Gordon Lightfoot Book, Music and More!

Music is central to Lena Dunham’s acclaimed TV series, about the post-college lives of four young women. So it’s natural that its second soundtrack sounds a lot like the personal playlist of Hannah and her friends. Where the last mixtape featured everything from Robyn’s buoyant “Dancing on My Own” to Icona Pop’s trashy “I Love It,” the latest is a heady mix of indie-pop old and new. Oasis’ 1995 classic “Wonderwall” sits comfortably alongside a recent remix of Cat Power’s “Free,” Beck’s new “Blue Moon” and Vampire Weekend’s update of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m Going Down.” In keeping with Hannah and her galpals’ soul-searching, there’s introspection in Aimee Mann’s “How Am I Different” and mome...

There are more suds this year in TV’s frothiest soap opera with a twang, as rivalries heat up and relationships get even hotter. Beyond the dramatic twists and turns, music remains as strong and clear as a Tennessee church bell. Functioning almost like a record label, the acclaimed series has already generated several real-life hit songs on country radio. The first season’s soundtrack, released in two volumes, sold an impressive 2.6 million digital downloads. Now the stars of the series are back with more of the best new country music around. Connie Britton sings about love’s complications on the driving “Ball and Chain,” while Hayden Panittiere courts danger on the feisty “Trouble Is.” Duet...

The hit TV series has won fans for its great songs as much as the cast. The second soundtrack disc features strong numbers from stars Connie Britton and Hayden Panettiere. But it’s the duets from Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen (“Fade into You”) and Canadian sisters Lennon and Maisy Stella (“Ho Hey”) that really steal the show.

When TV’s Girls debuted last year, its creator insisted that although her series also dealt with New York women, it wasn’t another Gossip Girl or Sex and the City. “Gossip Girl was teens duking it out on the Upper East Side and Sex and the City was women who figured out work and friends and now want to nail family life,” said Lena Dunham, also a star of the series. “There was this whole in between space that hasn’t really been addressed.” Focusing on the lives of four women in their early 20s, Girls became a runaway hit. Its soundtrack is equally refreshing, offering infectious indie-rock from Fleet Foxes, melodic pop from Fun and retro-cool from Canada’s Tegan & Sara, who cover the Roll...

One of the best new shows on television, Nashville is set in the country music capital about musicians struggling to make it or stay afloat in the industry. Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) stars as Rayna James, an aging superstar competing with younger, sexier Juliette Barnes, played by Hayden Panettiere. The actors can really sing and the songs, woven seamlessly into each episode, have an appealing authenticity. Produced by Grammy and Oscar winner T-Bone Burnett, Nashville’s soundtrack offers fans a tasty, twangy souvenir. Some of the best tunes are those by Elvis Costello and the Civil Wars’ John Paul White, whose “No One Will Ever Love You” provides a bittersweet duet for Connie Brit...