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After a fast rise to near-fame, a multiple sclerosis diagnosis nearly ruined her career — before a helping hand came in the form of some of the country's most-famed bands.

The guitarist has played on records by Tom Waits, Norah Jones and Beck, but at one point, he was sure he wanted to pursue a career in acting.

Facing a fatal diagnosis, Wilko Johnson made what was to be his final album with singer Roger Daltrey of The Who. Then doctors intervened. "Maybe," Daltrey says, "there's a Part 2 to this record."

As the co-leader of Ween, Aaron Freeman celebrated excess. Then, in 2011, he fell apart on stage, left the band and entered rehab. On a new, deeply personal solo album, he explores what went wrong.

Parks has arranged music for artists of just about every genre, from the the Beach Boys and Bonnie Raitt to U2 and Skrillex. But every now and then he makes time to focus on his own material, most of it with a distinctive old-time feel. His latest is called Songs Cycled.

On an album released nearly 50 years ago Harry Taussig demonstrated an accomplished, self-taught style of improvisational guitar. This week in Austin, Texas Taussig will perform in public for the first time.

From The Honeymooners to The Biggest Loser, television has rarely dealt sensitively with issues of weight. As part of an ongoing series on obesity in America, Alex Cohen explores the limited number of roles for overweight actors — from "bumbling husband" to "sassy best friend."

Kira Roessler and Mike Watt first emerged as the bassists of two massively influential punk bands, Black Flag and The Minutemen. But on and off for three decades, they've joined forces as a bass-only duo called Dos.

Volunteers across southern California are helping the U.S. Geological Survey keep track of seismic movement. Through the NetQuakes program, families are installing shoe-box sized sensors in their homes. These monitors measure ground movement and then send measurements to the USGS over the Internet.

Growing up gay in the Midwest, Howard Bragman knew he didn't fit in. But today he's made a name for himself as the go-to publicist for celebrities coming out of the closet — they call him the "gay guru."