Music
Cymbals Eat Guitars: Why There Are Mountains 
The Staten Island band's debut album is “too good to ignore.”
Wale: Attention Deficit
In his first album, Wale lives up to his promise as the “artist who could save hip-hop.”
Jack Liebeck: Dvorak Violin Concerto
The British violin virtuoso brings his lyrical playing to Dvorak’s Violin Concerto, the Sonatina in G, and the often neglected Violin Sonata in F Major Op. 57.
Julian Casablancas: Phrazes for the Young
At first listen, Phrazes for the Young promises the Strokes’ Casablancas “a decent future of his own,” said Keith Phipps in The Onion.
Fool’s Gold: Fool’s Gold
Each song in Fool's Gold is a “rollicking, warm reflection of appreciation” for African music, said Sean Fennessey in Pitchforkmedia.com
Gretchen Parlato: In a Dream
Parlato's vocal feats are all aglow on her second album.
MTV's Berlin wall flub
Why did MTV block U2 fans from watching a 'free' concert at the site of the Berlin Wall -- by building its own wall?
Naam: Naam
Naam’s self-titled debut is a “black hole of reverb and dust” that sucks you into its abyss, said The Village Voice.
Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra: Mahler: Symphony No. 7
David Zinman conducts the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra in a “lucid, detailed, but never overfussy" performance of Mahler's Seventh Symphony.
Sufjan Stevens: The BQE
The Brooklyn-based musician's “old-fashioned orchestral suite” was written to accompany his audiovisual tribute to the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway.
Adam Lambert’s risky CD cover
The American Idol’s debut is shaping up to be a monster hit—but will its androgynous cover art alienate mainstream fans?
Lyle Lovett: Natural Forces
Lovett continues along his musically unique path on his 12th album and pays tribute to such heroes as Townes Van Zandt and Robert Earl Keen.
Atlas Sound: Logos
The second solo album from Deerhunter’s frontman proves that “his solo creative output is just as rewarding as what came before” said Ash Dosanjh in New Musical Express.
White Denim: Fits
White Denim's newest album moves from stye to style, with the group trying its hand at prog, funk, psychedelia, post-punk, country, and even tropicalia.
Bob Dylan: Christmas in the Heart
The Voice of a Generation has delivered the first holiday album of his career.
Bebel Gilberto: All in One
On her first record for Verve—a label known for some of the best albums of Brazilian music—the daughter of Brazilian singer Miúcha and João Gilberto—steers her global pop sound toward the rhythms of South America.
The Flaming Lips: Embryonic
The 12th album from these freak-rockers is a “glorious act of galloping lunacy,” said John Doran in New Musical Express.
Rihanna's 'Russian Roulette'
What the pop star has to say in her first single since the Chris Brown scandal
Spike Jonze and Kanye West: 'We Were Once a Fairytale'
What Jonze's new short film reveals about the hip-hop star
The Mountain Goats: The Life of the World to Come
John Darnielle doesn’t preach the “word of the Lord” in his new album, though he has drawn inspiration from verses in the Bible to sing about universal themes and the meaning of faith.
