Music

Indie-rock group Bon Iver began three years ago as the musical daydream of a struggling, Wisconsin-based musician. Those aspirations of success culminated Friday night when the band's sold-out show at Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee became a all-out feting that included standing ovations and the reading of a proclamation that it was "Bon Iver Day" within the city limits.

After 13 years away from music-making, '60s rock legend Robbie Robertson has created a new solo album that draws on his personal stories as witness and participant in some of rock's most exciting periods. If only if these tales sounded that exciting on vinyl.

Fighting back against musical irrelevancy, Britney Spears has released a new record, "Femme Fatale," that swings for the fences in an attempt to solidify her shaky hold on the pop audiences and to slide back into the pole position in the ongoing contest with her dance-pop adversaries young and old.

If you're heading out to your local watering hole this St. Patrick's Day, find out what songs they'll be singing so you can get your Irish on in the right way. See the list of the top 5 Irish drinking songs of all time.

A trickster as much as a genius, Bob Dylan steadfastly holds to a musical philosophy that taking left turns is the one true path to sonic salvation. During two back-to-back sets in Madison, Wis., on Monday, Dylan underscored the depth of his conviction, revealing both his enduring gifts as songwriter and crud-voiced performer and a befuddling troublemaker.

Do you think you're too frightened to see who's in and who's out in a list of the great Halloween songs of all time? Find out what pop music tunes will rattle your bones this Halloween -- if you're not too scared that is.

With the release of their terrific last record in 2008, it was uncertain if Philadelphia retro-rockers Dr. Dog were really a stupefying, sometimes exhilarating mishmash of '60s tribute bands who had unexpectedly struck gold or if they were something more. The band is now road testing a batch of new material in a short preview tour of North America and the new tunes only deepen the mystery.

Two years after knocking the pop world on its ear with a jaw-dropping debut, Vampire Weekend has returned with a new record that likewise seeks to find a fusion between power-pop and African and Caribbean musical styles. The only problem: the band forgot to include the pop.

Looking to cash in your iTunes gift card from the holidays? Soundbytes' David Hyland has recommendations where to spend it.

Eclipsed by Nirvana's ascendency to superstardom, alternative-rock pioneers Dinosaur Jr. saw little return despite their years of wowing the underground. On Tuesday night's concert in Madison, Wis., the newly reunited band used high volume and their cache of bludgeoning riffs to conquer the audience.

Tropicalia musical pioneers Os Mutantes were among a generation of musicians credited with introducing rock and folk influences to Brazilian audiences in the late 1960s, while likewise inspiring rock stars Beck and Kurt Cobain. The group's new album -- its first in nearly 35 years -- aims to accomplish the same all over again.

Three records into their careers and British alternative-rock combo Arctic Monkeys are hoping a comeback album with right their ship and bring them back to the good graces of the rock-geek blogosphere.

Free of recording and touring commitments with Jack White and the other Raconteurs, the band's co-frontman Brendan Benson is now attempting to kick start his neglected solo career. His new power-pop masterpiece comes roaring to life with a fire and execution that listeners haven't heard from him previously.

The concept of down time is something completely foreign to White Stripes leader Jack White. Fresh from touring with his side project, the Raconteurs, and actively plotting the future of his primary gig, White has launched yet another new band, the Dead Weather. The group's first album fleshes out the White Stripes' stripped down, hard-hitting formula.

After years of exile from the pop mainstream and enduring nearly every hardship imaginable, former Band drummer Levon Helm won a Grammy award and other critical notices for an unplugged, roots-oriented album in 2007. Unfortunately, Helm's brand-new disc reveals a lapse into harmful old habits.

After a five-year disappearing act, rap superstar Eminem has returned with a new album that seeks to merge forthright confessions about his ongoing battles with substance abuse, but maintaining his edge as the sensational, headline-capturing firebreather on the mic. Like his Slim Shady persona, it's a schizophrenic experience.

Thanks to opening duties for some of underground-rock's best-loved artists, New York low-fi rock group Grizzly Bear has seen its profile extend beyond the arty clubs and warehouses of Brooklyn to the top of music world tastemakers' homepages. The group's new album magnificently reinforces the buzz.

With dreams of basement-created symphonies still populating her head, longtime backup musician Annie Clark has released a new solo album under the St. Vincent moniker. The new record, "Actor," finally delivers on the promise obscured by years stuck at the side of the stage.

Mercurial is certainly a label that even curmudgeon Bob Dylan would seem hard-pressed not to embrace. For his new album, "Together Through Life," the rock legend surprises his audience yet again by re-embracing the sound of the roadhouse blues that first captivated his imagination back in the 1960s.