Lee Ranaldo solo albums generally sound like Telecasters being artfully fed into garbage disposals. With Sonic Youth's future uncertain, the guitar explorer offers a traditional rock LP – at least insofar as his main band now constitutes rock tradition. Past/present Youth-ers (Steve Shelley, Jim O'Rourke, Bob Bert) assist, as does Wilco's Nels Cline, another avant-gardist with a semi-pop day job. "Fire Island (phases)" echoes Neil Young, "Off The Wall" echoes R.E.M., and remarkably pretty electric guitar scrawls are everywhere. It’s great to hear the third voice in Sonic Youth stretching out. But it's also a reminder of their irreplaceable magic.

Listen to Lee Ranaldo's 'Between The Times and The Tide':

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• Lee Ranaldo on the Future of Sonic Youth

“Time to Pretend”

Listening to MGMT’s breakthrough song, one might interpret it as being about the excesses of rock stardom, but it’s actually about the duo’s pet praying mantis. Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden told Rolling Stone they got the idea from the insect's jerky movements. The mantis died, but the two bandmates kept the egg sack and allowed the hundreds of eggs to hatch. “We tried to name them all, but they died after a day,” said Goldwasser, with VanWyngarden chiming in, “But the praying mantis dance inspired us.”