Maybe next decade, Axl.

What? From the Carly Simon School of Confessional Songwriting comes Mascott, a tender indie rock project helmed by New York's Kendall Jane Meade that combines soft piano and guitar pop with diary-like lyrical intimacy.

As the bassist for New York rockers the Strokes, Nikolai Fraiture appears to be the strong, silent type, standing solemnly behind his bandmates as he lays down deep-toned riffs. But for his solo project, Nickel Eye (a variation on his given name), Fraiture strapped on a six-string guitar and stepped up to the mic.

There's something to be said for never forgetting where you came from. Since founding Against Me! a dozen years ago, frontman Tom Gabel has gone from recording acoustic rants on crackling cassette players as a 16-year-old cynical anarcho-punk to crafting the slick, radio-ready sounds of SPIN's 2007 album of the year. But last night at New York's Knitting Factory, it was all about those analog roots, as Gabel churned out a litany of old and obscure songs.

B-Real, the lead MC in blunt-wrapped rap group Cypress Hill, has one major "hobby" in common with the pride of Long Beach, CA, Snoop Dogg… rapping, duh! Below, in an exclusive SPIN.com permiere, you can hear the two get to work on "Dr. Hyphenstein," a cut off B-Real's upcoming solo debut Smoke N Mirrors.

What? Best known for his 1999 project 52 Songs, for which he recorded and released a track online every week for a year, Michael Zapruder is certainly prolific -- but it's his songs' quality that's noteworthy. With the recent release of his new album, Dragon Chinese Cocktail Horoscope, Zapruder expands on his lilting, dreamlike folk.