December 3, 2012 – Anticipation for Dave Grohl's directorial debut, Sound City, has been building since February when he released the frenetic, high-octane trailer for his documentary on the legendary Los Angeles recording studio of the same name. The most enthusiastic responses have come from Grohl himself, of course, who hand-wrote the film's announcement and recently launched a SiriusXM radio show celebrating Sound City's illustrious history.Finally, after dropping two more trailers with no details on the movie's forthcoming release, Grohl has given the thing a premiere date — er, range. Sound City will make its debut at the 2013 installment of the Sundance Film Festival, which runs January 17 through 27 in Park City, Utah.

December 3, 2012 – Ryan Adams isn't afraid to get weird with the occasional Deadmau5 collab, Lemonheads production gig, or foray into metal, but as interesting as his sidelines can be, the man's best mode is as alt-country crooner. Thankfully, he'll be reprising that role on the soundtrack to Knocked Up spinoff, This is 40. EW is streaming one of the Los Angeles singer-songwriter's two contributions to Judd Apatow's latest, an organ-strewn jangler dubbed "Shining Through the Dark." Though it's a live recording (as is the "Lucky You" cameo in the track list), the easy-rambling rendition is more fleshed out here than in its previous incarnation on 2011's Live From Nowhere Near You: Volume Two benefit comp. Adams joins Paul Simon, Wilco, Lindsey Buckingham, and other notables on the This is 40 soundtrack, including Fiona Apple, whose "Dull Tool" is the embattled artist's first original song for film.

December 3, 2012 – Although Lamb of God's representatives were initially hopeful that the case against member Randy Blythe would be dropped, the Virginia metal band's singer will now have to return to the Czech Republic to face an indictment on the charge of manslaughter with intent to cause bodily harm. The accusation stems from an incident at a 2010 Prague show, in which a stage-diving fan was injured when Blythe allegedly pushed him back into the audience (although crowd-shot footage may suggest otherwise). Tragically, that attendee died about two weeks later, reportedly from head wounds sustained at the concert.Blythe was arrested upon returning to the country in June of this year, and imprisoned for over a month before being released on bail.

December 3, 2012 – In his recent interview for SPIN's "Listening In" series, freed West Memphis Three man Damien Echols fondly reminisced over his love for old school heavy metal — an interest which many felt contributed to his death row conviction while still a teenager. Since that fateful 1994 conviction, countless musicians have come out in support of Echols and co., resulting in an impressive list of high-profile supporters that tellingly transcends genre.A cross-section of that lineup is quite literally manifested on West of Memphis: Voices for Justice, the soundtrack for the upcoming documentary about the plight of the WM3, West of Memphis, due to hit theaters in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas Day.

December 3, 2012 – Between appearing in Pete Townshend's memoir, returning to the annual Bridge School Benefit, and joining other people's bands (re: Gaslight Anthem, Kings of Leon), Eddie Vedder is verging on Dave Grohl-levels of busy-ness. Fitting then, that only a week after we learned of the main Foo's new SiriusXM radio show, Pearl Jam's best man is getting one of his own."The Eddie Vedder Radio Show" will be a limited-run series featuring music handpicked by its host — "his all-time favorite songs, from early punk rock influences to unreleased material from his personal archives" — not to mention personal stories and, if we're lucky, some political punditry. The show will premiere on Wednesday, December 5, at 5:00 p.m.

December 3, 2012 – As SPIN's Brandon Soderberg points out in his review of Deadmau5's >album title goes here<, the reason that the EDM figurehead's music persists hinges upon the fact that his sound is surprisingly tasteful. Should you have any doubts about that proclamation, cede your next seven minutes to the Mau5's satisfyingly slight remix of "Ice Age" by How to Destroy Angels. The original song is about as minimal as a Trent Reznor-authored affair comes: Mariqueen Maandig coos smokily atop a score of acoustic plucks and strums while tiny doses of feedback are only a reminder that electricity is running through the room. The prevailing beauty and tension therein are well preserved in Joel Zimmerman's revision.

December 3, 2012 – When your bowling league name is "Bitch Killer," as Big Boi told SPIN last week, there's a good chance that a lady or two in your life might wind up with a grudge at some point. So while the title of Sir Lucious Left Foot's new song, "She Hates Me" isn't exactly a surprise, Kid Cudi's understated, rap-less performance is an unexpected gift to the somber track. Lolling drums and shimmery guitar back General Patton as he waxes sensitive on male-female relations: "Excuse me if I raise my voice, I won't raise a hand / But one thing I will do, baby, is raise my lil' man." Meanwhile, Cudi, moonlighting as "Scott Mescuciano," sings the broken-hearted chorus: "She hates me, I know it for sure / But I’ma make her love me."The new one hails from Big Boi's Vicious Lies and Dangerous Rumors, due December 11.

December 3, 2012 – Last week, after much speculation as to his true identity, the cartoon rap villain known as Captain Murphy unmasked himself at a Los Angeles show, and SPIN was there to write about it. It was Flying Lotus, of course (more like Lying Lotus, amirite?), and the public unveiling came with an onstage collab with none other than Odd Future's once-elusive Earl Sweatshirt. The Captain and the rhyming garment reprised their Adult Swim single "Between Friends," the first song we ever heard from Murph, whose deep voice and association with OFWGKTA caused many to suspect he was just another alias belonging to Tyler, the Creator. That track also appears on the Captain's free Duality Deluxe mixtape, which includes boom-bappy banger "The Prisoner," seen below in the clip where Lotus removes his cape, cowl, and ski mask to reveal himself to the crowd.

December 1, 2012 – Michael Jackson's Thriller is an album that needs no introduction. Not only because it's the best-selling album of all time, or because it's one of the most fondly remembered LPs in the history of pop, or because its songs still get endless airtime via TVs, radios, home stereo systems, and various devices all around the globe — but also because those songs have influenced countless other threads of popular culture, from music to film to video games to toys to the very way we think of Halloween.

November 30, 2012 – Nasty Nas may have retired — as SPIN's Brandon Soderberg points out, his tenth album Life is Good slangs "rap for the 40-and-over crowd" — and the recently re-elected POTUS may have mispronounced the legendary rapper's three-letter name, but the man born Nasir Jones sits firmly at the top of his game right now. The latest evidence of this? His appearance on Conan on Thursday night, where he performed "World's an Addiction" with a clutch assist from established soulster Anthony Hamilton. Backed by a six-piece band that sounded more like an orchestra, Nas pensively stated, "Life. Joy. Pain. Loyalty. Betrayal," before ceding the first minute-plus to the deep-voiced singer. The MC's own verses were tight and painted a vivid picture of modern strife over tensely building score.