October 12, 2011 – The 20th anniversary celebrations for Nirvana's Nevermind, do not have to end just yet: the Muppets are covering the seminal album's mega-hit single "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the soundtrack for their eponymous new movie, set to hit theaters on November 23. ?Yaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!. But, remember, this is a very difficult thing to do tastefully, even with a cameo from Dave Grohl, who is backing the adorably fuzzy Muppets Barbershop Quartet on drums (replacing regular drummer Animal, who, as part of the film's plot, is out attending anger management courses). So, in honor of the Muppets' upcoming cover of the angst cornerstone, SPIN picked five other covers that it's certain to best. Sorry about that, Miley Cyrus!

October 12, 2011 – Leslie Feist is exhausted. She's curled up beneath the covers of the stately oak-framed bed in her room at the Lafayette House hotel in downtown Manhattan. I ask if she'd like to talk in the ivy-covered private backyard, but she insists on staying put. The singer/songwriter flew in the night before from her native Toronto, now her sole residence after living part-time in Paris, and she's just finishing her first press day promoting her fourth full-length album, Metals. She grabs my recorder, snuggles deeper into the pearl-white sheets, and whispers, "Pillow talk! Pillow talk!

October 11, 2011 – On his new album Watch the Throne, Kanye West reminds us (repeatedly) of his love of Maybach cars, Hermes clothes, and Rolex watches. But the king of luxury rap also wants us to think of him as a man of the people. And during a visit to New York City's Occupy Wall Street protests on Monday, he made that point without saying anything at all. 'Ye and Russell Simmons dropped into Lower Manhattan's Zuccotti Park, ground zero for the protests, where some have been camped out for 24 days, and Simmons acted as the rapper/producer's spokesperson as his client remained tight-lipped. "Kanye's been a big supporter, spiritually for this movement," said Simmons. "He's just here to stand with the people. He understands this idea about getting the money out of the government and letting the people govern.

October 6, 2011 – In SPIN's eight-out-of-10 review of Yeasayer's 2010 album Odd Blood, we praised the Brooklyn psych-rockers' bold and flamboyant dance sound, and asked, "What's coming next?" Now we know: "It's like a demented R&B record," singer-keyboardist Chris Keating tells SPIN of the band's upcoming third album, expected in late spring or early summer of 2012. "It's like an Aaliyah album if you played it backwards and slowed it down. Or David Bowie's Lodger. Those two are major influences." The quintet -- also featuring bassist Ira Wolf Tuton, guitarist Anand Wilder, drummer Jason Trammell, and percussionist Ahmed Gallab -- have been working 12-hour days in a Greenpoint, Brooklyn, studio on the yet-to-be-titled effort, and already have more than 22 songs written.

October 4, 2011 – "These songs never would have ended up on an Oasis record," Noel Gallagher says about the 10 tracks on Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, his solo debut. For the first time in his 20-year career, Gallagher is stepping beyond the Britpop sound he popularized with Oasis (who split in August 2009) by experimenting with new styles, including New Orleans-style ragtime and 80s dance. Q&A: Noel Gallagher on Solo LP, Oasis So far, "What a Life" and "The Death of You and Me" have leaked online in advance of the LP's November 8 U.S. release. To get the stories behind those two songs and four more new tracks, we recently sat down with Gallagher. "If I Had a Gun"Gallagher has some unlikely collaborators on this acoustic ballad: his fans.

October 4, 2011 – In 2007, Leslie Feist found pop success with her third album, The Reminder, and its uplifting single "1234" and colorfully choreographed music video, which was featured in Apple's iPod commercial and landed Feist on Sesame Street. Four years later, the Toronto chanteuse has something more expansive and brooding in store on her just-released fourth album, Metals. Monday night she recreated the new sound during a concert celebrating the LP's release -- which was held in the crypt of a New York City church. At 9 P.M. sharp, 150 fans -- Vampire Weekend's Ezra Koenig, Grizzly Bear's Ed Droste, and the Strokes' Fab Moretti included -- were led out of the rain on Manhattan's West 155th Street and into Harlem's Church of the Intercession.

October 3, 2011 – For their latest single "Hot Sex & Cold Wine," Huntsville, Alabama, rap duo G-Side – a recent Breaking Out artist in SPIN -- give a freak-nasty shout out to the ladies with a little help from Louisville-bred singer-rapper Johnny Spanish and fellow 'Bama producers Block Beattaz. G-Side, "Hot Sex and Cold Wine (feat. Johnny Spanish)" (DOWNLOAD) "The ladies didn't get a lot of love on our last album The One... Cohesive, so we figured we'd switch it up and give them something that's dope in the club, car or the crib," G-Side tells SPIN. "'Hot Sex & Cold Wine' are pretty much essential to keeping your lady friend happy. We already had the record when Johnny Spanish flew to Huntsville for a few days to work with the Block Beattaz, so we had him add some vocals to the hook.

September 29, 2011 – This week: Soulja Boy, the 21-year-old Atlanta rapper -- yes, the guy behind the dance Natalie Portman loves -- who is bringing Southern hip-hop into the next generation. His Respect My Hustle drops later this year. FAVORITE SONG: "Keep Ya Head Up" by Tupac. That song is inspirational. When I was 10 years old my mom used to play Tupac while she cleaned the house. I remember rapping over that song when it came on. Those are some great memories. FAVORITE ALBUM: All Eyez On Me by Tupac. Tupac was on some other shit when he made that album. He was so far ahead of other rappers. That album is one of the biggest selling in hip-hop along with Biggie's Life After Death, Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP, and 50 Cent's Get Rich Or Die Tryin'. I hope one day I can put out an album that sells 10 million copies.

September 27, 2011 – On Halloween 1991, a month after the release of a not-too-shabby little rock record called Nevermind, Nirvana's U.S. headlining tour concluded in the band's adopted hometown of Seattle. The show, a historic 19-song set at the Paramount Theatre, is now available to watch in its entirety at VEVO. Live at the Paramount is streaming commercial free for 24 hours, starting at 12 noon EST Tuesday. It will return for a 24-hour encore on Monday, October 31, the actual 20th anniversary of the gig. Unearthed as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of Nevermind's release, the Live at the Paramount DVD will also be released today in a special deluxe edition reissue of the benchmark LP.

September 23, 2011 – It may sound surprising, but it's a great time to be a Smashing Pumpkins fan -- Billy Corgan is only becoming more and more prolific with age. The 44-year-old singer-guitarist just unveiled the tracklist for Oceania, the latest project of many for the revamped Smashing Pumpkins. Corgan took to Twitter Friday morning to say that Oceania, SP's ninth album (due in late November), will run "approx 60 minutes and 9 seconds" over 13 songs. Titles include "The Celestials," "Wildflower," "Glissandra," and "One Diamond, One Heart." His band, which has undergone some personnel changes in recent years (Corgan remains the only original member), unveiled Oceania for the first time Thursday night at a private listening party. "I'm really, really proud of the work we've done," Corgan Tweeted. "Our hearts are on the line for sure.