U2, 'No Line on the Horizon' (Interscope)

With a boost from his rejuvenated mates, Bono rediscovers his calling.

"I’ll Go Crazy if I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight” reads like a bumper sticker on an SUV in a Wal-Mart parking lot -- a meek yelp of rebellion from a mortgage-stressed husband who dreams of creeping out for Nascar Bud Shootout night at Hooters.

Dan Deacon, 'Bromst' (Carpark)

Off-the-grid scamp turns playfully serious composer.

If you're the sort of lapsed grad student who wears Super Mario t-shirts and freaks the fuck out at art spaces in emerging neighborhoods, then Dan Deacon is already your electro-punk party hoss par excellence.

The Prodigy, 'Invaders Must Die' (Cooking Vinyl)

British Big Beat bosses scale down their ambitions.

When the Prodigy appeared on SPIN's September 1997 cover, the U.K. group's third album, The Fat of the Land, had been tagged as electronica's de facto reinvention of rock'n'roll. But it also marked the Prodigy's reinvention from rebellious rave icons to a theatrical rap-rock troupe performing punky hit "Firestarter" with no-hawked punchinello Keith Flint front and center.

All 25 Grammy Performances -- Ranked!

Who's No. 1? Who's the worst? SPIN's Charles Aaron goes where only a true music obsessive would dare.
Radiohead / Photo John Shearer (WireImage.com)

It's Not Your Parents' Grammy Awards -- Or Is It?

SPIN's Charles Aaron on Springsteen, Reagan, Jay-Z, and every musician's need to please.
Bruce Springsteen / Ronald Reagan / Jay-Z

Aside from the Orwellian Reaganscape darkening the horizon, 1984 was a personal watershed for me -- a parent actually showed an interest in music that I listened to (well, sort of).

12 Random Thoughts on Lil Wayne's New Single

SPIN's Charles Aaron free-associates about the first official song from Weezy's April 7 release.
Lil Wayne

Whew! (Deep breath) OK, here we go. Below are a random sampling of first reactions and inquiries regarding Lil Wayne's just-leaked "rock" single "Prom Queen," on which Weezy dialogues about lacey underwear and broken hearts through an Auto-Tune device and apparently brushes the strings of a guitar. An historic moment, indeed.

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