May 8, 2013 – When reviewing Deftones' seventh album, 2012's Koi No Yokan, SPIN's Theon Weber wrote that there's something welcoming in "the band's understanding of how little they need." That proves true for the Sacramento unit's latest video, a Western-inspired short set to Koi No Yokan opener "Swerve City." Directed by Gus Black, the clip draws the viewer in with its vast desert landscapes, horseback-riding heroine, and crisp lighting. Never mind that nothing actually happens, at least not until Deftones frontman Chino Moreno shows up at the very end and... well, we won't give it away.

May 8, 2013 – Mikal Cronin just dropped his outstanding sophomore album, MCII, and contributed a fuzzy standout to Adult Swim's Garage Swim compilation, but the San Francisco singer-songwriter grabbed our attention yesterday (May 7) with a uke- and harmonica-driven cover of Sixpence None the Richer's "Kiss Me," an alt-pop tune famously featured on the soundtrack to late-'90s teen flick She's All That.

May 8, 2013 – The theater industry just won't let the Beatles be. A new U.K. musical based on the Fab Four's classic song catalog will arrive on Broadway later this year for a limited engagement (via The Hollywood Reporter). The production, titled Let It Be, is set to begin previews at the St. James Theatre on July 16; it officially opens July 24. As the New York Times notes, Let It Be was crafted to celebrate the Beatles' 50th anniversary; it debuted at London's Prince of Wales Theater last fall and was then moved to the Savoy Theater, where it still enjoys an open-ended run.

May 8, 2013 – Smith Westerns issued "Varsity," the daydreamy lead single off the Chicago band's upcoming Soft Will LP, several weeks back, but now the trio have shared its sublime music video. "I wanted to make a non-narrative video clip about young love without showing the usual conventions of going on dates or hanging out at the mall," director Alan Del Rio Ortiz said in a statement. "We studied [a] couple as they would study themselves and each other in their dreams, and used abstractly sexual imagery to give it a hallucinogenic and hazy atmosphere." The above short definitely maintains an otherworldly, euphoric vibe.

May 8, 2013 – Beck, Frank Ocean, the Breeders, Bob Mould, Stars, and Tricky have been added to Montreal's Osheaga Music and Arts Festival lineup. The three-day showcase is scheduled to take place from August 2 to 4 at Parc Jean-Drapeau. Many other artists just joined the roster as well: Mac DeMarco, Palma Violets, Majical Cloudz, Daughter, Robert DeLong, Rudimental, C2C, Bonobo (DJ set), Azari & III, Charles Bradley, Lianne La Havas, Cajmere, Raine Maida, Rich Aucoin, k-os, Jacques Lu Cont, Les Soeurs Boulay, Quadron, Soul Clap, Little Green Cars, Groenland, Millimetrik, DVBBS, Vilify & Henward, and Bad Things. Osheaga's billing already featured a long, eclectic list of top-tier performers.

May 8, 2013 – Santigold repped for the ladies on "Girls," her contribution to the HBO show of the same name, and now the Master of My Make-Believe singer is about to lend her talent to network television. Santi White confirmed on her Twitter Tuesday (May 7) that she will make a cameo appearance on this week's episode of NBC's The Office, alongside American Idol runner-up Clay Aiken and NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will also guest. The SPIN 50 Best Albums of 2012-honoree also shared the above photo of herself standing with Aiken, Rodgers, and The Office's Ed Helms. According to the NME, Santigold will play herself and feature in a storyline in which Helms' character, Andy Bernard, auditions for a fictional talent show called America's Next Great A Cappella Sensation.

May 8, 2013 – Before the release of Sam Beam's fifth album as Iron & Wine, Ghost on Ghost, the woodsy singer-songwriter shared two of its tracks: "Lovers' Revolution" and "Grace for Saints and Ramblers." Surprisingly, he performed neither when he dropped by Conan last night (May 7), opting instead for "Low Light Buddy of Mine," a tense, deceptively sexy song that feels spare despite its strings, horns, and backup vocals. "I love you and you love me," Beam insists, "and there's new fruit humming in the old fruit trees."Iron & Wine also performed a mashup of two more Ghost on Ghost cuts, "Caught in the Briars" and "Sundown (Back in the Briars)," as a web exclusive, included below.

May 8, 2013 – Before the Pixies were credited with changing rock history, cited as the true forebears to Nirvana's place in the alt-rock canon, and recognized as one of the greatest bands of all time, they were just a group of four people who started playing catchy, visceral music together in Massachusetts in the mid-'80s. That aspect of the Pixies' legend is at the heart of Pixies: A Visual History, an in-the-works coffee-table book that covers the first phase of the iconic band's career, from just before their 1986 formation to their contentious breakup in 1993. Sean T. Rayburn, co-founder of the Pixies' official website, is curating the project and has launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise $150,000 to fund publishing and production costs.

May 7, 2013 – When Neutral Milk Hotel announced last week that they were reuniting for a handful of live shows, every two-headed boy and Communist daughter did a double-take. Sure, NMH mastermind Jeff Mangum has been touring for the last couple of years, performing songs credited to the legendary Elephant Six stars, but the band proper haven't taken the stage together for more than a decade. When the big reveal came, the group wrote, "More to come and love and respect to all who were there to see Jeff play over the last year!" Well, more has come. In addition to the five previously announced gigs (one of which is an impressive second-tier slot at this year's Mountain Oasis Electronic Music Summit), Neutral Milk Hotel have confirmed 13 more concerts, bringing their current total of upcoming performances to 18.

May 7, 2013 – Free Time aren't in a hurry. That much is clear not just from the foursome's drowsy brand of Yo La Tengo-informed rock revisionism, but also from the leisurely video to "I Lost Again," the opening track off the New York-by-way-of-Melbourne crew's upcoming self-titled debut album (out May 28 via Underwater Peoples). The above clip follows the Dion Nania-led quartet as they meander through the noodling track while riding a loft elevator. When Nania tosses off the line, "Sometimes passion's out of place / I'm gonna hold my horses / It's not a raaaaaaace," he isn't just offering wisdom — he's issuing a mission statement.