Monsters of Folk -- the indie supergroup featuring M. Ward, My Morning Jacket's Jim James, and Bright Eyes' Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis -- gave the crowd at Vancouver's Commodore ballroom their money's worth with an epic two-and-a-half-hour set on the opening night of their U.S. tour.

The term "supergroup" tends to get thrown around a lot, but often the tag just doesn't sit right. Consider Damn Yankees. Or Zwan. Or more recently, Chickenfoot. While these groups technically fit the definition -- a band whose members are already famous from having performed individually or in other groups -- does anyone truly believe that they're super?

Indie supergroup Monsters of Folk has announced plans for a fall tour, kicking off October 13 in Vancouver, BC, before hitting 16 cities across the U.S.

Superchunk members Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance's North Carolina label Merge Records is celebrating 20 years of kicking out the jams with a five-day bash in their home state -- and they've invited some of their best artists to join the party, including Spoon, M. Ward, and Conor Oberst.

Here's a rundown of the essential albums available online and in record stores today:

It's freezing outside, but here at SPIN.com HQ we're combating frostbite with hot new tracks courtesy of our favorite artists, including Justin Timberlake, Neil Young, the Decemberists, and Kelly Clarkson, all of which were unveiled just this week. Throw in news about Metallica, Lil Wayne, and Ryan Adams, and 2009 is shaping up to be a pretty hot year -- take that Old Man Winter!