February 3, 2012 – 1. Madonna's Halftime Show It's about time: The biggest pop star in the world performing at the year's biggest televised event. Presumably, Madonna will be bringing along M.I.A. and Nicki Minaj, both of whom guest on the "Give Me All Your Luvin'" single. And, if Will.I.Am is to be trusted, LMFAO might stop by too. 2. Kelly Clarkson Singing the National AnthemBased on the concert we just saw, we're pretty confident Kelly Clarkson will nail this. She's even got national anthem experience, having sung at the 2011 NBA Finals. At the very least, seeing Christina Aguilera flub the lyrics at last year's game should've scared Kelly into some extra practice time. 3. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert Performing "America the Beautiful"Chalk this one up to promotion — Shelton is a co-host of NBC's The Voice, the second season of which will premiere on the network's post-game slot.

February 2, 2012 – In a nicely timed tribute, the new video from New York City pop-rockers Guards plays like a hipster version of Soul Train, whose creator, Don Cornelius, passed away on February 1.In the Kaylie Schiff-directed clip, a succession of stylishly dressed duos boogie down a runway, Soul Train-style, at the Echo Club in Los Angeles while Guards' "Do It Again" soundtracks the proceedings. The song itself is an anthemic, peppy rocker with a vaguely '60s vibe. Indeed, it's not a world away from the sound of Cults, which makes sense given that Guards' Richie Follin and that band's Madeline Follin are brother and sister.

January 31, 2012 – Blech! And we mean that in a good way — Die Antwoord's just-released video for their single "I Fink U Freeky" shows, among other things, rats crawling all over Yo-Landi Vi$$er's scantily-clad body, a teenage dude with an elephant trunk for a nose dancing in his undies, a little boy flipping the double-bird, and a large snake crawling all over a small girl who is either covered in soot or done up in blackface. Oh, Die Antwoord, your racially transgressive imagery makes your intentions so hard to parse! But more importantly, what will Celine Dion think of the clip? Die Antwoord's new album, TEN$ION is out February 7.

January 31, 2012 – It's been revealed that Alan Meltzer, the deceased founder of mega-indie label Wind-Up records — which released albums by Creed and Evanescence — has left $1 million to his former driver, Jean Laborde, and $500,000 to Chamil Demiraj, at one time the doorman at the Manhattan building he called home. Remarkably, there seems to have been nothing in that will for all those dissatisfied Creed fans out there. Meltzer died last October at age 67. The cause of death is still unknown. In response to his unexpected windfall, ABCnews.com reported Demiraj as saying "[Meltzer] was a generous guy. He was a good friend of mine." No kidding. Meltzer's ex-wife, Diana, didn't have such fond thoughts. "He can leave it to whoever he wants to," she told the New York Post, referring to Meltzer's fortune, estimated at $10 million. "I'm doing fine.

January 31, 2012 – Neil Young has released a recording on his website of what we assume is a recent jam session with his longtime backing band, Crazy Horse. The track is 37 minutes long. What are the odds you're going to listen to the whole thing? Small! So we listened for you. Here's what happens: 0:01 to 4:21 Over Ralph Molina's deliberate, thumping drum beat and Billy Talbot's simple, repetitive bass-part, rhythm guitarist Frank Sampedro plays slow, crackling chords while Young ventures forth some furtive lead lines. It's pretty much your standard middle-of-"Cowgirl-In-the-Sand" explora-jam. If you were tripping, you'd be seeing vast sun-baked vistas, soaring eagles, the wise visage of a coyote, and so on and so forth. 4:22 to 6:04 As if he realized lead guitar is supposed to, you know, lead, Young plays some forceful lines in that distinctive herky-jerky style of his.

January 30, 2012 – The duo of Sam Haar and Zach Steinman don't make much in the way of distinctions between music for the body and music for the mind. The Brooklyn-based electronic musicians' 2010 Touched EP drew deeply from other heady ravers like the Orb and, going further back, pioneering German maestro Manuel Gottsching. Now, Blondes' self-titled debut full-length, out February 7 on RVNG, finds the outfit staying wonderfully within that trippy tradition, with its blend of starry synth ripples and gut-level rhythm patterns. If you've ever wondered what music would be best to play during a dance party inside eternity's womb, well, wonder no more. Listen exclusively here:

January 30, 2012 – Well, it's not jazz fusion, but it's still surprising. This afternoon, "Love Interruption," the first single from Jack White's upcoming solo debut, Blunderbuss, was posted on jackwhiteiii.com and the song — built on a mellow, warm keyboard part and chunky acoustic guitar chording — is a nice departure from the thunderous rock that is Mr. White's trademark. As far as Jack White projects go, "Love Interruption" is maybe closest to the groovy classic-rock steeze of the Raconteurs (in their milder moments) than it is to the minimalism of the White Stripes or gothic blues psychodrama of Dead Weather.

January 30, 2012 – There's truth in the title of Ladyhawke's new album. "It's called Anxiety because it came from a really difficult place," explains the New Zealand pop-rock singer, born Phillipa "Pip" Brown. "I'd been living in this touring bubble for two years after releasing my first album [2008's Ladyhawke] and then suddenly I had to write a second album. I was under a lot of strain." Not that anyone's second album is supposed to come easily. "Of course I know that," says Brown, laughing, "especially because people kept telling me!" "Black White & Blue," the first single from Anxiety, suggests that Ladyhawke does well with pressure. Fans of her first album will recognize singer-multi-instrumentalist's flair for dramatic, catchy pop melodies and breathy, delivery.

January 30, 2012 – "Live fast / Die young / Bad girls do it well" — now there's a line Lana Del Rey wished she'd written. Too bad M.I.A. got there first. The irresistibly sassy lyric provides the hook on "Bad Girls," the first single (via Pitchfork) from M.I.A.'s forthcoming as-yet-untitled album, her first for new label Mercury and first since 2010's divisive Maya. The new effort is due for release later this year. The single is a reworked version of a track originally found on M.I.A.'s 2010 Vicki Leekx mixtape. Some background bleeps and blorps have been mixed down and some percussion turned up, but to these ears, "Bad Girls" is pretty similar to its original incarnation as a mid-tempo, vaguely sinister rhythm slither, carried along by Ms.

January 26, 2012 – Sometimes a band needs a helping hand. And if you're a heart-on-sleeve garage-punk outfit like Lansing, Michigan's Cheap Girls, there are few better folks to lend some support than Tom Gabel. The Against Me! mainman produced the Girls' upcoming third album, Giant Orange, which is out February 21 on Rise records. The album is actually the first Gabel has produced, and you can hear his own band's penchant for ragged, soaring choruses, and sharp guitars all over the humbly anthemic "Communication Blues." Cheap Girls will be airing the song, and others from the muscular, melodic Giant Orange on a headlining tour that kicks off March 1 in Cleveland.