Milwaukee struck first with CC. Chicago responded with Rich Harden. What does this mean for the playoffs? Dayn Perry explains.

Tony Stewart is reportedly done as a member of Joe Gibbs Racing. He will be granted his release, effective after the '08 season.

The Chicago Cubs have acquired pitcher Rich Harden from the Oakland Athletics in a six-player trade, a day after the rival Milwaukee Brewers landed CC Sabathia. The Cubs will receive the right-handed Harden and righty Chad Gaudin for pitcher Sean Gallagher, outfielders Matt Murton and Eric Patterson, and minor leaguer John Donaldson. Harden, scheduled to be a free agent after the 2009 season, is 5-1 with a 2.34 ERA in 13 starts this season.

Photo by Maggie Fost

That Mac McCaughan's been holding out on us. The Superchunk frontman, Merge label co-head, noted Obama booster, and human embodiment of indie rock lifer-dom has raided his rather impressive vaults yet again, this time in search of elusive ear candy from Portastatic.

Out came Some Small History, a double disc collection of odds and ends packed with previously unheard stuff, a whole load of covers (of Bob Dylan, Hot Chip, the Magnetic Fields, Ryan Adams, Galaxie 500, and more), and a number of soon-to-be favorites from the Portastatic archives. In a very smooth move more bands should really consider, the collection throws chronological sequencing out the window in favor of a running order designed to preserve "maximum listening pleasure." Some Small History is due September 9 from Merge.

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Branching out with a new set of psychedelic compositions, Chicago's Nachtmystium make one of the best hard rock albums of the year, a crowning achievement for the still-developing world of American black metal.

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An airtight first effort, this San Francisco band's deliberation is apparent here in every shrewdly placed nook and cranny. The Papercuts' Jason Quever produces.

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Mr Paul Devro recently put a post up on the Mad Decent blog detailing the rags to riches story of one Friend, a graphic design wunderkind and natural disco dan. We especially are feeling "Dreams" as day turns to night because, well, it sounds like when we are slipping out of our work duds and into a hot tub with a bunch of badass models. Also worth getting over there is Friend's July mix, a Metronomy remix and another original called "Secret".


Download: Friend, "Dreams"

If you're a fan of dancehall (we are) or dubstep (we can be persuaded), or all things bass (who isn't?) two guys who should've been on your radar a long time ago are The Bug and Kode9 from London. The Bug (pictured left above) has a new album coming out called London Zoo with guest shots by everyone from Tippa Irie to Warrior Queen, and we just got this exclusive preview of it mixed by Kode9 hisbadself. Expect a lot of strange vacuum and blip noises as both of these guys seem to wish they were DJs on Mir or something. London Zoo is out on July 29th on Ninjatune, so enjoy this until then.

Download: The Bug's London Zoo Album Preview (Mixed by Kode9)

We like Fucked Up. Sometimes shit gets a little too heavy and we just appreciate Fucked Up. Other times though, like with this newish song called "No Epiphany," we feel totally comfortable riding for Fucked Up's layered crush of instruments and vocals that sound like they were birthed from a smoker's lung. If we turn it up loudly it's actually hypnotically soothing, and then before we know it, we're suddenly lost in the internet and at at the Fucked Up blog, where they post mixes of music they are into(including their own). Also, how do you describe the moment when, after seeing a side-by-side video comparison between Slipknot and Olympia's Sex Vid, you realize that you know at least two people in the video and have been to the house where they are playing? Rock on Olympia. Rock on the past.


Download: Fucked Up, "No Epiphany"

After years of side projects, solo acts and soundtracks, Shudder to Think have stopped the shenanigans and reformed to bring the rock -- the delightfully bent, seductive rock -- for their first official tour in a decade. Three of Shudder's key members -- lead wailer Craig Wedren, guitarist/goatee-trimmer extraordinaire Nathan Larson, and drummer Kevin March -- will bring out the hits for rabid audiences from New York to California, with dates spread out between August and November.

More on SPIN.com:
Reunion News: Shudder to Think Reunite in NYC, Sort Of
Chat With Craig Wedren: Q&A: Craig Wedren
Video Performance: Shudder to Think, "Red House"

Mark Watrous joins the touring lineup on guitar, and Jesse Krakow will play bass, as original member Stuart Hill is no longer in the fold. Adam Wade, who drummed in Shudder before Kevin March before leaving and joining emo precursors the Jealous Sound, will appear on some West Coast dates.

Having reunited for a couple of sparsely advertised performances of late (including a bizarre Barack Obama fundraiser in New York that saw them share the bill with OK Go, of all acts), the band has emerged with renewed vigor. "The music felt so alive and still fresh -- bleeding-bloody-heart stuff -- without the ego, animosity, and frustration." Wedren said in a statement. "It was clear we never actually really left the middle of our creation. We simply needed an extended breather."

Although if 10 years is what Wedren quantifies as a breather, thank god they didn’t opt for a full-on siesta.

Shudder to Think tour dates:

8/10, Baltimore, MD (Virgin Mobile Fest)
9/5, Chicago, IL (Park West)
9/6, Toronto, ONT (V Fest)
10/3, Philadelphia, PA (Theater of the Living Arts)
10/4, New York, NY (Webster Hall)
10/11, Boston, MA (Paradise)
10/25, New Orleans, LA (Voodoo Music Festival)
11/1, Los Angeles, CA (El Rey)
11/2, San Francisco, CA (The Fillmore)

Here's a rundown of what's available online and in record stores this week. Click each album title to read Spin's review:

Beck, Modern Guilt: Pop's two cleverest auteurs decide to carpool.

Albert Hammond Jr., ¿Cómo Te Llama?: The singer does shoe jingle, the guitarist does indie jangle.

Ratatat, LP3: Studio whizzes twist electronic pop into an intricate spectacle.

Patti Smith and Kevin Shields, The Coral Sea: Musical mavericks pay tribute to renegade photographer.

Melvins, Nude With Boots: Sludge-punk godfathers lumber on with caveman insouciance.

Son Ambulance, Someone Else's Déjá Vu: Lavish, expensive '70s rock reprised as artsy indie craftiness.

Mugison, Mugiboogie: One-man band deftly ditches Mellow Gold for Beatlemania.

The Black Ghosts, The Black Ghosts: Longtime Britpop fiends create a bleakly appealing song suite.

Jean Grae, Jeanius: Still spittin' as wickedly as the first day she ripped a stage.

Killer Mike, I Pledge Allegiance to the Grind II: ATL rap commando sprays the room with seething rhymes.

Leila, Blood Looms and Blooms: Gifted electronic twiddler creates a playful, savvy fantasia.

Little Jackie, The Stoop: Still trying to be the next Neneh Cherry -- ten years later.

Despite his main act taking a temporary hiatus, Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. has been a busy man as of late. His sophomore solo effort, ¿Cómo Te Llama?, makes its way into record stores today, and Hammond is prepping to perform at SPIN's MLB 2K8 All-Star Kick Off Party tomorrow night, for which you can still win tickets by clicking here.

More on SPIN.com:
>> Artist of the Day: Artist of the Day: Albert Hammond Jr.
>> Album Details: New Albert Hammond Jr. Record Due July 8
>> Free Download: New Albert Hammond Jr. MP3: 'GfC'

Now, the scrappy singer-songwriter presents this hypnotic video for Llama's "GfC." In the clip, Hammond and his backing band stare dreamily at a spinning device that projects the gang performing the jangly tune. Check out the clip below, but be advised: Do not operate heavy machinery after viewing.

Now Watch This: "GfC"