Thom Donovan

The very idea of an indie rock supergroup seems counterintuitive. But how else does one describe a band of indie rock legends? The Hard Quartet features Stephen Malkmus (Pavement and the Jicks), Matt Sweeney (Chavez, Superwolf), Jim White (Dirty Three), and Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang, The Double, Ty Segall).

If you are new to jazz, know nothing about jazz, or are jazz-curious, this list is for you. You may have heard of The Real Book, a “fake” book collection of jazz standards. Think of it as a kind of cheat sheet for getting through the gig—just the basic components of a tune because half a musician’s life is one of survival.

Lady Gaga's Harlequin turns an album of mostly standards into modern pop for a new generation.

Distilling Campbell's extraordinary playing into only a few tracks is impossible. Any number of Petty songs could have made this list: “Breakdown,” “Refugee,” or “Runnin' Down a Dream.” Or Don Henley's “The Boys of Summer,” in which one of the greatest guitarists on the planet wrote a hit on a drum machine.

Phil Lesh grew up listening to classical and jazz music. Then he reimagined the electric bass and changed rock history. The Grateful Dead’s bassist and founding member died on October 25 at age 84. Lesh and his band helped define San Francisco’s ’60s counterculture while also breaking the boundaries of a rock and roll band. Lesh also co-wrote some of the band’s best-known songs, such as “Truckin’” and “St. Stephen,” while his exploratory playing helped inspire the Grateful Dead’s iconic jams.

Tyler, The Creator previews his seventh studio album Chromakopia with the nightmarish lead single “Noid.” Backed with a chopped guitar riff, Tyler samples the Zambian rock band Ngozi Family and their 1977 song “Nizakupanga Ngozi.” The guitar break echoes the Birmingham doom of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs.” However, in “Noid,” Tyler is gripped by paranoia from the kind of fame that’s impossible to outrun.

Three years have passed since Blackpink’s Rosé released her solo debut R. The solo project featured two laid-back electro-pop singles, “On the Ground” and “Gone.” On October 18, the K-pop singer returned with a pop-punk banger called “Apt.,” featuring Bruno Mars. It precedes Rosé’s first full-length solo album, Rosie, which arrives on December 6 via Atlantic Records.

One Direction called their fourth studio album Four . But the 2014 release also marked the end of the road (vintage boy band reference) for Zayn Malik.

When Liam Payne released his debut solo single “Strip That Down,” in 2017, he embraced a newfound freedom from One Direction.

Richard Ashcroft's lone plight against the greatness of his former band The Verve is nothing new to rock history. Critics blasted Paul McCartney's post-Beatles output and his first solo album contained the undeniably brilliant “Maybe I'm Amazed.”