Soundgarden has followed up its sporadic touring and last year’s best-of by hitting the recording studio to cut its first new track in 15 years: ‘Live to Rise,’ a typically sludgy rocker that appears on the soundtrack to the about-to-open comic book blockbuster ‘The Avengers.’ Check out the music video here.

Taking a page from Depeche Mode’s Alan Wilder, guitarist Porl Thompson this month will auction off dozens of personal items spanning his tenure(s) in The Cure, including a guitar played on ‘Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me’ and ‘Wish,’ album artwork proofs and clothing ranging from a ‘black net catsuit’ to leather corsets.

Last we checked in with Depeche Mode, the band was due to enter the studio this past March to begin work on its 13th studio album. Now DM is teasing fans with this 43-second time-lapse video of the band’s synths and other gear being set up in a studio.

ith the release of ‘Choice of Weapon’ — The Cult’s first new album in five years — now just a month away, the band this week released a music video for the record’s first single, “For the Animals.” The clip, which you can check out above, only features the band members in short cameos.

Checking back in with the The AV Club’s recently launched Undercover 2012 series, we find that roots rockers Lucero have taken taken it upon themselves to cover David Bowie’s 1983 hit “Modern Love.” It’s a pretty good match, considering Lucero’s horn section.

For fans of The Cure, today — April 21 — is significant for two reasons: It’s Robert Smith’s 53rd birthday and it’s the 20th anniversary of the release of ‘Wish’. So, as we wait for the alleged deluxe reissue of that 1992 album, here’s a little something to bide your time: the out-of-print VHS release ‘Play Out.’

With Squeeze, er, squeezing in some U.S. dates between and around the band’s appearances at the two-weekend Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, the group also managed to fit in an appearance on the ‘Ellen’ daytime talk show yesterday (‘I’ve loved their music for a long time,’ Ellen Degeneres says).