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November 2008

MGMT: Head Games

In two strange years, MGMT have gone from campus lark to psych-pop superstars and ragtag fashion icons. Now these merry pranksters have to figure out how to keep the career they didn't even know they wanted, without losing their minds.

The SPIN Interview: Lou Reed

By David Marchese

With the Velvet Underground, he was the epitome of downtown cool. As a solo artists, he played the part of glam god, noise provocateur, and critics' bete noire. Still, Lou Reed insists, "There's nothing complicated about me." Kind sir, we beg to differ.

Faking the Band

By David Peisner

Want to buy "All Summer Long" from iTunes? Even if you did, it wouldn't be Kid Rock's hit version -- just a generic soundalike (sorry, tribute). SPIN blows the cover off one of pop's dirty little secrets.

Black Rock: An Oral History

By David Browne

In the 1980s, a brotherhood of bands led by Fishbone and Living Colour refused to let their race dictate the style of music they played. Here's how they splashed onto the scene, how they struggled to stay afloat, and what they're doing now.

Lyrical Assassin

By Michael Azerrad

For a music critic, being immortalized in song could be the highest compliment...unless the song is a death threat.

Album Reviews

Julian Casablancas

Phrazes for the Young

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New York's grooviest rocker spiffs up his sound.
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Weezer - Raditude

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Rock's most maddeningly hummable practical joke continues.
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Norah Jones - The Fall

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Don't know why she didn't do this before.
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Shakira - She Wolf

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Latin pop mami down for whatever, wherever.
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Dashboard Confessional - Alter the Ending

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King of emo-folk pain embraces two-state solution.
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Slayer - World Painted Blood

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The godfathers of thrash bleed for you again.
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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Xenophanes

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Mars Volta mad scientist edits his experiments.
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Rakim - The Seventh Seal

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Unforgettable MC makes do with forgettable beats.
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The Rakes - Klang

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Stoking nostalgia for the Gang of Four revival.
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Nirvana - Live at Reading

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Ultimate rock gig from ultimate outsider-insiders.
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The King Khan & BBQ Show - Invisible Girl

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Trash-rock hullabaloo with a slurp and a burp.
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Gift of Gab - Escape 2 Mars

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Blackalicious MC stays begrudgingly grounded.
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Jack Johnson - En Concert

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In the European Union, they call him Jacques.
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Florence and the Machine - Lungs

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Flame-haired flamethrower sets alt-rock boys ablaze.
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