Big Deal is what happens when a young guitar teacher and his student bond over Sonic Youth, Alex Chilton and Freaks and Geeks: 12 feedback-laced psychodramas, delivered through hooky, drumless tunes specked with horny, guilt-ridden duet harmonies. "Can't do my homework/Can't concentrate," purrs Alice Costelloe on "Homework," then wonders, "Where have your clothes gone?" Partner Kacey Underwood offers, "Don’t hate my guts/It’s not my fault." A similar scene plays out in "Chair": "You don't trust me to sit on your bed/Put me on a chair in the corner instead." It'd be too coy if it wasn’t so finely tuned. Instead, it's a seductive indie-rock Pygmalion.

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• Photos: Random Notes

“1999”

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.