music

"A DIFFERENT KIND OF TRUTH," Van Halen (Interscope)

Van Halen's back with "A Different Kind of Truth," and why not?

No more turntable.

That's the biggest change in "Les Miserables," the blockbuster that has been reworked for its 25th-anniversary U.S. tour.

"We could have had a turntable if we wanted, but then I think it would have been very easy to get sucked back into the old show," set designer Matt Kinley says. "The challenge was to do it in a new way."

Here in the highly opinionated 21st century, we find ourselves in a divisive mood about so many things -- the economy, taxes, health care, the Super Bowl halftime show.

But it seems there are a few things we can agree upon: Blue skies are nice, ice cream is good, puppies are cute and Adele can sing her behind off.

"BORN TO DIE," Lana Del Rey (Interscope)

"THIS MEANS WAR," Attack Attack! (Rise)

Bold Ohio band Attack Attack! seems to want to make everyone at least a little unhappy with its new "This Means War."

Mat Kearney is not Matt Nathanson. Nor is he Gavin DeGraw, Andy Grammer, Eric Hutchinson or Joshua Radin.

But he can see how you might be confused.

"LIVE FROM THE KITCHEN," Yo Gotti (J Records)

Yo Gotti's new "Live From the Kitchen" sounds like something from years ago -- and not just because it has reportedly been delayed from release by a couple of years. It sounds older than that, like from more than a decade ago when rudimentary gangsta rap was flowing through the mainstream.

"BANGARANG," Skrillex (Big Beat/Atlantic)

When Esperanza Spalding was announced as a nominee for Best New Artist in advance of last year's Grammy Awards, she was universally dismissed as a noncontender against her much-better-known competition that included Justin Bieber, Drake, Florence + The Machine and Mumford & Sons.

Now that the top 10 lists are out of the way, let's take a look at what's fresh for 2012.

This is generally a fertile time for indie-rock bands, starting with the reunited Guided by Voices and followed by new music from Craig Finn (of The Hold Steady), Magnetic Fields and The Shins, plus the much-anticipated sophomore albums from breakout duos Sleigh Bells and the Ting Tings.

"AYAH YE! MOVING TRAIN," KG Omulo (KG Omulo)

KG Omulo is an "Afro-urban" music mixologist, a native of Kenya transplanted to Florida who has concocted a range of Afro-hyphenate styles -- Afro-funk, Afro-pop, Afro-beat -- with a heady Caribbean flavor and strains of rock and blues for his "Ayah Ye! Moving Train."