The Good, The Bad and The Unknown — Over halfway through the year and I am unimpressed.  Eminem's new album is pretty good and definitely a return to form.  But the best of the year?  It's not even the best Em album.  Maybe 3rd best.  And Massive Attack, Morcheeba, and MGMT have a... more info

Nialler9 — Solar Bears made a mixtape for jamie Hodgson’s Radar blog on NME.com. Grab the mp4 here. Tracklisting: Cocteau Twins – Cherry Coloured Funk The Budos Band – Chicago Falcon Solar Bears – Forest Of Fountains Clark – Outside Plume Twin Sister... more info

Pop Crunch — Way to go, Jack: Animal expert Jack Hanna (a more frequent guest on Maury than a Los Angeles party girl looking for her “baby daddy”) used one of his own tips to make a harrowing escape after staring down the throats of a pack of grizzly bears du... more info

NME - Radar — Dublin duo Solar Bears are the Planet Mu's latest signing. They make analog synth music that sounds like the singing Triffids from a JG Ballard novel getting amorous with Little Weed from Bill and Ben. In their downtime they hang-out in one of their ... more info

Guardian Music — After years in the shadow of Brooklyn bands, the British album is stronger than ever. Rosie Swash salutes a Mercury shortlist that reflects the boom in homegrown talentHas there ever been a more maligned award than the Mercury music prize? The annual... more info

The Culture Of Me — Sounding not unlike a mixture of Phoenix and Grizzly Bear, there’s a new Cut Copy song swirling about from the band called “Where I’m Going”, which you can download for free by simply signing up for their mailing list. Which, in this case, is... more info

Aquarium Drunkard — I nicked this Grizzly Bear cover of Paul Simon’s “Graceland” several weeks ago from the gents over at IGIF. Here, in place of Simon’s mid-80s Soweto fetish, we have Daniel Rossen’s multi-tracked rendering that falls more in line with haunte... more info

I Guess I'm Floating — Band comparisons can go a long way in this age of digital delivery and internet hype, often utilized as an integral part of modern day reviews. While some simply use such comparisons as a gauge to determine what they're about to hear, others tend to... more info

Pitchfork — Artist: Twin Shadow Album: Forget Release Date: September 28Label: Terrible Records Tracklist: 01 Tyrant Destroyed 02 When We're Dancing 03 I Can't Wait 04 Shooting Holes at the Moon 05 At My Heels 06 Yellow Balloon 07 Tether Beat 08 Castles in the S... more info

MTV.com News — One man's transit from the Wall of Sound to the walls of prison. Phil Spector at the Wall of Sound Photo: Michael Ochs Archives The big "get" of "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector" is a long, rambling, megalomaniacal interview with ... more info