Well, whatdyaknow? It's Cheap Trick photographed outside the i Heart Radio Theater reading a copy of our cover story this week, The Oral History of NYC's Metal/Hardcore Crossover. If you've not yet read it, you really should. Here, we'll link it a third time. No excuses. Go. Now. And while you're at it, check out these bonus classic photos from the story. Surrender.

See also: The Oral History of NYC's Metal/Hardcore Crossover, 25 Classic Metal/Hardcore Photos from Louder Than Hell

I don't understand plenty about Australia--Vegemite, the platypus' existence as a non-mythical creature, etc.--but what I truly don't get is how everyone in Melbourne could've kept Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes all to themselves since Baby Caught The Bus came out the first time around in 2009, leaving those of us in the States without the potent swinging/snarling/gut-wrenchingly heartbroken/euphorically party-anthemic elixir they effortlessly pour down our thirsty throats.

Thankfully, change is afoot, as Baby Caught The Bus sees its official US debut on Vanguard Records today. This spring, Clairy and the other eight Bangin' Rackettes "traveled the breadth of the country" as Browne puts it, embarking on a 30-day tour after a rabble-rousing slew of shows at South by Southwest. They hit the small club circuit, walloping unsuspecting patrons with lyrics wrought with calculating emotional warfare and an untouchable live show that walks a delicate tightrope between total fucking chaos and a vivacious, exquisitely choreographed production. One can argue that the neo-soul sounds of Clairy Browne and the Bangin' Rackettes are at best familiar and worst unoriginal--Winehouse, Duffy and Adele have all revived the Motown sound and redefined soul music already, right?--but for Browne, brutal honesty onstage and off is what keeps her and the Bangin' Rackettes from merely resuscitating the brassy confidence and bleeding-heart confessions of the glory days of soul.

See also: Live: Jenny Scheinman Warms Up The Village Vanguard

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Shia feelin' some feelings in a Sigur Rós clip

Last week, actor and LSD-enthusiast Shia LaBeouf and synth-pop duo Future Unlimited debuted the gloomy video for "Haunted Love" directed by none other than everyone's favorite Michael Bay leading man. LaBeouf has had many an odd foray into music video. From a thirty-minute musical of interpretive dancing to sad Icelandic piano music, let's look back at some LaBeouf deep cuts and no longer regret that his film Disturbia and Rihanna's song of the same name were not related.

See also: The Top Five Music Videos Directed By Razzie Award "Winners"

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You cannot count the fucks Tom Petty does not give.

Better Than: Having one foot in the grave.

Imagine Tom Petty and his Heartbreakers drop a new LP, and it's just killer. Not just "killer" in that Echo or Mojo way, as in a killer document of a killer band doing what it was hatched to do. I mean in that Wildflowers or Full Moon Fever way, that damn near universal way, the songs so urgent with defiant life they could haul you up out of a coma. Imagine Tom Petty puts out a new record so vital and affecting that it would be adored by anyone who has ever before liked a Tom Petty song, even just "Free Fallin.'"

Now ask yourself, "How would anyone ever hear it?"

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It's too late now, and it's probably been too late for the last 10 years. Daft Punk, the French electronic duo who has singlehandedly dominated the press for the last month, will be wearing their robot suits for the rest of their lives. There will never be a reveal, a coming out, or a change of tone. Frat-trance superstar Deadmau5 has, for the most part, removed the cybernetic mouse head. KISS wrote Lick It Up and removed the face paint on MTV. But even now, when Homework is a 16-year old album, Daft Punk will always be a gold helmet and a silver helmet.

See also: Daft Punk-Endorsed Kavinsky Isn't A Musician, Has 30 Million YouTube Views

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Are you a musician? Is your group having issues? Ask Fan Landers! Critic Jessica Hopper has played in and managed bands, toured internationally, booked shows, produced records, worked as a publicist, and is the author of The Girls' Guide to Rocking, a how-to for teen ladies. She is here to help you stop doing it wrong. Send your problems to her -- confidentiality is assured, unless you want to use your drama as a ticket to Internet microfame.

Fan,
I'm in a band of moderate renown. We're a D.I.Y. outfit but the band covers its own operating costs and on tour we can draw a crowd anywhere we play. We're on the cusp of releasing our second album, nailing down dates for a summer tour (including some festival gigs) and shooting a music video for the lead single.

And I am so goddamn bored I want to quit immediately.

It took us a year-and-a-half to finish our sophomore album. During mixing, I suddenly realized that for all my avant-gardiste pretense, we're just a rock band. Just like every other bloody guitar band on the planet. How depressing. I've become disillusioned with the very ontology of being in a band. I look at audiences with contempt and disgust. I watch other bands and feel nothing. The whole endeavor seems a laughable waste of time.

Next year my wife and I are leaving the country for good. Do I grit my teeth and continue til the end, for the sake of my bandmates? Or do I say "fuck this, I'm out," to save what precious little sanity and soul I have left?

Signed,
S

See also: Fan Landers: When To Call It Quits And When To Commit

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Q: What's wet, sound-tracked by the condescending between-song banter from Father John Misty and contains a ton of bacon? A: Great GoogaMooga Saturday! Here now, photos of the beautiful, well-fed attendees.

All photos Laura June Kirsch.

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Over on our sister blog Fork in the Road they've got a pretty thorough recap of Friday's Great GoogaMooga. Things were much improved from last year, and, before the wet weather dampened the mood Saturday and straight shut shit down on Sunday, there were lots of good eats and posi-vibes. The two big headliners Friday turned out contrasting sets as well. The Yeah Yeah Yeahs were all romp and fury. Flaming Lips were sloppy and slow. Anywho, we've got photos of each. Take a gander.

All photos by Laura June Kirsch.

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Mariah Carey will bring the #beautiful to Central Park on Friday morning

Need plans? Check out any of these 10 shows around the city this week.

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When word started getting around about Portugal. the Man's next record, singer John Gourley put it out there that they'd be working with Brian Joseph Burton, aka Danger Mouse--of Gnarls Barkley, Gorillaz and The Grey Album fame--and that the band was toying with the idea of writing "their" Dark Side of the Moon. I couldn't help myself: I pictured these guys getting completely stoned and holing up in the studio projecting The Wizard of Oz on one of the walls while blasting the Pink Floyd classic and dashing off to the booth and boards as soon as the credits rolled with the intent to reinvent sound as we know it, so I asked Gourley, verbatim, if that's what happened.

Portugal. the Man perform tonight at Irving Plaza.

See also: Broken Bells, The Collaboration Between Danger Mouse and the Shins' James Mercer, Is For Lovers in New York

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