You've got to admire a crew that aspires to be a string-band version of Radiohead. Mandolin shredder Chris Thile and his mates make that notion explicit on their third LP with a dumbfounding cover of "Kid A," the digital bloops and bleeps of the original translated into fiddle abstractions and clipped banjo chatter. Unlike the 40-minute-plus suite that filled out the group's 2008 debut, the songs here want to be songs, and instrumentals are mostly held at bay. Thile has a fine tenor, and if the originals don't reach pop heights, they strike a nice balance between old-school and modern. In "This Girl," a guy asks God to help him get a woman, while "New York City" savors the lonely romance of Gotham. The acoustic framework dazzles – wild virtuosity used for more than just virtuosity.

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• Photos: Random Notes

“(We're Not) The Jet Set”

George Jones and Tammy Wynette were still married when they recorded the tongue-in-cheek "(We're Not) The Jet Set." The lyrics, written by Nashville songwriter Bobby Braddock, who also penned Wynette's "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" and Jones' "He Stopped Loving Her Today," make fun of the good life by declaring, "We're not the Jet Set/We're the old Chevrolet set." Braddock recalled that while writing the song, he needed the name of a city that evened out the rhyme he had with "Riviera" and "Missourah." “I got out a Rand McNally atlas," he said. "In the first part are the maps. The last part is an alphabetical listing of cities. I wanted a rustic, small-time sound. I went to the listing for Missouri. And I found 'Festus.' I loved the sound of it."