May 25, 2012 – "It was raining when Lem returned to the brewhouse, muttering curses as water ran off his yellow cloak to puddle on the floor," writes Game of Thrones series creator George R.R. Martin in his 2000 fantasy novel A Storm of Swords. "Anguy and Jack-Be-Lucky sat by the door rolling dice, but no matter which game they played one-eyed Jack had no luck at all." At this point a character named Tom Sevenstrings switches out a string on his "woodharp" and regales his motley audience with a few tunes, one of which has now been set to music by the National. The lyrics to "The Rains of Castamere," the Brooklyn rockers' contribution to the June 19 Games of Thrones: Season Two soundtrack, originally appeared in the book and were written by Martin.

May 25, 2012 – Linkin Park's June 26 album Living Things, which features strings from Arcade Fire arranger Owen Pallett, feels intensely personal, based on our interview with the group. But first single "Burn It Down" appears to have universal applications. The pulsating, soft-loud electro-rocker plays constantly in promos for the NBA playoffs, while in a new video for the track (via MTV), it soundtracks an emotion-wracked live performance accompanied by — you guessed it — fiery visual effects. "We can't wait to burn it to the ground," singer Chester Bennington rasps over exhortations from rapper-producer Mike Shinoda. As another band from unlikely Living Things guest Pallett's Toronto hometown, Stars, once put it: When there's nothing left to burn, you have to set yourself on fire.

May 24, 2012 – The Stone Roses are alive and well. Several months after confirming plans to reunite for their first concerts in 16 years, the Manchester, U.K.-based band played a last-minute show last night at Parr Hall in Warrington, England. Announced only a few hours ahead of time, the concert was free to anyone who came with a piece of band memorabilia or a ticket to one of the Stone Roses' scheduled gigs this summer, according to Consequence of Sound. Singer Ian Brown, guitarist John Squire, bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield, and drummer Alan "Reni" Wren played 11 songs before a crowd of just 1,500, according to the NME. The set reportedly included "I Wanna Be Adored," a classic off the band's 1989 self-titled debut, and "Love Spreads," from 1994's The Second Come.

May 24, 2012 – Here's something you may have missed about Bruce Springsteen's latest album, Wrecking Ball, when it came out back in early March: It has rapping on it. (See also: Is Bruce Springsteen's Wrecking Ball a Rap Album?) "Rocky Ground," the elegaic ballad that includes gospel singer Michelle Moore's blessedly not-cringe-worthy rap verse, now has a video, but it's more Asbury Park than WorldStarHipHop.com. As Springsteen solemnly rumbles about the New Testament admonition against "the money changers in this temple," backed by a mechanical beat and beautifully weeping organ, the clip sets slow-motion black-and-white footage behind a hand writing out the lyrics with a felt-tip pen. "There's a new day coming," the Boss repeats, joined by an angelic choir, but as a raspy sampled voice howls intermittently through the mix, it's hard not to think of the good old days.

May 24, 2012 – Paramore's Hayley Williams has taken some time out from working on her band's upcoming fourth album — and helping fun. do the billion-and-oneth Gotye cover — to praise Alabama Shakes and offer further insight into the new Paramore record. Answering questions submitted by a fan on Buzznet (via NME), Williams said that while her favorite band has long been Philadelphia post-hardcore outfit mewithoutYou, "my love for music stemmed from old Motown artists like the Temptations. Right now, I'm loving Alabama Shakes 'cause they've got those vibes but it's grittier. So great." Our reviewer pretty much agreed.

May 24, 2012 – Kanye West premiered Cruel Summer, a seven-screen art film inspired by the rapper's upcoming G.O.O.D. Music label compilation of the same name, yesterday at the Cannes Film Festival in France. Much of what has come out about the debut involves the lavish setting (the film was screened in a tent built like a pyramid) and the celebrities in attendance (current West squeeze Kim Kardashian; Jay-Z, but not Beyoncé, who performs her first post-baby shows in Atlantic City this weekend). Beneath all the the glitz, glamor, and spectacle, though, multiple reports confirm the presence of something arguably most exciting of all: new music. All music in Cruel Summer is new, reports GQ senior editor Logan Hill, who spoke with one of the film's stars, Kid Cudi, at the event.

May 24, 2012 – When A Place to Bury Strangers call a song "You Are the One," don't take it as a term of endearment. The New York noise-rockers broke out nearly five years ago with a limited-run self-titled debut that merged Creation shoegaze churn and Wax Trax! industrial pummel on gloomy teeth-gnashers like "To Fix the Gash in Your Head." As the advance track from the group's upcoming third album, Worship (due out June 26 on Dead Oceans, pre-order here), "You Are the One" is a similarly spiky, textured assault; it puts an unremitting krautrock pulse beneath frontman Oliver Ackermann's affectless vocals and myriad dive-bombing sonic effects. The video, premiering at SPIN, is no less raw and brutal, with an approach that's half Grindhouse, half Drive, and 100 percent NSFW. Unless your work is cool with bloody nudity and violence, in which case Strangers salute you. "We really loved the song.

May 23, 2012 – Wub wub wub WUB. Wub wub wub WUB. That's right, two of the most forward-thinking and hotly discussed young artists of the moment can now claim a small role in the grand tradition of Western classical music. Skrillex recently had his tunes turned into an orchestral piece, while Lil B just released his own self-described "classical music" album. Poor ol' Ludwig Van: He hadn't seen anything yet. As Reddit points out (via Vulture), the Manchester, U.K.-based composer Steve Pycroft has put together a 10-minute classical piece based on the musical motifs from tracks by Skrillex, who when not playing every festival in sight or crashing rich-and-famous lists is scientifically one of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Conducted by Pycroft, Manchester's own Kaleidoscope Orchestra performs a 30-piece symphonic rendition of the piece. Don't go waiting for the drop — there aren't any.

May 23, 2012 – Like Diddy and Jay-Z, 50 Cent recently placed among the top five in a ranking of the richest hip-hop artists . Unlike Sean Combs and Shawn Carter, Curtis Jackson is still putting out rap mixtapes at a young hustler's pace. Yesterday, Fiddy unveiled his second mixtape in about six months, The Lost Tape. The noted boxing fan's DJ Drama-hosted follow-up to December's The Big 10 mixtape includes a few high-profile collaborators (Eminem, Snoop Dogg, 2 Chainz), plus two appearances by new G Unit signing Kidd Kidd. Stream or download it:

May 23, 2012 – For a lot of people, disco never died. For others, it came back to life in the past 15 years, as James Murphy's DFA label and production team, Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton's essential history Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, and the rediscovery of eclectic dance savant Arthur Russell combined to help free the pioneering sounds of long-shuttered New York City spaces like the Loft and the Paradise Garage from Comiskey-demolition backlash. And yet when Donna Summer, the queen of disco, died last week at age 63 after suffering from cancer, some obituaries failed to mention perhaps her most influential hit: 1977's "I Feel Love." The record is about to be set straight. The Library of Congress has announced it has chosen "I Feel Love" and several other classics for induction into its National Recording Registry.