In the run-up to the March 23 episode of New Hot, host David Safar welcomed members of the Calgary post-punk band Viet Cong into the studio to record some in-studio versions of tunes off their self-titled debut album. Stream those tracks, and watch a video of a performance of 'Silhouettes'.

Ahead of a gig at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theater, Seth Avett and Jessica Lea Mayfield stopped by The Current studio to chat with host Bill DeVille and to perform tracks off their Elliott Smith covers album.

You get a memoir! And you get a memoir! Everybody gets a memoir among indie rock notables this year…including, now, Elvis Costello and Johnny Marr. Costello’s Unfaithful Music & Disappearing Ink will be published on Oct. 13; Smiths guitarist Marr’s as-yet-untitled memoir will hit shelves about a year later, in fall 2016. Woodbury’s Hippo Campus will make their national TV debut…

As part of Member Appreciation Week, today's 9:30 Coffee Break idea comes from MPR member Deb Baker of Grand Rapids, Minn., who suggests: What songs featuring prominent harmonica parts do you want to hear? Send your requests.

On a snowy Sunday night when most Minnesotans were glad for the excuse to snuggle up and stay off the roads, Prince invited a handful of journalists and a few dozen die-hard fans out to Paisley Park to dance, watch a screening of Oz the Great and Powerful set to funk music, and eventually take in a short…

Ruby and the Romantics' day arrived with a No. 1 hit on their first outing; John Lennon was ordered to leave the U.S.; Elvis began his final tour; John Fogerty's baseball homage became a No. 1 album; and Blur frontman Damon Albarn was born in London, Today in Music History.

I started my day on Friday like I do most days: by waking up. I quickly realized that I had been kissed by a cold; I rolled out of bed, and blew my nose with the feeling of defeat. I checked my e-mail, and there was a message from SXSW with a notification that “if you watch…

Fresh off a triumphant run at this year's South by Southwest, Courtney Barnett delivers the best debut of the year.

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Construction is set to begin next month for the first phase of a long-planned Jimi Hendrix Park in the legendary guitarist’s home town of Seattle. The “Little Wing” portion of the park will feature a timeline of Hendrix’s career in the shape of a guitar and is scheduled to open this fall. The Jimi Hendrix…