Rock for Barack is a celebration of music meant to connect Obama’s message with the younger vote, but the organizers point out that everyone is welcome. Just be sure to bring along that voter-registration card.

John Hiatt, Sarah Borges and The Broken Singles and DeVotchka

Tinnitus is a condition of the inner ear that produces a constant buzzing or ringing noise. It’s caused by sustained loud sounds—jackhammers, for example—or the acute shock, say, from a close-range gun blast of a double action .44. There are myriad ways to get it and listening to an album from the band Black Eyes & Neckties—with earphones on, and at full volume—is definitely one way to acquire the condition.

Cut through the embargoes, missile crises and Red Scare and you have this: Cuba is a tropical island that knows how to party and its music reflects its people’s love of life.