Forget the dragon, 2012 is the Year of the Alabama Shakes. The band has launched into national prominence and is in town for a sold-out show at First Avenue.

Spiritualized's appearance at First Avenue in May was the first in years, and a ravenous Twin Cities fanbase welcomed Jason Pierce and his band back with open arms. For those who missed it, The Current recorded and aired the entire show, and now we're able to provide it for you to stream online.

This is the second self-titled Fleetwood Mac record (the first was the Peter Green era). The band now had the "classic" lineup of Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, Christine McVie, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie.

With no new Bon Iver music on the horizon, fans have a whole new way to interact with Justin Vernon’s songwriting this summer. Through a partnership with Spotify and the musician-networking site Indaba Music, the 10 tracks from Vernon’s sophomore album Bon Iver, Bon Iver are being offered up for remixing. Each track is broken…

The singer-songwriter's sophomore album is mature, more complex

Sonny's attempt at making a psychedelic record. Upon first listen you'll realize that Sonny Bono was far too square to fit into the Summer of Love.

This group had a big hit with their version of "Baby, It's You." They cover a number of songs on this record, adding their own blues-rock arrangements. We played their version of The Zombies "Tell Her No," but with Gayle McCormick on lead vocal the title is "Tell Him No."

August always tends to usher in a little wistfulness, and here are four new songs we're playing on The Current that might give you a little perspective on the season, including music from Aimee Mann, Dinosaur Jr. and more.

We added some class to Random Vinyl this morning with Dean Martin's hit and permanent stamp on pop culture, "Ain't That a Kick in the Head."

As home studio equipment becomes more and more accessible, it seems that the narrative arc for new musical projects has taken on a few twists and turns. Now, instead of bands honing their sound in a rehearsal space or out in the clubs, they are able layer sounds and record entire albums without leaving their…