Jennifer Maerz

Davila 666 is Puerto Rico's answer to the Black Lips — these delirious rockers possess their Atlanta brethren's ability to come off like crazy little shits who'd ace rock history quizzes. These triple-sixers filter three decades of scuffed-up leather jackets through the Spanish-language translator. Disparate patches of Radio Birdman, the...

Remember the first time you heard the Pixies classic "Where Is My Mind?"? It condensed the euphoria of cutting anchor and sailing into the abyss into a four-minute pop song. Now Jay Reatard (that Memphis garage-punker from the Lost Sounds, the Retards, Angry Angles, and probably a dozen other bands...

Writer's block's a bitch. But the effect is twice as evil if you do most of your work alone (solo artists, graphic designers, freelance writers; we've all felt it). When the pool of ideas is bone-dry, you've just got to ride out that drought until your head stops bugging —...