With the embargo and restrictions on travel and citizen access to the internet, Cuba remains one of the hemisphere’s most isolated nations. “It’s no wonder,” writes David Peisner, “that the country is responsible for some of the angriest, most extreme metal on Earth.”

In addition to his work with the Sea and Cake and musical side projects (which brought him to the Walker in 2005 and 2011), Archer Prewitt has other gigs—including one designing a new bobblehead in honor of dub/reggae great Lee “Scratch” Perry.

Despite the cuteness of the scene—a DJ cat mixing the Beastie Boys!—today’s Cat Break comes with sincere sadness: Rest in peace, Adam Yauch (aka MCA), director, activist, and Beasties cofounder, who passed away at age 47 after a three-year battle with cancer.

For its annual Icon Issue, The Fader focuses on Philip Glass by getting reflections on the 75-year-old composer—and his collaborations with filmmakers, dancers, and visual artists—from the likes of Chuck Close, Lucinda Childs, Nico Muhly, and Errol Morris.

Almost as unique as Prince’s music is the Minneapolis native’s couture: frilly tops, paisley jackets, ruffled collars. Each of these details is exactingly recreated in miniature by Troy Gua, whose Thunderbirds-esque dolls even include cashmere-fluff chest hair.

In a tribute to Austrian composer Arnold Schoenberg, artist Cory Arcangel recreated the 1909 piece Drei Klavierstücke, Op. 11—widely considered the first “atonal” piece of music composed—using only clips from YouTube cat videos.

Minnesota native Bob Dylan is receiving a Presidential Medal of Freedom. Named with Toni Morrison, labor activist Dolores Huerta and 10 others, his five-decade career and “influence on the civil rights movement” were noted by the White House.

A new University College Dublin study tracked last.fm data to find out which cities have the biggest impact on our musical tastes. While Minneapolis is among the top 20 influencing cities, Atlanta is tops overall and in hip hop; Montreal leads in indie.

In the Arab Spring, “art, music and performance fueled revolution by giving the disenfranchised—the outsiders, the rebels, the refugees, the critics—a second draft to rewrite their country’s cultural memory,” Safa Samiezade’-Yazd writes.