Fall Out Boy's semipermanent vacation has left frontman Patrick Stump with a lot of pent-up creativity. He seems to be struggling to get a thousand ideas out at once on this EP, made up of leftovers from the forthcoming LP Soul Punk. Mostly, Stump explores a post-emo club-pop style, dispensing wry aphorisms and sleazy come-ons ("Feeling woozy, not a floozy, but the booze makes her less choosy") on top of over-caffeinated synth loops. The results are a bit unruly: Does Stump know who he wants to be outside his old band? Maybe not, but hearing him try to figure it all out can be pretty fun.

Listen to "Cute Girls":

Video: Patrick Stump Merges Punk and R&B in New Solo Tunes

Gallery: Random Notes, Rock's Hottest Photos

“Is It True”

As the British Invasion reached its peak in 1964, Brenda Lee went from Nashville to London to record one of her hardest-rocking hits, her perky vocal backed by a stuttering, squalling guitar. That guitar was played by session musician Jimmy Page, yet to skyrocket to fame with first the Yardbirds and then Led Zeppelin. "She said to me, 'I've come here to make a record with the British sound,'" remembered producer Mickie Most. "She felt she wouldn't get the same sound in Nashville because they're only just catching up on the British beat group sound of about six months ago."