Rock

The British music press is hailing a new band, the Arctic Monkeys, as being as big as the Beatles — or at least as big as Oasis. The first-week release of the band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, sold over 118,000 copies.

The Joy of Cooking, a band led by two women out of Berkeley, Calif., in the late 1960s, is enjoying something of a revival. The group's brand of folk-rock included elements of jazz, blues and Latin music.

First Impressions of Earth is the third album by the Strokes. The record offers some self-criticism — and some frantic career adjustment in the midst of the music. The Strokes begin a 17-city tour on March 3.

The Minus 5 is the newest album by singer-songwriter Scott McCaughey.

Fresh Air rock critic Ken Tucker offers his picks for the best music of the year, including Fiona Apple's latest album and a Bob Dylan DVD. He also addresses the topic of women in music, and he talks about the year in hip-hop. Tucker is the film critic for New York magazine.

Neil Diamond's new CD 12 Songs is the result of his work with the producer Rick Rubin, who previously put his personal touch on albums from Jay Z, Tom Petty and Johnny Cash, to name a few. The move is a departure from the work Diamond is better known for: hummable hits like "Sweet Caroline," "Cracklin' Rosie," and "Cherry Cherry."

When rock singers want to learn how to use their voice without ruining their vocal chords, they often turn to Melissa Cross, otherwise known as the "Scream Queen." Cross teaches metal, punk and hardcore performers how to growl, bark, bellow — and scream. Cross, who is classically trained, has a new instructional DVD, The Zen of Screaming: Vocal Instruction for a New Breed.

The singer Nico recorded inimitable songs on solo records and with the Velvet Underground in the 1960s, beginning with 1967's Chelsea Girl.

Rock journalist Bob Spitz's new biography of the Beatles is decidedly not prettified: venereal disease, drugs, and bad business are all part of the story of the Fab Four. The book is The Beatles: The Biography.

Baby is the new album by the group The Detroit Cobras, who specialize in playing raucous cover versions of other musicians' songs.

Guitarist Link Wray died on November 5 at the age of 76. He's credited with inventing the power chord in the 1950s. His first big recording hit was the 1958 instrumental Rumble. When he went to record the song, he wasn't happy with the sound on the amp, so he pierced holes in the speaker cone to create additional distortion. Guitarists including Pete Townshend and John Lennon were influenced by his work. Wray's other hits include Rawhide and the Batman theme.

In November, Columbia Records released the Born to Run 30th Anniversary Edition boxed set. The three-CD set includes a remastering of Springsteen's Born to Run album, released in 1975. The box set also includes a concert DVD of a never-before seen 1975 concert from London and a documentary about the making of Born to Run. This interview originally aired on Nov. 15, 2005.

Z is the new album from the band My Morning Jacket. The record from the Louisville, Ky., band led by Jim James is its follow-up to 2003's popular It Still Moves.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews Fiona Apple's third album, Extraordinary Machine.

Ken Tucker reviews new albums from Paul McCartney and The Rolling Stones.

In 1966, Neil Young joined L.A. rock band Buffalo Springfield; they split up three albums later due to inter-band fighting and their lack of commercial success. Young's new album is Praire Wind, considered a follow-up to his Harvest records.

Critic Ken Tucker reviews Little Fugitive, the new CD from Amy Rigby.

TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new DVD box set of The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons. It's a compilation of interviews and performances on the late-night talk show by some of the leading musicians of the 1960s and '70s, including Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin and Stevie Wonder.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles the short-lived but influential '70s English rock 'n' roll band Mott The Hoople.