Music lovers who were surprised to hear a new Peter Gabriel song during the credits to the film WALL-E likely wondered what the songwriter has been up to in the long gap between albums. Part of the answer has arrived in stores: Big Blue Ball was created at Gabriel’s Real World Studios over a number of years; Gabriel and the Waterboys’ Karl Wallinger recruited musicians from around the world for free-form creative parties. As Gabriel says, “There’d be a studio set up on the lawn, in the garage, in someone’s bedroom . . .” Almost 20 years later, those disparate efforts have produced an album. Ball arrives at a moment of rejuvenation for Gabriel’s Real World Records, which was once a leading purveyor of global music. Currently reissuing some of the records, the label is also promoting new projects such as one from LA’s Dengue Fever. More are promised for the fall. Of course, the international selection of record stores is far more diverse today than it was when Real World launched. From high-profile artists on well-established labels to megastar boosters, eccentric anthologies, ethnographic excursions and debuts of new talent, it’s a great time to hear music from beyond America’s borders. (Even fans of hip-hop aren’t left out.) Among my favorite labels at the moment is England’s Soundway, with collections of Nigerian rock and single-artist hits.

How hot are the Jonas Brothers? Ask any pre-teen girl and prepare for loud squeals and lots of giggles. The trio of brothers from New Jersey is on fire this summer: The premiere of Camp Rock was cable television’s most-watched entertainment program of the season with 8.9 million viewers. Next up: A CD called A Little Bit Longer, debuting Aug. 12. (Pre-order here ) To keep up with demand, stores are churning out Camp Rock/Jonas Brothers gear. At Limited Too you can pick up a Jonas Brothers tote bag emblazoned with Kevin, Joe and Nick’s faces ($25) or a concert T ($25). Target is carrying some snazzy Camp Rock watches that are perfect for a back -to-school surprise ($15). The guitar pick pendant necklace is a not so in-your-face way to show show your brotherly love ($5). Disney has a lot of clothing items: The Camp Rock ribbed tank top ($15) features multiple images of Shane (Joe Jonas), while the short-sleeved hoodie ($25) includes silhouette imagery from the show and an all-over Shane print lining the hood. Who doesn’t want to gaze into the dreamy eyes of the Jonas Brothers day and night? Your kid can with this Camp Rock poster ($9). (Admit it, you were just as crazy about Bon Jovi!)

As early as 2001, Rolling Stone’s famed critic David Fricke was asking of songwriter Alejandro Escovedo, “What does it take to make this man a star?” Evidently, the answer was Bruce Springsteen. On the weight of Escovedo’s rocking new record Real Animal, the Boss pulled him onstage at an April concert to sing Escovedo’s anthemic “Always A Friend”; before long, Dave Matthews booked him to open six tour dates, and Escovedo’s band was plugging the record on the late-night talk shows. Any time’s a good time for success, and the new album’s a great tour through a rock-n-roll life that has seen stints in New York’s dives, sunny California, and the hill country of Texas. But here’s hoping new fans also find their way to earlier records that range from achingly tender to booze-soaked and raucous. Those curious about the musical influences on Animal  might start with producer Tony Visconti, best known for his work producing some of David Bowie’s best records. A fresh glimpse of that era comes in Live Santa Monica ‘72, a long out-of-print concert album documenting Ziggy Stardust’s first tour of the U.S.; as it was originally recorded for radio broadcast, not by bootleggers, the audio quality is great — a good thing, since in addition to a limited-edition CD the disc is also being released on 180-gram audiophile vinyl

Remember back when the compact disc was new? It was such a novelty, in fact, that you were as likely to have to go to an electronics dealer or a maverick toy store to get one, rather than your favorite record shop. Back then, a huge percentage of the CDs I saw for sale were classical music. Why? Because classical fans are serious about quality, and many will invest cash and risk new tech in the pursuit of high fidelity. So it’s a little surprising that it’s taken this long for operas to make an appearance on Blu-ray. Regardless, the Opus Arte imprint is now officially ahead of the curve, with a line of operas in high-def now being distributed through Naxos. Among their earliest releases are Mozart’s crowd pleaser The Magic Flute, under the direction of Sir Colin Davis, and Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Highbrow videophiles who don’t do opera are finding titles to suit them as well, with the occasional ballet like Swan Lake hitting the Blu-ray format, while historical costume dramas such as The Other Boleyn Girl and performance-heavy imports like Saawariya (an Indian musical take on a Dostoyevsky tale) trickle out slowly. Fans of experimental composition, sadly, may have to wait a bit: as with a new documentary chronicling Karlheinz Stockhausen’s elaborate Helicopter String Quartet, those works are still relegated to standard DVD.

These kids today: They think all the world’s music should flow freely onto their computers and that musicians should work for the fun of it — don’t they? Well, maybe not. A new survey conducted in England (and given credibility by digi-savvy sites like Boing Boing) found that the majority of music fans between 14 and 24 (and 80 percent of those who currently swap files online) would be happy to pay for songs. The trick is, most won’t pay using the services that currently exist. Respondents evidently know what many iTunes customers don’t: That most files sold online come with burdensome restrictions and aren’t the highest quality possible; moreover, today’s commonplace pay-per-tune system makes it too expensive to try new music on for size. Instead, fans crave a subscription format — not one based on streaming music that can’t be downloaded, but one allowing files to be downloaded, stored on MP3 players, and burned to CDs. Though the survey’s summary doesn’t mention a price for this hypothetical service, it says respondents would “place a considerable monetary value on” it. Curiously, most of those questioned said they would continue to buy physical CDs even while paying for an ideal file-sharing system. One suspects they might even buy more than they do today, if only they felt that the record companies earning the proceeds had finally stopped viewing them as criminals and begun to understand their 21st-century relationship with music.

Though the Fourth of July brings to mind fireworks, barbecue and a day off for many of us, it’s also a time to contemplate the spirit of American freedom and independence as it is expressed in so many mediums. Think of Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA , James Brown’s Living in America, Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream (read lyrics here), Janice Joplin singing Me and Bobby McGee, Oliver Stone’s Born on the Fourth of July, Howard Zinn’s book, A People’s History of the United States: 1492 to Present, and David McCullough ’s narrating the audio version of his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1776 (pictured). At the National Archives, review the the history of July Fourth and download, high resolution, printer-friendly copies of the original Declaration of Independence. Browse excerpts from books on the American Revolution at Questia. At PBS, check out Liberty! The American Revolution (three-DVD set $50), hosted by news anchor Forrest Sawyer and featuring reenactments about the birth of the American Republic and the struggle of 13 loosely connected states to become a nation. More recently, the acclaimed HBO series John Adams is now out on DVD ($39). Also consider Thomas Jefferson (on sale for $17.76) starring Sam Waterston and directed by Ken Burns. Take a look at The American Film Institute’s list of the 100 most inspiring American Films (scroll down). Fourth of July sales offer an excellent opportunity to exercise your patriotic right to shop. Check out the Independence Day sale and discount coupons at HerCoupon.