Spin City

Danger Mouse, The Grey Album (Independent). A mash-up messiah in a mouse suit slaughters sacred cows and sews the dismembered limbs back together. It’s alive! Just not exactly legal.

Franz Ferdinand, Franz Ferdinand (Epic). Skinny Scots flip our kilts and toss our capers by making intelligent rock fun again. Or for the first time.

Iron & Wine, Our Endless Numbered Days (Sub Pop). Sam Beam meets his brother Jim at the corner tavern for strummed soliloquies and melodic malaise.

Various Artists. Garden State Soundtrack (Sony). Zoloft never sounded so good.

Kanye West, The College Dropout (Columbia). An arrogant, wire-mouthed rapper tells thugs it’s OK to be in-suh-cur about only using words with fewer than two syllables and lets backpackers feel comfortable rocking an iced-out Jesus ’round they neck.