These days, you're not a true emo band unless you reject the whole idea of emo bands. MCR are a case in point. Their sheer volume and scale both slay the big "e" and simply modernize it. The group's hard-charging new live set is them at their most frenzied and convinced.

Filed in: Punk Revival

Lauper's not a girl anymore (hard as it is to believe, she's now over 50), but the singer still very much wants to have fun. More to the point, her fun still comes in an inventive package. New disc "Bring Ya To The Brink" is an engaging mix of hard modern dance lines and sharp vocals.

Filed in: Club/Dance

With gasolina prices at an all-time high, the Latin rap hero has had to find alternative sources of fuel. And Yankee's recent stuff is a model of hybrid efficiency, getting surprising horsepower out of snakier, more clarified beats and hypnotic chants.

Filed in: Latin Rap

Just when you think you can't possibly stand to hear another electronic group that dances coyly over the line between indie and club culture, Cut Copy comes along and slices that notion to bits.

Filed in: Electronica

This jangle-pop bunch follows the Beach Boys in sentiment and style, but it has new ends in mind. Put differently, the group wishes they all could be South Carolina girls. Musically, this means plenty of tambourines and twee harmonies, but with orchestration that's more psychedelic than sandy.

Filed in: Psychedelic Pop