SPIN‘s August issue pays tribute to the 20th anniversary of Nirvana’s Nevermind and the icing on the cake is a tribute album called, “Newermind”, which features some of their favorite contemporary artists cover Nevermind’s 13 songs in their original order. Two of Kurt Cobain‘s personal faves — the Meat Puppets and the Vaselines, both of whom Nirvana famously covered during their MTV Unplugged taping — joined the effort. You’ll find the complete album tracklist along with a link to download the album for free after the jump.

If you plan on attending this year’s festival, SPIN magazine has a whole buncha emerging artists to check out. Even if you don’t go, you should probably illegally download their albums asap so you can impress your friends with your insider knowledge. Read more after the jump!

For anyone who follows Bruce Springsteen or Arcade Fire, (and that’s a lot of you) you might notice they have a mutual appreciation for each others music.  Aside from being featured on the cover of SPIN magazine together, Bruce & Arcade Fire have shared the stage a couple of times, including performances for President Obama. Arcade Fire frontman, Win Butler, recently compiled a list of his top 14 Springsteen songs. How do Win’s ranking stack up against yours? Let us know after the jump!

The Flaming Lips took to the stage in NYC last night for night two of Spin Magazine’s epic 5 night 25th Anniversary Party. In typical Lips fashion, the show was an orgasmic explosion of light, color and confetti… with the occasional dancing guy in a bear suit. The set kicked off with Wayne Coyne climbing into an 8 foot diameter balloon as the band performed “The Fear”. And like every Flaming Lips show… it was obvious and awesome. The party continues with The Black Keys tonight, The National on Thursday and Spiritualized on Friday. If you’re not in NYC or can’t make the show, Spin is streaming all the shows live, so check it out.

While most sites are still rapping about year-end wrap-ups, SPIN.com is looking to the future. They’ve put together a sweet compilation of 10 tracks from 10 Artists to Watch in 2010 and their giving it away for free. From the smooth beats of Jay Z protege J. Cole to the atmospheric synth-pop stylings of Austin, Texas’ Neon Indian, 2010: A Look Ahead is a little bit Hip-Hop, a little bit Rock & Roll and a whole lot of awesome.