After 15 years in Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Gibbard is releasing his first solo album, Former Lives. Guy Raz talks with Ben about what it's like to confront older versions of one's creative self, his private life after a very public divorce and the future of Death Cab for Cutie.

The California based band led by the Alvin brothers has been pumping out good ol' fashioned amped-up American roots rock for several decades. "Hard Line" contains the song "Dark Night," which has been used on TV and movie soundtracks ranging from "Miami Vice" to the Robetr Rodriquez/Quentin Tarrantino vampire flick "From Dusk Til Dawn."

Gabriel's 1978 solo album was the second of three known simply as "Peter Gabriel" (his fourth would have had the same title yet again if Geffen Records hadn't balked). This one is sometimes nicknamed "Scratch" for its cover art depicting Gabriel appearing the scratch the air with his fingernails. We played "On the Air."

After a spectacular week-long run that saw Doomtree filling the 7th St. Entry for five consecutive nights and finishing it off with a two-night stand in the Mainroom for Blowout 7, the Minneapolis hip-hop collective will return this December for three back-to-back shows. Doomtree Blowout 8 will take place Friday, December 14; Saturday, December 15;…

Prince brought his best new song in years to the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live last night, performing “RNR Affair” (alternatively titled “Rock ‘n’ Roll Love Affair”) for a crowd of camera phone-wielding fans. If you’re a Current listener you’ll recognize “RNR Affair” as the new Prince song the station has had in rotation since…

As part of our ongoing collaboration with McNally Smith across the street from MPR headquarters, we're pleased to share another installment of their Soundbite Series hosted by David Campbell.

Starting in the early '90s, the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion tore through the American indie scene with a careening, caustic strain of high-energy rock'n'roll, fusing garage-band revivalism, noise-punk and raw blues.

There are a lot of political events happening this week, a few of which are highlighted below, and we’ve also rounded up quite a few plain ol’ club shows for the election-fatigued set. Special thanks to Jon Schober for his help compiling this week’s list, and we hope to see you out at the clubs!…

Mallman writes in from the road, where he's touring behind his new 'Double Silhouette'

In the immediate wake of the Sex Pistols' dramatic 1978 breakup, John Lydon shed his "Rotten" persona and emerged with Public Image Ltd, a new outfit whose dark, strange sound defined the new direction the UK music scene would soon pursue.