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Chicago's Hey Champ makes seductive, slick electro-pop for the Members Only-jacket-with-the-sleeves-pushed-up-set, perfect for your backyard summer barbecues that devolve into nighttime dance parties.

Hey Champ got some exposure opening for Lupe Fiasco in 2008 after the Chicago rapper handpicked them off the strength of the group's "Cold Dust Girl" video. Since then, they've set about producing nonstop infectious jams such as "Neverest," combining the electro-funkiness of Prince and power-pop sensibilities of The Cars.

Listen to Hey Champ and behold their bacchanalian video for "Cold Dust Girl." And stay tuned for their debut album, Star, out July 13.

Tags Chromeo, Hey Champ, Lupe Fiasco, Phoenix, Prince, The-Cars, video

The Midwestern pedigree of Every Avenue shines through on its debut album, "Picture Perfect." This quintet from Michigan work the same equation as Illinois power-pop pioneers Cheap Trick; make the melodies sticky sweet and pour some serious volume on top.

They may look like your average pop-punk-emo providers, but Every Avenue has a classic rock heart, one that beats to rhythm of bands like Cheap Trick, The Beatles and The Cars. On songs like "Tell Me I'm A Wreck" or the single "For Always, Forever," the band's incredible mix of classic-rock power chords (courtesy of guitarists Joshua Randall and Jimmie Deeghan) and song structures with pop-punk exuberance make for some delirious listening.

"Picture Perfect" is out now, and the band is currently taking part in the Alternative Press tour along with Never Shout Never. Check out the video for "For Always, Forever" below.

Tags Cheap Trick, Every Avenue, Never Shout Never, The Beatles, The-Cars, video

Is it possible that, despite what history and everyday logic would tell you, that Soul Asylum invented the Seattle sound... in Minneapolis? Dave Pirner and co started seasoning Neil Young loner folk with country twang and punk aggression back in 1981, the same year  Kurt Cobain was picking out Cars covers on his first guitar at 14.

The sound they came up with was definitely grunge. Whether or not Soul Asylum was the first band to play it doesn't really matter. It's usually impossible to attribute the origins of musical styles to single artists, anyway.

But the fact that Soul Asylum didn't come out of the '90s as notorious as Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins did, is a little bit surprising -- I mean come on. Look at Dave Pirner! He was like Meg Ryan with dreadlocks! And that scratchy crybaby voice... Man. Sweetest dude ever. No wonder Winona Ryder was so wild for him. Now you can't even find a decent photo of him on the internet. WEIRD.

In the Unplugged performance below, Soul Asylum go easy on their classic Grave Dancers Union opener, "Somebody To Shove," fleshing it out with an orchestra. Watch the video, and tell me that song's not just as good as "Bullet With Butterfly Wings."

Tags Kurt Cobain, Neil Young, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Soul Asylum, The-Cars, vintage-video

One of our (new) favorite videos of '07 just squeaked in at the 11th hour (more or less) of the year. It's Ashlee Simpson's much-lauded new video, "Out of My Head (Ay Ya Ya)."

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Tags Ashlee Simpson, Celebrity, Evanescence, Madonna, Music, The-Cars, video, Videos