August 22, 2008 – What? On her heart-wrenching 2006 record, Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars, Jennifer O'Connor treads lightly in Elliott Smith territory, mourning the deaths of her two sisters (one from brain cancer, another in a car accident) with acoustic guitar in hand, letting melody soar above sadness. But through catharsis comes acceptance, and on her new record, the John Agnello-produced (Sonic Youth, the Hold Steady) Here With Me, just released on Matador, O'Connor channels life lessons through the lens of a budding lesbian relationship. Newly contented, O'Connor's fresh collection boasts a full backing band and an air of optimism without losing the raw magnetism and knack for empathy of her most introspective and confessional work. Who?

August 20, 2008 – Nearly every weekend, as SPIN.com traverses the U.S. to cover the many festivals this summer, we cross paths with a number of the most politically-minded names in music, giving each a chance to smile for the camera and sound off on the 2008 presidential election. The latest: Big Apple-based up-and-comers the Postelles, who, while lounging at Chicago's Lollapalooza festival, stepped forward to discuss the most pressing issues in this decisive election year. Below, watch video of the fresh-faced, Strokes-approved foursome speaking to SPIN.com about paying taxes under a new president. And to do your part, head to Headcount.org, a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization devoted to voter registration and participation in democracy. Click the button here to visit their site, and register to vote! Now Watch This: The Postelles

August 19, 2008 – What? The occasionally off-kilter underground project the Music Tapes is the brainchild of Julian Koster, most notably of seminal indie rockers Neutral Milk Hotel. Koster's third Tapes LP, Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes, out now on Merge, guides listeners on a magical mystery tour of sorts. Nine years in the making, the record cobbles together a sonic rollercoaster, using every piece of would-be junk possible, including an 1895 Edison wax cylinder recorder. The album, rounded out by Koster's airy croon, also features his signature singing saw and banjo, and collectively coalesces into a freaky, Gainsbourg-on-mushrooms pop sideshow. Who?

August 18, 2008 – Who? Hopeful Monster head Jason Ball began his studio experimentations in rural Nova Scotia, Canada before settling comfortably amidst the Toronto indie scene where he crafts '60s piano-pop throwbacks, building staccato, Zombies-style ditties and updating each with electronic flourishes. Ball -- with a recently cemented five-piece line-up, featuring members of the Hylozoists and By Divine Right -- delivers synth lines conjuring Grandaddy's bounce and emotive melodies that breeze over measured computer buzzes with the earnestness of the Postal Service. Check out the odyssey and oracle of "Uncivilized" in MP3 form below. Their latest: Ball's second full-length as Hopeful Monster, entitled Metatasking, arrived stateside July 29. Recommended if you like... The Postal Service, Zombies, Grandaddy Now Hear This: Hopeful Monster, "Uncivilized"(DOWNLOAD MP3) Attention Bands!

August 18, 2008 – What? It was all Discmans, FM radio, and the tail-end of the flannel era when Toadies frontman Vaden Todd Lewis offered to take us "behind the boathouse" to show his "dark secret" on the band's 1994 crossover hit "Possum Kingdom." But put on the Toadies' brand new record, No Deliverance, and the fourteen years since all but disappear. Lewis originally spilled details about the group's reunion to SPIN.com this past spring, calling the new batch of songs "the most bare knuckle record" he's ever worked on, and when we premiered "No Deliverance," the aggressive first taste from new LP, Toadies certainly delivered on the promise. Album opener and domestic disturbance tale "So Long Lovely Eyes," cements the claim as the punishing power-chord crunch kills relentlessly from the get-go, with Lewis growling profanities like it was still the Clinton years. No Deliverance drops Aug.

August 14, 2008 – Contrary to internet murmurs earlier this week, Radiohead won't be providing the entire score to the movie adaptation of Choke, a novel by Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk. But the Oxford-based whizzes will be contributing in much lesser capacity, lending one song to what's shaping up to be an illustrious soundtrack, featuring tunes from the likes of the Buzzcocks, My Morning Jacket, Death Cab for Cutie, and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Scheduled for a Sept. 23 digital-only release, the soundtrack will precede the release of the film -- winner of the Special Jury Prize for best Work by an Ensemble Cast at Sundance -- which hits theaters Sept. 26. Starring Sam Rockwell, the film follows sex addict and con artist Victor Mancini through a twisted, raunchy tale of Colonial re-enactments and fake choking incidents in high-end eateries.

August 12, 2008 – Who? As the project of singer/songwriter and music teacher Shawn Jones, Austin's the Lovely Sparrows roll tender layers of brass, strings, and woodwinds over a brisk folk foundation. A storyteller first and foremost, Jones takes his cues from bookish, introspective acts like Belle and Sebastian, and in this exclusive clip for "Year of the Dog" bright colored paper animation reenacts his tender words in a fairy tale reverie. When the song assumes a more lively, percussive bounce, the performer's likeness strums along in abstract form, capturing the earnest innocence of the tune. Their latest: The quartet debuted with a five song EP, Pulling Up Floors, Pouring on (New) Paint, in late 2006, and will drop their first full-length, Bury The Cynics, digitally Aug. 19 with a physical release to follow Sept. 9. Recommended if you like...

August 8, 2008 – The colossal Lollapalooza festival came and went this past weekend (Aug. 1-3), but if three straight days of non-stop performances couldn't satiate your musical hunger, SPIN.com is bringing you exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, including this intimate sit down with Texas-bred foursome Electric Touch.

August 8, 2008 – Last weekend at Chicago's Lollapalooza festival (Aug. 1-3), which featured sets from the likes of Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Wilco, Kanye West, and Rage Against the Machine, SPIN.com kicked back in the air-conditioned Eastsport Cafe with Michigan quintet Tally Hall for a brief chat. Watch video of the band as they cracked jokes nonstop and chewed the fat on The OC, other television favorites, and performing with '60s legends the Zombies, and don't forget to check out Spin Editor Doug Brod's blog wrap-ups from all three days of the event.

August 8, 2008 – The festivities at this year's Lollapalooza raged on for three days and nights last weekend (Aug. 1-3) at Chicago, IL's Grant Park, but sheltered from the raging sun, SPIN.com set up camp in the breezy Eastsport Cafe to catch up with some of the fest's hottest acts. Watch video of SPIN.com's Peter Gaston lounging with Steel Train, as the Jersey boys chat about meeting Conan O'Brien, attending private school, and performing with frontman Jack Antonoff's dad, and afterwards don't forget to check out Spin Editor Doug Brod's blog wrap-ups from all three days of the event!