There’s a few bands out there that transcend the who’s-the-best argument- they simply fucking rock your shit. It’s not up for debate. Los Angeles punk / hardcore juggernaut The Bronx are on that shortlist with a bullet, establishing themselves as powerplayers in no time by doing things their own way from the word ‘Go.’ A&R guys were already swarming after the band’s first two shows in 2002, and they signed to Def Jam / Island shortly thereafter. They put out a record (The Bronx) and toured the world for two solid years, and what started out as a shining gem of 80s punk-rooted potential returned from the marathon of shows as a finely-tuned rock machine. The evidence is clear on their second album (also self-titled), with an exponentially increased sense of dynamics and texture added to their stomping thrash rock sound.

Joby Ford: To me, strapping on a guitar and rockin’ the fuck out… It’s this thing, this feeling of empowerment. I can’t imagine someone strapping on a guitar, and [whiny emo music is] what comes out. You know what I’m saying? Like at what point in these kids lives did they say “Dude, that rocks so much. That’s what I want to do.” I mean, the first concert I ever went to was AC/DC, and I was like Wow, man, fuck yeah! It was exciting rock n’ roll, and I just think to myself, like… these kids go to these shows and they see some pussy crying over fuckin’ spilled milk or something, and they’re like “Yeah! I wanna do that!” It’s like… no, man. You’re missing the point.

So as every single one of you probably know, a little over a week ago, we did something crazy and hosted a stream of some new Guns N’ Roses songs we got our hands on. It started the biggest shitstorm any of us have ever been a part of. Last week, TIME Magazine devoted a whole page to the story, Rolling Stone Magazine mentioned me by name, and a million other news outlets have reported variations of the story, ranging from basically accurate to completely absurd. I’d like to defend a few allegations, and correct a few misinterpretations.

The tracks on this mix tell a story I’m sure you all recognize: Love. True. Love.

I’m not going to give you the track by track review of what each song is saying, because true love and the way it is expressed in various artforms is best interpreted by each individual. I hope you’ll be able to follow the story. I will, though, tell you why each song has special meaning to me.

2008 is rapidly becoming the year of Trent Reznor. In the first six months alone, the nucleus of Nine Inch Nails has already released a full album of brutal new rockers at no cost to fans (The Slip) and a five-dollar, 36-track instrumental album (Ghosts I-IV), the first nine tracks of which were also free. With a dream-team lineup arranged for a big summer tour set to start next month, and word of a Year Zero television series based on his 2007 future dystopia concept album (and you can be sure it won’t be any goddamned reality show), there’s no end in sight for the pioneer of the music industry’s own inevitable industrial revolution. Trent continues to beat the majors to the punch, bringing their most terrifyingly hideous nightmares to reality: the strings have been cut, and some of the puppets are dancing just fine, all on their own.

Here’s something really cool that I haven’t seen done before. I mean, i wouldn’t be surprised if this isn’t the first time anyone’s had this idea, but it’s the first time I’ve personally seen it.

Pop Levi, a band I have now officially heard of, caught my attention by doing something with the viral / YouTube format that you just can’t do with any other format. They posted a video of them performing a song, in two separate channels. They ask that you open these two links in separate browser windows, and follow the video instructions to synch them up.