What? Hip-hop superstar Kanye West may have stretched sonic boundaries on his latest record, 808s and Heartbreak, but there was one small problem -- he forgot to rap.

Combining '50s twist and shout, '70s punk and sneer, and '90s garage-pop dorkiness, On The Chewing Gum Ground, the debut album from up-and-coming trio Wallpaper, is an impressive musical patchwork from the first Richard Hell-esque chords of "Rock Collage" to the freaky balladry of "Rock & Roll World."

Not exactly a ray of sunshine but armed with quite a vivid -- if somber -- imagination, Spin Buzzcatcher Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson skitters through two tunes -- one about his own death -- at Brooklyn's own Union Pool venue.

Check out footage of soulful Welsh sensation and Spin's August cover subject Duffy strutting through two tracks from her buzz-building debut, Rockferry, live at the El Ray Theater in Los Angeles, CA.

What? When Brazilian nightlife aficionados CSS hit North America with their bratty self-titled debut -- playfully prodding Paris Hilton and copulating to Death from Above -- inhibited Yankees rejoiced inside, but only coyly shuffled their feet. Call that a warm-up.