February 24, 2008 – While your Kids in the Halls and your Monty Pythons prefer to make funny in large gangs, and your Flight of the Conchordses and your Little Britains prefer to work in more intimate pairs, Human Giant-currently launching the second season of their eponymous MTV series-constitute the rare three-man sketch-comedy act. "You alwaysneed a third guy to break the tie," says Rob Huebel, 38. "It's easier to split the drugs andthe money three ways," adds Aziz Ansari, 25. "If you're in the Polyphonic Spree, maybeyou get a hundred bucks a show." But Paul Scheer, 32, best sums up his troupe's place inthe pantheon: "We're the blink-182 of comedy." Since it takes one to know one, HumanGiant humbly present the three (natch) powerfulest power trios of all time. ZZ Top"ZZ Top is the best power trio of all time," counters Huebel.

February 1, 2008 – Indie forefather and reformed "miserablist" Bob Mould is happy to share old Hüsker Dü war stories, but don't expect him to dwell on his past or to relive it for fun or profit. "I'm blessed to have such a nice history," he says, "but I'm careful not to cash in on it." It's hard to imagine that Bob Mould was once referred to as "literally the meanest person I have ever met" — by one of his own bandmates, no less. Of course, that was more than 25 years ago, when Minneapolis DIY punk trailblazers Hüsker Dü were still at their most brain-meltingly abrasive and booze-and-amphetamine-fueled fastest, before the considerable enmity between Mould and drummer Grant Hart turned hopelessly toxic.

January 1, 2008 – Antiestablishment anger is as crucial an element of rock'n'roll as cars and girls, but where do you turn when the escapism becomes as stultifying and stringent as the world you're seeking to escape? Where do you go to scream when punk rock is the establishment? No small thanks to producer Butch Vig, who knows a thing or two about helping scrappy, sneering underground acts craft big-sounding Big Statement albums, New Wave is a beacon: Come this way, and come as you are. Yet where Nirvana (publicly, anyway) retreated from and undermined Nevermind's poppier, crowd-pleasing tendencies, Against Me! revel in New Wave's -- the bop-bop-bop chorus of "Thrash Unreal" is more liberating than a thousand middle fingers, although punk purists may beg, loudly, to differ.

November 20, 2007 – "Welcome, Canadians!" Even at soundcheck, Bruce Springsteen treats a New Jersey venue like his home, and Arcade Fire's Win Butler and Régine Chassagne are honored guests. "Did you guys finish your tour?" Watching from the floor of the Continental Airlines Arena hours before Springsteen's first official hometown show with the E Street Band in five years, house lights up, Butler shouts back that they wrapped up the American leg three days ago and will leave for Europe in two weeks. Springsteen nods, then leads his band through a version of "Backstreets; so sweeping it's a shame only five people are here to witness it. Since his breakthrough 1975 album, Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen has been the future of rock'n'roll, a folkie, a misunderstood patriot, wildly popular, not particularly popular, a workhorse, a stay-at-home dad, a firebrand, a name brand.

November 14, 2007 – Deputy editor Steve Kandell's open letter to Michael Anthony, which, to our knowledge, has not yet been postmarked. Dear Mike, While there's no question that anyone should be punished for hanging out with Sammy Hagar by choice, the price you've been forced to pay is far too steep. Not only did your misplaced allegiance cost you, after 30+ years of dutiful service, the unfathomable payday that is the current Van Halen reunion tour, but you were replaced by a 16-year-old. A 16-year-old. He was born the year For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge came out. Remember that album? Yeah, me fucking neither. And while it was great to stand in Madison Square Garden last night seeing the show of my 7th-grade dreams, I'd be lying if I said I didn't spend the entire time thinking about you. Did Eddie and Alex think we wouldn't mind because you're just the bassist?

August 23, 2007 – "Play one more song!" Curtis is red in the face, shouting himself hoarse. "You rock! It huuuurts!" Standing to Curtis' left in the front row, his pal Brian raises a meaty fist in solidarity, and the band -- a tight, bloozy four-piece from Oklahoma City called 36 Inches -- launches into its showstopper, "Hound Dog Gonna Eat That Pussy." Curtis and Brian convulse with gratitude. Someone in the crowd yells, "Cocaine!" It is 9:45 in the morning. Thirty hours into the inaugural Rocklahoma festival, the fact that a hundred or so people would battle hangovers and common sense to come watch '80s-style cock rock in rural Oklahoma at a time when they could be home watching cartoons somehow isn't that shocking.

June 27, 2007 – It's 2 A.M. and I'm waiting for Amy Winehouse in the lobby of the Soho Grand wearing a slice of tomato on my head. She bet me $100 that I couldn't walk to the bar across the street without it falling off, but just as we were leaving, she made an unannounced detour to her room. That was a half hour ago, and to be honest, I'm starting to feel like an ass. Finally, the elevator opens and Winehouse steps out — a leaning tower of raven-black hair, supported, barely, by a wisp of a body — and sighs when she sees me. I follow her onto Grand Street, my head tilted high like a runway model. Seeds dripping into my eyes, I am the picture of poise and dignity, mere steps away from earning my bounty.

May 2, 2007 – For our May cover feature, six stars of this year's festivals give the skinny on ginormous outdoor shows to (sun-)baked crowds. SPIN.com was on hand for the historic cover shoot in Hollywood, and we filmed our own quick interviews with the cover subjects. Watch our on-site video interview with Wilco's Jeff Tweedy, and keep checking this space for interviews and behind-the-scenes footage of Jeff, Satellite Party's Perry Farrell, AFI's Davey Havok, Rage Against the Machine/Nightwatchman guitarist Tom Morello, Wu-Tang's RZA, and Spoon's Britt Daniel. Wilco's playing Bonnaroo for the second time. What are you most looking forward to?I think I'm going to keep myself a little more hydrated than last time [2004]. I had only been out of rehab for a couple months, so I was still just kind of hanging on.

April 29, 2007 – "Thank you for your manners." And with that, Win Butler of Montreal's Arcade Fire made Coachella history by uttering the single-most Canadian piece of rock stage banter ever. But playing to 50,000 some-odd delirious fans with the sun diving behind the mountains and palm trees can lighten up even the most po-faced of hurdygurdy-playing Quebecois collectives, which may explain why the opening strains of "Keep the Car Running" were accompanied by an onslaught of beach balls launched from near the sound board.