans at the Apollo on June 26, 2009. (Photo credti: Amy Sussman / Getty Images)

This Saturday, July 4, 2009, the song "Give Peace A Chance" turns 40 years old.

John Lennon and Yoko Ono recorded this anthemic song with just four microphones and a four-track reel-to-reel tape recorder. It was released first in Europe, as a single, followed by a US release a few days later.

The phrase "give peace a chance" had come spontaneously to Lennon while answering a reporters question at a "bed-in," Lennon and Ono's way to protest war and promote peace by staying in bed all day. They held two, week-long bed-in sessions, one in Amsterdam and one in Montreal.

It was at a Montreal bed-in that the song was recorded. Those in attendance included Timothy Leary, Dick Gregory, Petula Clark, Derek Taylor, Murray the K and Allen Ginsberg. John Lennon played acoustic guitar and so did Tommy Smothers of the Smothers Brothers. Some of those names became part of the lyrics.

Though it may feel trite or be thought of as simply naive, there was always a joy in the early days of the song, to sing the song's refrain out on the streets with hundreds of thousands of other voices, with hopes of ending war and hate.

Here are the words:

Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Bagism, Shagism, Dragism, Madism, Ragism, Tagism
This-ism, that-ism, ism ism ism
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
(C'mon)
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Minister, Sinister, Banisters and Canisters,
Bishops, Fishops, Rabbis, and Pop Eyes, Bye bye, Bye byes
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
(Let me tell you now)
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
Revolution, Evolution, Masturbation, Flagellation, Regulation,
Integrations, mediations, United Nations, congratulations
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
Ev'rybody's talkin' 'bout
John and Yoko, Timmy Leary, Rosemary,
Tommy Smothers, Bobby Dylan, Tommy Cooper,
Derek Taylor, Norman Mailer, Alan Ginsberg, Hare Krishna
Hare Hare Krishna
All we are saying is give peace a chance
All we are saying is give peace a chance
(Repeat 'til the tape runs out)

Do you have any memories of the song and what it means to you?

According to Gawker.com Vibe Magazine is folding.

Vibe was started in 1993 by Quincy Jones with a focus on R&B and hip-hop.

Is it sad or does it even matter?

Earlier this year, the British tabloid The Daily Mirror reported that Michael Jackson had drawn up a will, giving the publishing rights to some 250 Beatles songs back to Sir Paul McCartney. Though a number of other sites were quick to report the news, The Mirror cited unnamed sources, and the reports have never been verified. Now, with Jackson's passing, the question is very much up in the air.

For those who don't remember or never knew, Jackson and McCartney recorded a couple of hits together back in the '80s, "Say, Say, Say" and "The Girl Is Mine."

More after the jump.

It's hard to separate fact from fiction in this 25 year-old story. But according to the Associated Press, McCartney issued a statement today saying "I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones."

We're all still reeling from Michael Jackson's sudden passing. You can keep up with all the latest updates and remembrances by clicking here. In the meantime, spend your coffee break watching some classic MJ videos.

"Thriller" (1983)

More classic videos, after the jump.

The Jackson 5, "Never Can Say Goodbye"

The Jackson 5, "I Want You Back"

"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (1979)

"Rock With You" (1979)

"Billie Jean" (1980)

"Beat It" (1983)

"Bad" (1987)

"Smooth Criminal" (1988)

"Black or White" (1991)

"Scream" (1995)

Michael Jackson has died of an apparent heart attack. He was 50.

I came of age in the 1980s, back when Jackson was the single biggest pop star on the planet. I, admittedly, was never a huge fan at the time. I spent most of my high-school years listening to rock bands from the '60s and early '70s and didn't have the radio on much. But I watched television and was there, along with millions of others, glued to the set when Jackson introduced his moonwalk while performing "Billie Jean" on the Motown 25th-anniversary special.

It still gives me goosebumps. Just look at him. Look at those moves! And "Billie Jean" has one of the sweetest bass lines and grooves around. He blew our minds, time and time again, deftly mixing funk, disco, soul, rock, pop and R&B like no other artist at the time, while seemingly defying the laws of physics with his dance moves.

Read more, after the jump.

We all know how bizarre and tragic his life became over the years. For some, he became a joke. For others, a disgrace. It was a sad denouement to a remarkable life, and he'll be dearly missed.

NPR's Neda Ulaby put together this wonderful remembrance of Michael Jackson.

Please share your own memories.

Download "Kids And The Van"

I always feel like an idiot when I discover and fall in love with a band that other people apparently have been talking about for months, especially if that band made a point of actually sending me its CD. The latest is a 5-piece group from Nashville, Tenn. called The Champion And His Burning Flame. The group's beautiful debut EP, The French, came out last Fall and has been drawing high praise, but only recently made its way to my desk.

The French features a little more than 20 minutes of reflective, acoustic pop ballads and gentle jams. The songs take a lot of cues from the work of Elliott Smith, with wispy vocals, sweet harmonies, and the kind of production that makes the mix seem to radiate with a cozy, warm glow.

Members of The Champion And His Burning Flame are seekers. They say they like to write about redemption and forgiveness and the beauty they see in these uniquely human experiences, and that they're searching for "importance in art." From what I've heard on The French, it sounds like they've already found it. This song is called "Kids And The Van."

Read more about The Champion And His Burning Flame on the band's Web site.

Subscribe to the Second Stage podcast to automatically download each song to your computer.

Submit your music for possible inclusion in Second Stage or All Songs Considered.

Sky Saxon, the lead singer of the '60s psychedelic garage band The Seeds, died today. His wife Sabrina Sherry Smith Saxon broke the news on her Facebook page.

"Sky has passed over and YaHoWha is waiting for him at the gate. He will soon be home with his Father. I'm so sorry I couldn't keep him here with us. More later. I'm sorry."

YaHoWha was the founder of a commune where Saxon lived, and where he wrote much of his music. It was a key part of life.

Saxon was an original -- a singer whose voice sounded like no other on the radio in 1966. Take a listen to this lip-synced performance and think of some of the singers who were inspired by Sky Saxon:

Share your own Sky Saxon memories.

What a world.