March 21, 2013 – Last week in Austin, in between a marathon of SXSW gigs, Cloud Nothings stopped by the SPIN House and turned in an unhinged performance of "Our Plans," a standout from their 2012 SPIN Essential Attack on Memory. Baldi also sat down at the Sonos Studio down in Austin to chat with us about his utilitarian predilection for pop radio on the road, as well as his affinity for Wipers and how he's been mumbling his way through new songs likely to appear on the band's next LP. Watch on for Baldi's opinions on They Might Be Giants, Taylor Swift, and more.

March 18, 2013 – We asked you to share your best snapshots of the Austin music scene for a chance to win passes to SPIN's annual SXSW party at Stubb's (and an iPad mini!) and you delivered! Congrats to the 10 finalists, whose excellent pics can be seen right here:

March 18, 2013 – Hannibal Buress, one of our favorite comedians, and Machinedrum, one of our favorite DJs, apparantly did not get along when we invited them to our little party this weekend. While the DJ was roasting out in the sun, spinning rap and R&B at our amazing SPIN at Stubb's SXSW party, Buress decided to hold a one man Friar's Club Roast of Machinedrum's baggy T-shirt. The Twitter war that ensued was ugly, petty, and totally fucking hilarious. You two are totally welcome to drop by the SPIN office for a beer summit. See all our best SXSW '13 photos here!Djing spin magazine sxsw party (at Stubb's Bar-B-Q - @stubbsaustin w/ 91 others) 4sq.com/1573joQ— Machinedrum (@Machine_Drum) March 15, 2013Worst shirt ever? #SXSW #THENEXTBIGTHING twitter.com/hannibalburess…— Hannibal Buress (@hannibalburess) March 15, 2013This dudes shirt lost a fight with a stronger shirt.

March 17, 2013 – See all our best live photos from SXSW 2013 here5. Samantha Crain Bungalow, Thirty Tigers Showcase, 8:00 p.m. Samantha Crain will do what it takes to win new fans — including get into car accidents. Speaking from the small outdoor stage at Bungalow, the Oklahama singer-songwriter told a story about having a minor collision while she and her guitarist, bassist, and drummer were driving to Austin. Turns out that the woman in the other vehicle had the same destination, and wound up waving and cheering for Crain at a SXSW show earlier in the week. Thankfully, the silvery-voiced, raven-tressed singer has some more uplifting, less stressful methods for audience-building.Singing songs taken mostly from this year's Kid Face, Crain delivered a raft of warm, homespun melodies, her voice glinting and gliding over her bandmates' acoustic guitar leads, upright bass thump, and ambling drums.

March 16, 2013 – See all our best live photos from SXSW 2013 here5. Chelsea Light Moving Mohawk outdoor stage, 12:15 a.m. Five years ago, Thurston Moore played on Friday night of SXSW at the Mohawk Patio. Last night, Moore did the same, but damn, what a difference five years makes. In 2008, a solo Moore set was simply an outlet for an extremely prolific icon of New York cool; now it's a perceived death knell for Sonic Youth, who've been unclear on their future since Moore and Kim Gordon split as a real-life couple in 2011.It took the band so long to set up, Moore had time for a little audience interaction. "I have some extra drink tickets," he declared from the stage, passing a wristband back "to the thirsty guy" before announcing fans would have to answer trivia questions to score the rest. "What is this guy's name?" he asked, gesturing to guitarist Keith Wood.

March 15, 2013 – SPIN caught up with dance-pop dynamos St. Lucia at SXSW in Austin to talk about life on the road and growing as a band from one tour stop to the next.From tales of nerve-wracking van trips to tips for staying creative away from the studio, here's an intimate look at what the bandmembers' lives are like in the time between shows. Aspiring musicians, take note!See all of SPIN's festival coverage here.

March 15, 2013 – See all our best live photos from SXSW 2013 here 5. Chance the RapperGatsby’s, 5 p.m. SXSW is full to the brim with "personalities" hoping to score attention, but Chance the Rapper's oddball set at Red Bull's 120 Hours party — curated by Chicago rap blog Fake Shore Drive — felt genuine. Performing after rap-punks Show You Suck, Chance came to the stage wearing a tank top and cut-off jeans, a bouncing ball of twitching energy; his high-pitched, nasally voice and darting flow displaying an idiosyncratic magnetism. Chance's beats, stewed in soul and gospel, emanated a warmth that makes this newcomer seem even easier to love. JORDAN SARGENT4. William Tyler Merge Records Showcase, The Parish, 9 p.m.

March 14, 2013 – By now you're well aware SXSW is in full swing, and the relaunching MySpace is making a big splash down in Austin this year with a series of secret shows. Tickets to these gigs are free and open to everyone on a first-come, first-served basis who RSVP at new.myspace.com/secretshow, but we can make your entry into Friday night's (extremely excellent) show a little easier: by giving them to you!First, the important info — who's playing? Flying Lotus, Sleigh Bells, Dillon Francis, and Theophilus London. Yup, there are recent SPIN cover stars in the mix.Fill out the form below for a chance at a pair of tix! We'll notify the winner via email Friday morning with ticket pickup info. Good luck!

March 14, 2013 – See all our best live photos from SXSW 2013 here5. DENIRO FARRAR 119 Club, 9:45 p.m. Wednesday night's rap show at 119 Club was running so far behind schedule that it's possible that headliner ScHoolboy Q just got off stage as you read this. An early bright spot amongst a sea of anonymous faces was North Carolinian rapper Deniro Farrar, who was commanding and charismatic. Shirtless and sporting a blunt cadence, he shares the same appeal of trap stars like Alley Boy and Plies — which makes it interesting that, on record, he raps mostly over beats from cloud-rap weirdos like Friendzone and Ryan Hemsworth. But his set at SXSW was gruff and uncompromising — he spent the majority of it lashing out at rappers for not actually selling coke. JORDAN SARGENT4. DIKES OF HOLLAND Beerland Patio, 5 p.m. Apparently, they do this all day every day.

March 12, 2013 – Justin Timberlake is currently streaming his third album, The 20/20 Experience on iTunes in advance of its Friday release date. Here, seven members of the SPIN braintrust give hasty and completely impulsive opinions...Rob HarvillaHe was creatively spent, justifiably smug, and entirely self-satisfied post-FutureSex, willing to leave the blackjack table at the perfect time as almost no still-alive pop stars are willing to do. But we bitched and bitched and bitched (and made sure his ill-fated Jordan-in-the-minors acting vehicles bombed and bombed and bombed) until he obliged us with the creatively spent, justifiably smug, entirely self-satisfied comeback album we deserve.