If a rapper spits pro-gay marriage lyrics on the Internet, and the Baby Boomer generation doesn’t own an iPad, is it still a socially progressive? You bet your ass it is.

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Anyone can (attempt to) sing Dancing Queen in a karaoke bar. But what about singing Dancing Queen along with a holographic rendering of ABBA and then fielding a real live phone call from one of the original band members? That’s possible only if you are exceedingly wealthy, eccentric and well-connected — or if you visit The ABBA Museum. It’s part of a new complex in Stockholm that celebrates Sweden’s second most famous export after Ikea furniture: The Swedish Music Hall of Fame.

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Still have your ticket stub from seeing The Rolling Stones in Wembley Arena? Of from the 11-inning Game 7 between the Florida Marlins and the Cleveland Indians in the 1997 World Series? Or maybe from a concert, performance, game, museum opening or other event that isn’t historically significant but is especially important to you. Tickets of all sorts can be preserved, organized and collected in The Ticket Stub Diary.

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Were you to download one song from Rymdreglage and then another from Ninja Moped you would have two songs from the same band. Why the two names? To confuse their opponents.

And that’s not the only strange thing about the pairing of Swedish high school friends Daniel Larsson and Tomas Redigh.

Under either name, Larsson and Redgh produce Bitpop, an obscure but growing sub-genre of electronic music that is characterized by the primary melody played by an 8-bit electrical device, like an old Commodore 64 computer or Atari gaming console.

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Those who read our review of the Sonos wireless music system know what cool technology it is. From a single controller, Sonos let’s one control audio on multiple rooms, sans wires. The system is easy to set up. And it’s modular, making expansion easy too.

Though only tangentially related to their music system, Sonos decided to put together the below infographic on how your father’s musical taste may influence your own. It takes into account other factors too, such as whether you grew up on a farm or studied piano.

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Looking for the next hit international music performer? The nominees for the Mercury Prize is an excellent place to look. That award goes the best new album from a British or Irish artist.

Recently we took a look at the half of the albums up for the Mercury Prize. Here’s an overview of the other half. As before, clic, on the corresponding album cover to listen to song samples.

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Looking for the next hit international music performer? There’s no certain way to know, of course, but as good a place to look as any is the Mercury Prize. That award goes the best new album from a British or Irish artist.

Here’s the first half of our look at the 12 albums nominated for the Mercury Prize. Click on the corresponding album cover to listen to song samples.

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Time was that it was difficult to hear music that didn’t make it onto your local radio stations. Which is to say, it was difficult to hear the vast majority of music available.

Not so today. The internet is the great music equalizer. If you are looking to expand your musical horizons, or simply hear a cool tune you’ve never heard before, here are eight of our favorite sites. Though some have pay options, each site can be enjoyed free of charge:

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