These days, rock fans around the world expect a certain level of discographic homogeneity from their stars. U2 might release different EPs, singles and even greatest-hits packages in various countries around the globe, but in when it comes to indentifying their primary releases (The Joshua Tree, War, All That You Can't Leave Behind, et al.) just about everybody in the world is in agreement.
This wasn't always the case. Before the 1970s, it was quite common for the discographies of rock stars to differ from nation to nation, market to market. Hardcore record collectors specializing in Beatles and Rolling Stones memorabilia know this all too well. Many of the groups' most iconic albums underwent radical alterations when making the trip from the United Kingdom to the States. This was due to crass commercialism, quite honestly. London Records, The Stones' American label, wanted to saturate the American market with as much product as possible. Thus, they made a habit of removing songs from albums (released in England on the Decca label originally) and coupling them with single-only tracks in order to produce even more albums to hawk. (Interesting aside: back in the day the British record-buying public thought it bad form to include singles on albums, as well as to pull singles from albums. They were seen as independent media.)
Between 1964 and '69, The Stones released eight albums, two greatest-hits collections and a pair of EPs in the U.K. Here in the United States, the numbers were 10 albums, two greatest-hits collections, a live record and a full-length, 1967's Flowers, that fell somewhere between album and compilation. As a result, old-school American fans have fond memories of titles the Brits didn't even know existed: England's Newest Hit Makers, The Rolling Stones, Now!, December's Children (And Everybody's) and, of course, the aforementioned Flowers.
I'm of the belief the original British versions are the better records. First off, London Records forced us Yanks to purchase a lot of music twice. The American Out of Our Heads consists of 12 tracks, four of which were also released via the 45 format: "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction," "The Under Assistant West Coast Promotion Man," "Play with Fire" and "The Last Time." That means we paid full album price for just eight new songs. Then there's the issue of artistic quality. This becomes quite evident when comparing the U.S. versions of Aftermath and Between the Buttons to their U.K. counterparts. The latter are so much more cohesive and fully realized that they're practically different records. Between the Buttons in particular is an interesting case; because London Records gutted the thing, American rock critics failed to embrace it quite like the British pop press did; different versions spawned different legacies.
Louisiana Hayride was a "barn dance"-style radio program on KWKH out of Shreveport, La., that was loosely modeled on its more famous cousin, Nashville's The Grand Ole Opry, along with Chicago's lesser-known WLS Barn Dance. The program, originally called Cradle of the Stars, launched on April 3, 1948, and went on to feature some of the most revered names in country music.
The past year has seen a crop of excellent releases from the most talked-about rising stars in classical music, a varied set of neo-traditionalists who breathe life into the genre though fiery performances, scandalous outfits and bold programming choices. Astonishingly, none of them are older than 30.
We don't know about you, but this time of year makes us want to strap on a pair of sparkly gold stilettos, squeeze into something that's possibly too tight given how much we ate over Thanksgiving, and get our ho-ho-holiday on — on the dancefloor, of course. Thankfully, many of our favorite pop stars seem to feel the same way, obliging us with festive dance pop originals and clubby remakes of the classics, all decked out with killer beats and groovable hooks. To get you in the holiday spirit, we've assembled this little guide to the brightest lights on the holiday pop tree, from the Biebster's naughty, brand-spanking-new Under the Mistletoe to Destiny's Child's ode to Rudolph. It's Christmas — with a beat you can dance to. 'Tis the season to get your booty wiggling!
"It's intriguing that so many of the best metal albums this year were the ones with no metal in them, by which I mean no guitars." I wrote that eight years ago, at the end of 2003, apparently impressed by certain gothic and/or ambient and/or keyboard-obsessed bands (whom I can no longer identify offhand) who'd taken their heaviness in a rather unexpected direction, to say the least. What I wrote then is certainly not true of metal albums now: my three favorite albums below are absolutely committed to overweight guitar riffs, as metal has been since the very dawn of time. Further down the list, though, there's still plenty of evidence of bands moving their music way beyond the genre's high-volume constrictions and into a territory that — on entire albums in some cases and just a few tracks in others — might make sense as relaxing background music on certain underworld elevators. So: a new age or an old one? Your choice.
The Cleveland trio 
Metal has been around for more than 40 years (or at the very least, since 
What holiday has more family traditions than Christmas? And who knows more about "family tradition" than country music lovers? We've spent the past few weeks trimming the tracks on our radio tree and adding plenty of shiny new tunes to make sure it sounds nice for all you folks—even you naughty ones.
The holiday season is upon us. And if you're like us, and you can't help but thrill to the yuletide aural exploits of Charlie Brown, Phil Spector, Bing Crosby, James Brown, Mariah Carey, Celia Cruz, The Muppets, King Diamond and all the rest, then here's our gift to you: an absolute enormous guide to the holiday music available on Rhapsody, from soul jams to Latin favorites to deep-cut crooner epics, from new 2011 favorites (Justin Bieber!) to our 10 favorite classic rockers who look like Santa (Rick Rubin!), from the tasteful lilt of John Fahey to the seedier exploits of St. Nick himself. We've got an in-depth guide to A Charlie Brown Christmas, an ultimate holiday-party playlist, and capping it all off, our 30 favorite Xmas albums of all time. Enjoy, and have a jovial holiday season.
With breezy, swinging panache, Vince Guaraldi pulled off something nearly impossible with his 1965 score to 
Each Christmas brings with it another glut of holiday soul albums. This year's crop includes 
Holiday music is not just reserved for the fair crooner. In fact, many an indie artist has been struck with yuletide fever — or has at least shivered enough through a December day to be inspired to sing about hard winters and white snow. So this isn’t strictly hall-decking, bell-jingling music, but rather an array of tunes that represent both the jolly and the melancholy of the holiday season, from covers by 
Kris Kringle is quite the mystery. Some believe he's just a jolly good fella that can do no wrong; others are a little more suspicious. What exactly does he do with those reindeer in the off-season? Who is he really kissing under the mistletoe? Artists like 
Christian artists were born (or should we say born again?) to create Christmas music. After all, "Christ" is right there in the name of the holiday! It's not surprising that a genre that delivers spiritually themed music all year long goes into overdrive around the holidays. From the outside looking in, it could seem like overkill (the sheer volume practically guarantees at least a few lukewarm covers), but when it comes to marking the birth of a baby they see as a savior, the faithful take this stuff seriously. Here's our take on a half-dozen of the most high-profile new Christmas collections, with details on everything from guest stars to don't-miss tracks. 
Can you smell it in the air? It's that time again. Christmas is coming, ready or not, and while there's still hope this is the year you'll successfully avoid Grandma's probing inquiries about your still-single status and Uncle Carl's awkward full-frontal hugs, holiday music is a Christmastime inevitability. At the mall or the doctor's office, in grocery stores and elevators, on TV and the radio, from the computers of overly cheery coworkers and the mouths of misguided carolers, you can't escape it. Don't even try. The best you can hope for is to exercise some control over the seasonal sounds you consume. It's in that spirit that we present a host of brand-new holiday releases. Read on and find out which ones are worth adding to this year's holiday playlist.
Like the holiday season itself (emphasis on season — as in weeks of festivities), Christmas songs are kind of a big deal in the Latin-music world. From meditative religious songs to rollicking salsa soundtracks perfect for a parranda (the caroling/party tradition), sun-kissed Spanish versions of "White Christmas" to "El Burrito de Belén," there's a song for just about every occasion, and chances are it's been recorded by just about every big-name Latin star. In the spirit of the season, we put together a massive navidad mega-mix with the perfect song for every mood and moment, whether you're waking up at the crack of dawn for a novena service, preparing for a festive nochebuena dinner with family or just celebrating the season with friends. It includes a multiversion "Burrito" breakdown! ¡Feliz Navidad!
Happy holidaze, people! 
Feeling like your collection of country-flavored Christmas carols could use an overhaul? The time to do it is now, and it’s definitely best to do a little sprucing up before Auntie Jane and Uncle Charlie land on your doorstep.
We all love our holiday traditions, including our favorite seasonal songs, whether you're a classicist or a "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"-ist. This year, why not add a global dimension to your holiday listening traditions by embracing some international music customs? We've assembled an extensive guide to the best international and Latin holiday albums, including Christmas-, Hanukkah- and solstice-friendly music from Ireland, Cuba, Jamaica, Eastern Europe and more. So start listening and find some new ways to (musically) say Merry Christmas! Feliz Navidad! Nollaig Shona Dhaoibh! Ah Freilichen Chanukah! Happy holidays!
Although we love last century's Christmas classics, sometimes the unrelenting spins of 
Let's get this out of the way up front: I am no great fan of the Christmas season, although that manifests itself less in grinchitude than in mild indifference. (No, Fox News, I am not waging a war on Christmas; I just want to enjoy the ability to indulge or ignore it at my leisure, without being reminded that 'TIS THE SEASON every commercial break and/or city block.) Anyway, the same goes for Christmas music.
You provide the eggnog and mistletoe (or dreidel and menorah); we'll provide the tunes. That's how holidaze work around here. Of course we've got all the eternal carols and trusty standbys about winter wonderlands, sleigh rides, jingle bells, frosty snowmen, drummer boys, feliz navidads, Santa Claus coming to town and/or Mommy kissing him, God resting merry gentlemen, and chestnuts roasting on open fires — many of them harmonized by legendary girl groups or Motowners or recent rock/pop/R&B stars. And we've got all your favorite ubiquitous seasonal standards of less antiquated vintage, too — from 
The thing about Christmas music is you either love it or hate it. There isn't usually much middle ground. For those of us who love it, the warble of Alvin & The Chipmunks' "Christmas (Don't Be Late)" and Bobby Helms' rockabilly-ing "Jingle Bell Rock" are welcome at least the first 10,000 times we'll hear them—in the car, in the supermarket, in our sleep—between now and December 25th. For those poor souls who have to spend the next month or so trying (unsuccessfully) to get that seizure-inducing "Carol of the Bells" song out of their heads, we're sorry. You have absolutely no use for the list below. But, if you're like me and you listen to Darlene Love's "White Christmas" and, especially, her "Marshmallow World" in June, well, have fun, and don't miss Ella Fitzgerald's bangin' "Jingle Bells," the made-for-Jimmy-Buffett wonder "Mele Kalikimaka" by Bing Crosby, the backup singers in Elvis' "Blue Christmas" or any of Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas.
One of America's most successful indie labels doesn't run out of Brooklyn or Portland or L.A., but rather the modest metropolis of Durham, N.C., home of the Blue Devils of Duke University and the Bull Durham Tobacco Factory. It may not be the likeliest of habitats for a record label to blossom, but Merge Records has slowly risen to indie-powerhouse status. 
Well, pop fans, it looks like Christmas came early for us this year. Or, to put it another (more accurate) way, your favorite pop stars hustled to get their big albums out in time for the holidays — but before the end-of-the-year dead zone in which no album survives. Many beloved boldface names here: Rihanna! Kelly Clarkson! Drake! Bieber! The Muppets! In fact, so many great albums came out in the last month, we couldn't find a way to limit it to just 10. So here are pop's Top 11 albums of the last month — plus honorable mentions!
It's nearing the end of the year, and there's no shortage of rappers trying to squeeze in an album for holiday shoppers. The big releases this month come from Drake, Wale, Gym Class Heroes and, surprisingly, Mac Miller. December brings The Roots, Common, and Snoop Dogg & Wiz Khalifa. However, there are plenty of lower-profile albums worth a listen, too; so many, in fact, that I couldn't squeeze them in. I compiled a list of them at the end of this roundup.
Sometimes my hipper-than-thou friends make fun of me for liking country music. To them, it's all just ignorant cowboy jams sung by toothless ol' fellas in a hat. Or, at the other end of the spectrum, it's heartless, slick, countrified pop sung by über-tanned hotties with hair too perfect to even bother with a hat.
To get your head around trumpeter, virtuoso and jazz godhead 
This Classical Roundup has a decidedly American bent: Leonard Bernstein and Hilary Hahn bring life to Ives, Mikhail Simonyan plays Barber, and Leonard Pennario rolls though Gottschalk. To round things out, and for a touch of international diversity, Matt Haimovitz takes on 
Dubstep really isn't made for albums. That's not to say that dubstep artists haven't made some fine long-players. But the music's cold-sweat intensity is best experienced in a long, rolling rush, from bass riff to bass riff. To facilitate that visceral immersion in the deep end, we've created a brand-new radio station, The Lowdown: Dubstep and Bass. Here you'll find every variation of low-end pressure, from 
As 2011 starts to wind down, we're highlighting some of the last remaining releases of the year. It's a mix of luscious dream pop from the likes of M83, Atlas Sound and newcomers Blouse, alongside creepy electro-pop from none other than the filmmaker weirdo David Lynch, symphonic rock from former Oasis man Noel Gallagher, bold romantic pop from Florence + the Machine and My Brightest Diamond, and even a new Twilight soundtrack for the tween in us all. There are also some tasty singles and EPs from Mazzy Star (!), Kurt Vile, moody post-punkers The Soft Moon and downtempo Grecians Keep Shelly in Athens.
Every rap season has that one rapper whose mere voice ensures radio airplay and paid downloads. Over the past 12 months, that artist has been 
On the cover of his second album, 
Though the South has long been mythologized as the birthplace of the blues, country music and jazz, in the 1980s the region spawned a cluster of quirky bands — often tagged "college rock" — that would lay the foundation for alternative pop and indie rock, both of which took shape by decade's end. The sound these groups crafted was simple, but deliciously effective: a scruffy DIY fusion of post-punk's nervous energy, power-pop hooks and chiming folk-rock from the 1960s.
Synthesizer freaks will be stoked this month, whether it's for the cosmic frequencies that Emeralds' Steve Hauschildt harnesses on his new album for Kranky, or the Day-Glo arpeggios and cartoon trance of Rustie's audacious debut album for Warp. Oneohtrix Point Never's Daniel Lopatin actually moves away from the supersaturated synths of his previous work, but his new record's cryptic vignettes are still a treat for fans of well-tempered analog sound. And the dark drones of Sandwell District's glowering Feed Forward, finally given a digital release, insert coldwave keyboards into techno at its most austere.
When 
When 
There are all sorts of milestones in this month's Jazz Roundup. The biggest deal comes from Wynton Marsalis, whose 50th birthday was celebrated with a pair of records that show the trumpeter's paramount cultural clout. How many other musicians' labels issue a birthday retrospective? How many people get to jam with Clapton to celebrate half a century? There's also the final take from iconic vocalist Etta James and the realization of Christian McBride's long dream to lead a big band. Those three are joined by James Carter's organ trio and some torch-y vocals from L.A. pretty boy Michael Feinstein.
Dwight "
Once upon a time, there was a young doe-eyed beauty of rising Hollywood fame. An inspiration for deadpan girls with cutesy fashion sense and a taste for retro indie-pop, she had everything but her Prince Charming. One day she met a like-minded lad, bespectacled and slightly nerdy, but nonetheless a sensitive troubadour of rising hipster fame. He claimed he would "possess" her heart; she batted her eyes and purred, "You really got a hold on me."
Hopefully, the release of the five-disc 
Determining the No. 1 album for this month's installment of Rhapsody's Rock Roundup was a no-brainer: The Beach Boys' Smile Sessions box set. The five-disc package compiles the recordings for the band's lost masterpiece, which was supposed to have come out in 1967 and turn the band into the high princes of psychedelic art-pop. As for other archival releases that charted, there's an expanded edition of Achtung Baby, U2's 1992 foray into electronic-tinged club rock, and Sting's 25 Years collection, a meticulous overview of his post-
"Urban Latin" is at once an extremely specific and yet incredibly vague term, but for our purposes here we've defined it loosely as Latin music that in some way cozies up to mainstream hip-hop and R&B, whether through its beats, its aesthetics, its collaborations or its target audience. We've focused this Cheat Sheet on three prominent styles: reggaeton, Latin hip-hop, and the newest big player in this game, bachata. That Dominican pop genre hasn't always been as urban-identified as, say, reggaeton (in fact, bachata was originally the music of the rural poor), but many of its biggest stars are carving out an aesthetic kinship to R&B that feels organic and sounds hot. 
Ahhh … welcome to November, country music fans! There has been a cornucopia of exciting new releases of late, and we're going to make it easy as pumpkin pie for you to discover them. 
A quarter-century after its release (feel old now?), it is somewhat amusing, amazing and perplexing to remember that, way back then, 
With Rhapsody turning 10 years old next month, let's flash back exactly a decade to salute the class of 2001 — the generation that brought us, for better or for worse, the hipster.
Devoted readers of The Mix (hi, mom!) might remember that my last 
A week ago, Amsterdam's rain-slicked streets filled up with DJs, industry types and hangers-on for the Amsterdam Dance Event, one of the club world's biggest confabs. There were panels and photo ops, champagne toasts and all-night ragers. It would have been the perfect opportunity for the city's Delsin imprint to crow in celebration of its 15th anniversary.
One of Latin music's biggest events of the year is coming up November 10. We're talking, of course, about the Latin Grammy Awards, the annual star-studded fete honoring the brightest stars and most exciting newcomers in the wide, wonderful Latin music world. Held this year in Las Vegas (and airing on Univision), the 2011 program promises to be a stunner. Mariachi star/actress 
The most psychedelic music in 
Rhapsody named 
As we head into the holiday season, the new releases will slow to a trickle, so enjoy this fresh batch of standouts while they're still plentiful. There's a new disc from the band behind Freddie Mercury impersonator Marc Martel, as well as a worshipful disc filled with watery Bible references from Casting Crowns. Singer-songwriters like Sara Groves bring a dose of reality, while Jason Crabb represents the Southern gospel side of things with a new live project. Read on to discover our entire octet of top picks.
There was once a time when Americans treated the idea of British rappers as a joke. How could the English, with their funny accents and halting rhymes, approach the dexterity and rhythm of quality hip-hop music? Those days ended with the classic 1997 compilation 
An annual celebration of the legacy of synthesizer inventor and engineer Robert Moog, Moogfest might seem like an odd place for a classic rock fan to search for the rawk. But I have my reasons. 
Not to toot our own horn or anything, but we think Rhapsody's World Roundups are pretty exciting. It's just so rewarding and exhilarating to take this kind of whirlwind trip around the world of global music, digging into all the fantastic and often under-the-radar new albums that have come out in the last couple months. Our Top Ten this time out, for instance, spans critically acclaimed African desert blues, almost-lost Afro-funk nuggets from Benin, shiver-inducing flamenco, neo-folkloric Mexican alt-rock and Brazilian-zydeco/Western swing/New Orleans jazz mashups. And that's just the first half! Get soundtrekking!
Motown's indelible impact on pop-music history is a direct result of the talent on the Detroit-born label's roster. Berry Gordy and his team sussed out the most skilled and (equally as important) the most likable kids they could find, often plucking actual kids out of obscurity (and high school), turning them into polished, professional pop stars. But Motown's success was also undoubtedly due to the well-oiled, machine-like way the studio ran, taking ridiculously young diamonds in the rough and putting them through the label's "factory" system, which included training in everything from music and dance to, yes, fashion and manners. 
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