Nary a word was spoken from the stage throughout TK Webb & the Visions' set last night at Manhattan's Bowery Ballroom, probably because only full-force, raspy screams could even begin to compete with the growling distortion of the band's two guitar assault. And so the Brooklyn-based Webb skipped the small talk in favor of hell-raising howls on 10 scorchers.

After weeks of speculation that pop-punk outfit Paramore will contribute new songs to the upcoming film adaptation of teen book series Twilight, spitfire singer Hayley Williams has finally cleared the air, calling the rumors, "a little less than true but a little more than a lie" in a blog post before confirming

What? On her heart-wrenching 2006 record, Over the Mountain, Across the Valley and Back to the Stars, Jennifer O'Connor treads lightly in Elliott Smith territory, mourning the deaths of her two sisters (one from brain cancer, another in a car accident) with acoustic guitar in hand, letting melody soar above sadness.

Nearly every weekend, as SPIN.com traverses the U.S. to cover the many festivals this summer, we cross paths with a number of the most politically-minded names in music, giving each a chance to smile for the camera and sound off on the 2008 presidential election.

What? The occasionally off-kilter underground project the Music Tapes is the brainchild of Julian Koster, most notably of seminal indie rockers Neutral Milk Hotel. Koster's third Tapes LP, Music Tapes For Clouds and Tornadoes, out now on Merge, guides listeners on a magical mystery tour of sorts.