Welcome to Producers Corner, our new video series in which we grill our favorite producers about their mysterious craft while following them around their natural habitat: the studio, of course. So far we've talked to folks like Pacific Northwest icon Phil Ek, fearless M.I.A. cohort Zakee and SF rock guru John Vanderslice. Today we make a home visit to Jimmy Tamborello, the electro-pop innovator who records as Dntel, has worked with the likes of Rilo Kiley and Bright Eyes, and is also one-half of celebrated indie-pop duo The Postal Service. He tells us why he prefers working from home (who doesn’t?), how to deal with writer’s block (buy something!), and why it’s better to work alone (you feel free to do dumb stuff). It’s all brought to you by ASUS and Intel. Enjoy.
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 
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. 
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.
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."
LateNightTales is a mixtape series that "invites the world's best artists to delve deep into their music collections to create the ultimate 'late night' selection." 
When 
For this month's Indie Roundup, we highlight a couple dozen new releases. We include big names like Björk, Feist, Ryan Adams and Wilco, but we also put the spotlight on several underground greats like '90s revivalists Big Troubles, minimalist dream-poppers Gem Club, manic garage-rocker Mikal Cronin, bedroom-pop lamenter Youth Lagoon, and Swedish electro-shoegazers I Break Horses. Discover some great new music here!
Oxford, Miss.'s Fat Possum Records was founded in 1992 with an initial mission to discover and endorse local blues musicians like 
Indie artists have been cranking out some quality albums lately, with some possible year-end-list contenders emerging from such disparate acts as lovelorn indie rockers Girls, weirdo princess St. Vincent and grrrl-punk supergroup Wild Flag. Then there's smooth disco-punk from The Rapture, groovy throwback rock from Blitzen Trapper, merry indie pop from Grouplove, gauzy stadium rock from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, a new project from 
What's new in indie? Oh, just your usual hodgepodge of eclectic sounds from eclectic artists. Veteran indie dudes (Stephin M. and Stephen M.), Brazilian booty-shakers, Philly rockers, Canadian all-stars, Swedish popsters and more take over our August edition of the Indie Roundup, featuring notable new releases and singles. 
The rise of Sub Pop Records is a tale of Cinderella stature: Prince Charming came in the form of a rogue Aberdeen poet, and the rest, as they say, is history. But that was only the beginning of the story. From longhaired grunge to squeaky-clean indie folk to a world-music imprint and now hip-hop, the Seattle label has proven time and again to be one of the most reliable tastemakers in the biz. For over two decades, they've helped define whatever "indie music" is, or soon will be.
Independent hip-hop is no longer split between "backpack" and "street." In 2011, the underground defies categorization, and artists like Jay Rock and Kendrick Lamar (both from the Black Hippy crew) or Mellowhype (from Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All) balance an unapologetic street ethos with a taste for complex sounds and themes. Even Sole, who helped create the modern indie-rap landscape with early '00s albums like 
As a heatwave descends upon the country, Team Rhapsody is ironing its Jantzen bathing suit in anticipation of the twentieth installment of Lollapalooza, August 5-7 in Chicago's Grant Park. If you can't make it, fear not: We shall be in attendance, interviewing artists, snapping photos, and reporting on the various shenanigans (looking at you, 
The much-lauded second album by 
Discover fresh sounds from a diverse lineup of indie artists. In our latest roundup of new releases, we cover chillwave champions, dreamy folkies, quirky sirens and even a mysterious masked man. Read all about them and play away.
Welcome to the final installment of 
During its first week out, Justin Vernon's sophomore album under the name 
Welcome to another edition of 
One aspect of summer that never fails to surprise is that the year is now nearly half over: we are closer to 2011's year-end critics-poll season than we are to 2010's. You've started drafting your own Top 10 list already, right? No? You haven't? Don't panic: here, Rhapsody's genre editors each pick their five favorite records of the year so far. How many will survive until November? Which ones will be replaced by Lil Wayne, by Beyoncé, by the soundtrack to Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark? Time will tell, but for now, here are our picks for the year's best, half a year early. 
It's time for another look into the past month of new indie releases. We've got the vets (Death Cab, My Morning Jacket, Thurston Moore, Arctic Monkeys), along with some buzz-y newcomers (Cults, Givers, Foster the People) and exclusive live sets from indie mainstays Deerhunter and Kurt Vile. For more info on each release, read on and play away.
Here we count down the top indie albums from the past month; it's a smorgasbord, to say the least. Dig into folk rock, experimental rock, chamber rock, dance rock, post-rock and even New Zealand rock. Yum.
We must admit that Tuesday is our favorite day of the week here at Rhapsody: that's when new releases come out. Thankfully, the next three months of Tuesdays look absolutely glorious, full of fresh music from ukulele-brandishing rockers, electronic pioneers, strident country hit makers, unabashed pop divas, unrepentant metalheads, CCM luminaries, contenders for Best Rapper Alive honors, soul superstars and, of course, Lady Gaga. Here's the best of what's to come.
Over the last few years, modern folk men have swept the indie landscape with as much reckless abandon as the pelts covering their faces. The bold and oftentimes bearded troubadours have once again made mandolins hip and banjos a trendy accessory. But it's not all about the hair or the gear. There's often something mystical in the folk artist, like he knows something we all don't and this lingering awareness drives a passion that is translated into electrifying music, even if there's little more than the strum of an acoustic guitar to carry it through. Today's folkies all share this trait, and while they are students of the rustic and raw revival scenes of '50s, '60s and '70s America and Britain, they are also revelers in the uninhibited world of indie rock. 
Catch up on the latest and greatest in alternative and indie music, with our Top 15 must-hear albums from the past month (or so). We've got indie all-stars like 
On 2008's 
Here's another roundup of new indie and alternative releases for you to enjoy. We've got nearly two dozen albums here, everything from alt-rock heroes R.E.M. to sassy Swede Lykke Li to equally sassy Dane Oh Land to Dinosaur Jr. mastermind J Mascis to Brit rockers Beady Eye (that'd be Oasis sans Noel). Plus, there are Dodos, Cave Singers and other casts of crazy, yet talented, characters. Dig in.
Don't know what to listen to? Rhapsody's here to help with a roundup of releases spotlighting the latest in indie music. Read about and listen to new albums from vets like PJ Harvey, Bright Eyes and Mogwai and newcomers Yuck, James Blake and Cloud Nothings. Hear a few tracks from each of the albums mentioned below on this 
How has 2011 held up so far? Well, there's already been a decent selection of alternative and indie albums released. We've gathered them all up for you in this month's roundup. Read about and listen to new music from The Decemberists, Cake, Smith Westerns, Wire, Social Distortion, Tennis and more.
Along with resolutions and returned gifts, January brings hope. Some yearn for world peace, others want a viable alternative to fossil fuels that breaks our dependency on Middle East oil. And then there are those who pray for jobs for the unemployed or adequate health care for the elderly and poor. Us, we'd take new albums by Justin Timberlake, OutKast or Pavement — or maybe better (or worse) storylines from Glee. Below, you'll find all of our wishes for music in 2011.
What's in store for 2011? Here's what we're most looking forward to.
With every new year comes the promise of great new music. Those hopes are nearly always well founded, though inevitably there are also some disappointments. Here we've assembled what we think are the most promising prospective releases for 2011, broken out by genre. In the comments field, let us know your expectations for them, and whether there are some albums that you're looking forward to that aren't on this list.
Twenty-ten turned out to be a killer year for indie fans. Arcade Fire knocked Eminem off his Billboard throne; established acts like The National, The Black Keys, Spoon, Sufjan Stevens and LCD Soundsystem continued their reign, headlining festivals, showing up all over TV shows and advertisements, and piling up more fans than ever. Then there were new projects from Jonsi (of 
It was as if nobody wanted to admit it was 2010. MGMT released a paean to '60s psyche, Ariel Pink looked back at the '70s and '80s through rose-colored, lo-fi glasses and Broken Bells and Cee-Lo dipped their buckets in the ever-deepening well of '70s soul. LCD Soundsystem plundered '80s avant disco, while Robyn revisited the halcyon days of Swedish pop. On the other end, Janelle Monae peered into the future and saw messianic robots, while Flying Lotus crafted an album that mined the sublime amidst fractured electro future shock. The albums that strained for the zeitgeist -- Kanye West's angry, self-obsessed Fantasy and Arcade Fire's meditation on the mundane crunch of suburban life -- were the most emotionally desperate and revealing. There was more great music, as always, and we've compiled our top 50 albums right here.
Maybe it says something about 2010 that the year's most ubiquitous and demographic-defying song was a chirpy '70s soul retread entitled "F*ck You," or that Kanye West's "Power," the most ambitious pop single of the year, paraphrased a quote from Malcom X in an effort to deify hip-hop's reigning enfant terrible. It was that type of year, people, and the songs that we selected as our top 50 tracks are strange, funky, heartfelt and confrontational slices of magnificent pop music. Whether you agree or not, leave us a comment, and don't forget that you can listen to a playlist of all these tracks right 
Time again to catch up on new indie releases, and this batch seems especially dark. Perhaps winter's impending chill has brought the gloom out in everyone (even electro-pop partiers Matt & Kim bring it down a notch for a song or two). The dimness is all but inviting, though: traipse through the enchanting weirdness of Animal Collective's Avey Tare; lament with Elliott Smith; globe-trot with Dark Dark Dark; float in the starry-eyed synths of Small Black and Wild Nothing; and wake up your neighbors with the lo-fi fuzz of Crocodiles and Weekend. Discover these artists and more, read our thoughts on each album and listen to all of it on Rhapsody.
Earlier this year, 
Monotonix don't believe in stages. Here they gather the crowd for their version of a fireside chat.
Get caught up with new releases from indie darlings Belle and Sebastian, Sufjan Stevens, Antony and the Johnsons, Deerhunter and No Age. Also discover rising acts Benoit Pioulard, and 
Matador Records has released a slew of acclaimed material since its inception in 1989. Acts like Pavement, Liz Phair, Cat Power, Spoon and Interpol all kicked off their careers with the help of the influential indie label, while longtime indie favorites like Sonic Youth and Ted Leo & the Pharmacists have recently made a home there. The label is celebrating its 21st birthday in style, with a three-day 
Eugene Hutz of 
Editor's Note: Listen to a selection of the songs mentioned here on a playlist at the end of this post, or click through to listen to all of the artists listed here on Rhapsody. If you're not a member, 
Editor's Note: Listen to a selection of the songs mentioned here on a playlist at the end of this post, or click through to listen to all of the artists listed here on Rhapsody. If you're not a member, 
Editor's Note: Listen to a selection of the songs mentioned here on a playlist at the bottom of this page, or click through to listen to all of the artists listed here on Rhapsody. If you’re not a member, 
When we asked