From the dustbin: ‘We’re the Jetsons (Jetsons Rap)’

It was the summer of 1990. PC users tinkered with the brand-new Windows 3.0 operating system. West Germany, seized with excitement for its imminent reunion with its Eastern brothers, won the World Cup. And hip-hop reached its ultimate punk-ass nadir, starting with “U Can’t Touch This” and leading up later that year to “Ice Ice Baby.” In between came the soundtrack to Jetsons: The Movie, which opens with this track, performed by some chumps called XXL.

The soundtrack is way out of print, but if you like what you hear, and want some Tiffany ballads (she did the voice of Judy Jetson), you can download the whole thing here and here. And you can see the YTMND Jetsons-Salt N Pepa here.

Watchmen picture disc with ... My Chemical Romance

I missed this while I was away, and I’m not sure whether I’m glad about that or not.

Tomorrow Warner/Reprise will release a 12-inch picture disc with music from Watchmen. On the A side is My Chemical Romance’s “powerful cover” of Dylan’s “Desolation Row” — from whose lyrics (“At midnight all the agents...”) the title of the first issue was taken. I guess that satisfies the “snotty pop-punk version of a TV theme or 1960s rock classic” required of the soundtrack for every expensive Hollywood adaptation.

Side B: “Tyler Bates ‘Prison Fight’ Track from the Original Motion Picture Score (Rorschach City Scene).” Your advance price from the Warners store: $11.99.

At least it’s not a 12-year-old Smashing Pumpkins leftover.

Sort of an Indiana Jones ‘Use Your Illusion’

Concord Records to Release First Three Expanded Indiana Jones™ Soundtracks Individually on February 24, 2009

Originally Available as Part of Last Year’s Limited-Edition Boxed Set, These Expanded and Remastered Soundtracks Feature Previously Unreleased Music From The First Three Films!

“Sure, the whip, the hat, the jacket are part of the Indiana Jones iconography. But what really gives Indy his heart and spirit is John Williams’ music.” — Steven Spielberg

Beverly Hills, CA — On February 24, 2009 Concord Records will release individually the soundtracks to the original three Indiana Jones films: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

All three feature Oscar-winning composer John Williams’ soundtracks digitally remastered from the original tapes, plus unreleased music from each respective film. Previously available only as part of last year’s highly successful box set release Indiana Jones: The Soundtracks Collection, these reissued CD’s will be available individually for the first time.

About the boxed set, Film Music Magazine raved, “It’s a collection on five CD’s that delivers over an hour of unheard Indy music, all with spectacular sound and sleek packaging. The chance to finally hear that minute of Indy toppling the Anubis statue in ‘Raiders’ is like a dream come true. Now with just about every bit of Indiana Jones music on deck here, listing to some of John Williams’ greatest achievements for the popcorn cinema has never sounded more fun, or fresh. Raid this covenant of CD’s immediately.”

Short version: “We found a new way to sell the stuff that was on the box set.”

Vacation

I’m taking some time away from work, and away from blogging. Will be back when I get back. In the meantime, please content yourself with some lolcats.

Oblique Strategies for iPhone

A company called Far Out Labs has developed an iPhone app for Oblique Strategies, Brian Eno and Peter Schmidt’s wonderful oracle in a deck of cards. (This is separate from the Dashboard widget.) You tap the screen, and another “worthwhile dilemma” pops up to unlock your mind. Complaint: the screenshots above are misleading since the design is inexplicably in landscape orientation. 

Eno himself has helped create an app called Bloom, which allows you to make patterns of sounds — some might call that music, some might just call it patterns of sounds — by tapping on the screen.

Maybe it’s time for me to finally figure out how to do a web version of my parody, Obtuse Strategies, which I designed and printed privately at not inconsiderable expense.

(Thanks to Rob for the tip.)

‘A Priest. A Father’

One of my oldest friends, Dan Madden — whose rain-damaged copy of The Dark Knight Returns I still have in my bookcase, 21 or so years later — is working on a documentary about his father, who was a priest before he started a family.

Dan is now a film editor who has worked on many big projects, but “A Priest. A Father” (sorry, Dan, I can’t abide the eccentric capitalization) is a labor of love. And it’s a revelation to me — I didn’t learn of his father’s ecclesiastical history until long after my days hanging out at his house, endlessly entertained by his four sons’ inevitable smackdowns. Mr. Madden is very candid in the teaser Dan has posted, about growing up poor in the South Bronx and how the church did nothing to prepare its young recruits for celibacy.

Dan’s description:

“A priest. A Father” tells the story of Bill Madden, a former Catholic priest, and now husband and father of 7. This film follows him back to the Benedictine Monastery where began his life as a monk in the late 1950’s, to Rome where he studied, and Assisi Italy where he was ordained. Throughout his journey he finds the remnants of a lifestyle that no longer exists, reflects on the reasons he ultimately left, and ponders the current state of the Catholic Church. This journey is weighed next to the choices of his brother who remained in the priesthood and who has gone on to become a Bishop. We speak to several former and current priests to try and understand the enormous impacts of events like Vatican II, and why in the end, many chose to leave.

Ultimately, this film explores what inspired some men to become priests, but more importantly why some left.

In an attempt to recreate imagery of times and moments that were never documented, the video footage is interwoven with animated illustrations and original music. The final film is expect to run approximately 30 minutes.

I am flattered to be hoaxed

From a self-described “obscure blog form Saskatchewan” apparently campaigning for the 2008 Weblog Awards (which it has won before). Interestingly, all the links on this fake Times home page are for real articles, except the one attributed to me. I blush.

Which of these press releases is fake?

One of these announcements is real and the other is fake. Which is the hoax? Is it this one?

STEVE MARTIN TO RELEASE “THE CROW: NEW SONGS FOR THE FIVE-STRING BANJO” JANUARY 27

Martin reprises his role as Inspector Jacques Clouseau in Pink Panther 2, in theaters February 6

Los Angeles, California, January 9, 2009 — Actor/comedian/musician and bestselling author Steve Martin will release his first full-length music album The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo on January 27, 2009. The bluegrass flavored album will be available exclusively on Amazon.com for the first 90 days. Martin is scheduled to host and perform on “Saturday Night Live” on January 31st as well as make several more television appearances, including the “The Late Show with David Letterman” on February 2, and “Good Morning America” and “Live with Regis & Kelly” on February 3 in support of the The Crow and the major motion picture release of Pink Panther 2. A three-time Grammy winner, two for comedy albums Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) and Let’s Get Small (1977) and one in music for his collaboration with Earl Scruggs on Foggy Mountain Breakdown (2001), Martin is currently nominated for Born Standing Up (2008) in the Best Spoken Word Album category.

After playing on the Grammy Award winning Foggy Mountain Breakdown with Earl Scruggs, Martin began writing a string of new banjo songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals. An album 45 years in the making, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo features special vocal appearances by Mary Black, Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien, Dolly Parton and musicians Earl Scruggs, Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka. Recorded in Dublin, Hollywood, Nashville and New Jersey and produced by John McEuen, of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, the record consists of 15 original tracks written by Martin.

“I have loved the banjo my whole life,” says Martin. “The songs on this record represent the influence of a dozen players and a thousand tunes, and I thank them all. But it’s the banjo itself I thank most for generating nostalgia for experiences I never had, joy I was yet to experience, and melancholy that was yet to come.”

Martin will reprise the role of intrepid-if-bumbling French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau in MGM’s The Pink Panther 2, in theaters February 6, 2009. When legendary treasures from around the world are stolen, including the priceless Pink Panther Diamond, Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) is forced to assign Clouseau to a team of international detectives and experts charged with catching the thief and retrieving the stolen artifacts. Martin is joined by his co-stars Jean Reno (as Ponton, his partner) and Emily Mortimer (as Nicole, the object of his awkward affections). The investigative dream team is played by Andy Garcia, Alfred Molina, Yuki Matsuzaki and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Lily Tomlin also stars.

Album cover art and photos are available upon request.

Or this one?

ROBIN WILLIAMS TO RELEASE “THE HUMPBACK WHALE: NEW SONGS FOR THE STEAM CALLIOPE” MARCH 3

Williams reprises his role as Bob Munro in RV 2: Making Tracks Down Under, in theaters April 7

Los Angeles, California, January 9, 2009 — Actor/comedian/musician and bestselling author Robin Williams will release his first full-length music album The Humpback Whale: New Songs for the Steam Calliope on March 3, 2009. The ambient flavored album will be available exclusively on Amazon.com for the first 90 days. Williams is scheduled to host and perform on “Saturday Night Live” on March 31 as well as make several more television appearances, including the “The Late Show with David Letterman” on March 8, and “Good Morning America” and “Live with Regis & Kelly” on March 15 in support of the The Humpback Whale and the major motion picture release of RV 2. A four-time Grammy winner, three for comedy albums Reality...What a Concept (1980), A Night at the Met (1988), and Good Morning, Vietnam (1989) and one in best spoken comedy album on Robin Williams — Live 2002 (2003), Williams is currently nominated for Emotional Rescue (2008) in the Best Spoken Word Album for Children category.

After playing on one of Pitchfork's albums of the year Everything That Happens Will Happen Today with David Byrne and Brian Eno, Williams began writing a string of new calliope songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals. An album 45 years in the making, The Humpback Whale: New Songs for the Steam Calliope features special vocal appearances by Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, Devendra Banhart, Antony Hegarty and musicians David Byrne, Brian Eno and Leo Abrahams. Recorded in London, Hollywood, Paris and New Jersey and produced by Eno, the record consists of 15 original tracks written by Williams.

“I have loved the calliope my whole life,” says Williams. “The songs on this record represent the influence of a dozen players and a thousand tunes, and I thank them all. But it’s the calliope itself I thank most for generating nostalgia for experiences I never had, joy I was yet to experience, and melancholy that was yet to come.”

Williams will reprise the role of intrepid-if-bumbling beverage employee, Bob Munro in Columbia’s RV 2: Making Tracks Down Under, in theaters April 7, 2009. Now employed by the independent Alpine soda company, Munro is assigned to visit the Australian outback to find a rare herb that could be used in boosting the failing company's product line, and decides to take his family along for another vacation. Williams is joined by his co-stars Cheryl Hines (as Jamie, his wife), Joanna Levesque (as Cassie, his daughter) and Josh Hutcherson (Carl, his son). The investigative herb team is played by Ray Liotta, Robbie Coltrane, Paul Hogan and Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan. Jane Curtain also stars.

Album cover art and photos are available upon request.

Thanks again to Jesse for the Steve/Robin brilliance.

Partial recovery of ‘Best of 2008’

All links, formatting and embedded clips, etc., are gone, and I really don't feel like going to all that trouble again. But here it is, at least until Google allows it to mysteriously disappear again:

ALBUMS

1. Vampire Weekend (XL). Although the role of blogs in their success might be overstated, as people who know have suggested, there’s no denying a textbook 21st-century phenomenon. Yet there’s also something comfortingly classic going on here. The album has a clear musical vision and sonic consistency — two elements endangered by “unbundling” — and, most important, tight, smart songwriting. The rampant Graceland comparisons are simplistic and inaccurate, but this does remind me of the clean minimalism of the ’80s. The Police, maybe? Anyway, fishing for antecedents is a dismal pursuit. The reason this is great is just that it is great.

2. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago (Jagjaguwar). The sad-sack lo-fi album is the most pathetically overdone trend since 15-year-olds discovered black lipstick. But Justin Vernon has done it about as best as can be done, with breathy, wintry harmonies and a perfectionism that still allows for something ragged and unbalanced, making this seem at times like a very low-energy tantrum. Best of all, that perfectionism puts other boo-hoo boys on notice. The age of the trembling Conor Oberst imitation is dead; you have to actually sing now.

3. Girl Talk, Feed the Animals (Illegal Art). There’s nothing new about mashups, nor about an album made entirely of samples. What Gregg Gillis, a.k.a. Girl Talk, has done is return the art of sampling to its origins, which were all about the thrill of familiarity. DJ’s recontextualized old sounds, yes, but they chose those sounds in part to piggyback on the memories they triggered. A typical GT track is nostalgia in hyperdrive, stitched together from dozens of samples — each of which you are happy to hear again and again, and again and again.

4. Metallica, Death Magnetic (Warner Bros.). Maybe it is compressed; so what. This is a return to the Metallica that I love, the Metallica I haven’t heard from in 20 years. Physicality = viscera = blood rush = the hunt = murder = pain. In many ways this is a simple horror film, with lyrics like “Crushing metal, ripping skin/Tossing body, mannequin.” There’s also new depth in there, though, thanks to age and the mirror of rehab. But you don’t really care about that, do you? They had you at “ripping skin.”

5. TV on the Radio, Dear Science (Interscope). I’m getting tired of putting TVOTR albums on my best-of lists. But they twisted my arm. This is maybe their best, the noise-cloud gathered into cleaner, sharper lines, the falsetto still kickin’, the caustic surrealism still kickin’ too.

6. Randy Newman, Harps and Angels (Nonesuch). Perhaps the best piece of political satire all year. Newman did a beautiful thing by taking a step away from partisan rancor and arrogance, and then using lighthearted entertainment to brutally lambaste them. How better to frame a theme of post-Katrina shame than with avuncular New Orleans showmanship?

7. My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges (ATO). Jim James may make a great album some day. This isn’t it — disqualified for sexy librarians and “the Interweb” — but it’s one of the most ambitious records by a major band in 2008. (I contend that only Coldplay and Axl Rose took bolder risks. Discuss.) It’s a tug-of-war about paranoia and alienation, and goes through a lot of itchy electronic stuff before getting anywhere close to the Southern-rock pastorals they are known for. And when they do get there (“Thank You Too!”) it’s absolutely gorgeous.

8. Black Kids, Partie Traumatic (Columbia). The Black Kids suffered a bit from the industry-not-moving-as-fast-as-the-Web thing. (Not too bad, though; I still heard them every time I walked into an Urban Outfitters.) But any backlash reflected badly on the blogosphere itself. This is smartass indie dance-pop at its best, and the lyrical wit (“Hello, this is your body/What do you want, my body?/I wanna feel somebody on me”) is the cherry on top.

9. Jonas Brothers, A Little Bit Longer (Hollywood). Perfect rocklegum. How long do we have to wait until Nick Jonas hits his Brian Wilson period?

10. Beach House, Devotion (Car Park). Victoria Legrand has a suppler, deeper alto than Chan Marshall, although she doesn’t reach the same expressive heights. But on Devotion, she wins. Her voice is like a hormonal beacon through clouds of organ and slide guitar (by the other member of Beach House, Alex Scalley), whereas Cat Power’s aimless Jukebox just gets lost. My worry: There’s not much else but texture here. I hope Legrand (and Scalley) develop further and don’t end up simply treading pretty water.


SINGLES

1. Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold”
2. Jonas Brothers, “Lovebug”
3. Coldplay, “Viva la Vida”
4. Black Kids, “I’m Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance With You”
5. She & Him, “Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?”
6. Fall Out Boy, “I Don’t Care”
7. Leona Lewis, “Bleeding Love”
8. Lucinda Williams, “If Wishes Were Horses”
9. Jazmine Sullivan, “Bust Your Windows”
10. Kid Rock, “All Summer Long”


30 MORE RECOMMENDED ALBUMS

Al Green, Lay It Down (Blue Note)
Jamey Johnson, That Lonesome Song (Mercury Nashville)
Coldplay, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (Capitol)
Jay Reatard, Matador Singles 08 (Matador)
Jay Reatard, Singles 06-07 (In the Red)
She & Him, Volume One (Merge)
Nick Cave, Dig!!! Lazarus Dig!!! (Anti-)
Lykke Li, Youth Novels (LL/Atlantic)
Portishead, Third (Island)
School of Seven Bells, Alpinisms (Ghostly)
Raconteurs, Consolers of the Lonely (Warner Brothers)
Jazmine Sullivan, Fearless (J)
Nine Inch Nails, Ghosts I-IV (Null Corporation)
Fall Out Boy, Folie à Deux (Island)
Joe Jackson, Rain (Ryko)
Liam Finn, I’ll Be Lightning (Yep Roc)
Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop)
Sons & Daughters, This Gift (Domino)
Death Cab for Cutie, Narrow Stairs (Atlantic)
Hercules and Love Affair (DFA/EMI)
Shearwater, Rook (Matador)
Magnetic Fields, Distortion (Nonesuch)
Jealous Girlfriends (Good Fences)
Tokyo Police Club, Elephant Shell (Saddle Creek)
Hot Chip, Made in the Dark (DFA/EMI)
MGMT, Oracular Spectacular (Columbia)
Wye Oak, If Children (Merge)
Death Vessel, Nothing Is Precious Enough for Us (Sub Pop)
Jolie Holland, The Living and the Dead (Anti-)
Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer (Sub Pop)

REISSUES

Nick Lowe, Jesus of Cool (Yep Roc)
Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean Blue (Legacy)
Love Train: The Sound of Philadelphia (Legacy)

MORE SINGLES I LIKED

Lykke Li, “Little Bit”
Ting Tings, “That’s Not My Name”
Beach House, “Gila”
Kanye West, “Love Lockdown”
John Legend, “Green Light”
Weezer, “Pork and Beans”
Pussycat Dolls, “When I Grow Up”

BLANK STARE

Guns N’ Roses, Chinese Democracy (Geffen)

MOST INTERESTING FAILURE

Kanye West, 808s & Heartbreak (Def Jam)

BEST TITLES (ALSO HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

Marnie Stern, This Is It and I Am It and You Are It and So Is That and He Is It and She Is It and It Is It and That Is That (Kill Rock Stars)
Kasai Allstars, In The 7th Moon, the Chief Turned Into a Swimming Fish and Ate the Head of His Enemy by Magic (Crammed Discs)

FAVORITE COVER

[Crystal Castles]


YES BUT 2007

Flo Rida, “Low”
M.I.A., “Paper Planes”

HONORARY MENTION

Bruce Springsteen’s powerful reading of Suicide’s life-affirming “Dream Baby Dream,” on a purposely obscure 10-inch (cover, right) that kicked off a series of singles on Blast First Petite in honor of Alan Vega’s 70th birthday (yes, 70th!). It was limited to 4,000 copies, one of which I snagged with an advance order on Amazon. Supposedly it’s sold out, although the last time I was at Kim’s on St. Marks they had three of them, and it’s on eMusic.

MOST OVERRATED INDIE BANDS

No Age
Fleet Foxes

WHITE CRITIC’S OBLIGATORY LIL WAYNE REFERENCE

Lil Wayne

DISAPPOINTMENTS

Shelby Lynne, Just a Little Lovin’ (Lost Highway)
Ray Davies, Working Man’s Cafe (New West)
Cat Power, Jukebox (Matador)
Gnarls Barkley, The Odd Couple (Atlantic)

CAN’T BE A DISAPPOINTMENT IF YOU DON’T CARE

Beck, Modern Guilt (Interscope)

WORST ALBUM OF 2008

Scarlett Johnansson, Anywhere I Lay My Head (Atco)

Open letter to Google about Blogger problems

Dear Google,

A post to this blog on Jan. 2 called "Best of 2008" has disappeared. I am a music journalist and this post was an extensive list of my favorite releases of 2008, with images and YouTube clips. I spent a ridiculous amount of time working on it. It received comments from readers. The post does not appear in the cache for the blog, nor does it turn up when I search for phrases that I remember being in there. Other posts from around the same time, however, are still up.

I have looked through Blogger Help but haven't found any answer to my problem, nor have I found any way to contact someone at Google/Blogger who could help me. "Contacting support" does not actually have a way to contact support, but instead leads a user to your help forums, which tell me: "You cannot post messages because only members can post, and you are not currently a member." Besides the fact that I believe I am a member -- I have a Google account and also have this blog -- I don't think that thousands of miscellaneous posts from other people having problems exactly constitutes technical support.

This is especially frustrating since another post on a similar topic vanished from my blog months ago. In late June or early July I published a list called "Six-month report," which gave my favorite music of the first half of 2008. That disappeared somewhat quickly; a few weeks, I think.

Could you please help me in retrieving these posts? And if there are particular bugs in your programming that allow posts to disappear like this, could you please fix them?

Thank you,
Ben Sisario

A bunch more Watchmen posters

These seem to have come out fairly recently. Not as impressive as the last batch. And I especially do not appreciate the grammatical inconsistency between the first and eighth posters here. Come on people, you’re dealing with comic book fans, the very definition of detail-obsessed übernerds.

Watchin’ the Minutemen (and the ugly Watchmen suit)

The latest Watchmen vlog entry went up yesterday. This one is about the Minutemen, the World War II-era predecessors of the Watchmen. For talking heads, they’re down to the guy who plays Rorschach and the still photographer.

Of course, all this may be in vain considering the latest news about the Fox vs. Warner Bros. case, which will be decided by a federal judge by Jan. 20. This comes a couple of weeks after that same judge ruled that Fox owns the distribution rights. Today Warner Bros. asked him to, ahem, hurry up.

Hard-bitten Hollywood pragmatists among you will probably say that all this will just raise the ransom price. But there’s at least the theoretical possibility that the thing could be squelched. (Hint: The pragmatists are usually right.)

More scrapbooking

A few weeks ago I posted some old pieces that I had dug up among the yellowing stacks deep in my closet. These were from 1998 and 1999, when I began writing for New York Press. (I continued until 2002.) I made the mistake of re-burying most of those clips before making scans, and it may take me another 10 years to dig them out again.

But for the time being I’ve got another small pile of digital newsprint for you, Dear Reader. And there is some good stuff in here.

From 1998:

• “Kaiser Rock, Kaiser Roll,” my first feature for the Press, about Scotland’s great Beat obsessives, the Kaisers, with a classic Mike Wartella illustration.
  
• A review of the Nuggets reissue. This also has a Wartella image, but for a Marilyn Manson review that ran alongside it.
  
• Leon Parker live review.
• Apocalyptica CD review.
• Review of the Figgs’ Couldn’t Get High..., the album they made after being dumped by Capitol. In a feature several months later I called it my favorite of the year.
• “Crazy Japanese Music”: Review of Keiji Haino’s three-day residency at Tonic, as well as a disappointing High Rise show at the Mercury Lounge. 

From 1999:

• Review of Beth Orton’s second album, Central Reservation, which says pretty much everything I have to say about Beth Orton.
• Vince Martin live review.
• R.L. Burnside at the Cooler.
• Live review of T-Model Ford, another of Fat Possum’s crusty old blues guys, who in the days before Fiery Furnaces and Andrew Bird were that label’s bread and butter. (Burnside died in 2005 but the octogenarian T-Model is, amazingly, still making records.)
  
• Review of a concert called “All the Percussion Music of Iannis Xenakis (Almost)” by Steven Schick’s Red Fish Blue Fish.
  
• Another contemporary/avant/“classical”/“new music” review, of the Flux Quartet. This was a historic performance of Morton Feldman’s Second String Quartet, which lasted more than 6 hours, forcing the musicians to face unusual “anxieties about bladder control.”
  
  
  

Favorite quote, from the Flux Quartet review:

“Is this what music is really all about — sitting by yourself in silence, watching other people move their bodies? Then I would think about sex and food. Over and over again. So is this what it’s all about? Sitting by myself watching somebody make music while I dream about sex and food?”

More to come, maybe.

2008: The year in live music

I saw slightly fewer concerts in 2008 than usual — about 90 shows, not counting theater and some other things. Here are some of the more notable events, with favorites in bold itals.

Best were Nick Lowe, Leonard Cohen, the Vaselines and My Bloody Valentine. (Am I getting old, or what?) Most surprsing: Information (opening for Teenage Jesus, who were great too), “From Beyond” (conflict of interest alert), Philip Glass’s “Satyagraha” at the Met, Jamey Johnson, and the Korean avant/traditional fusion of the Tori Ensemble. Most disappointing was probably everything about Oneida’s show at the Kitchen except “Sheet of Easter,” as much as I do love them.

1/10: Lou Reed and John Zorn (with Laurie Anderson) @ The Stone
1/19: Blonde Redhead, Raveonettes, School of Seven Bells @ Terminal 5
1/29: Vampire Weekend, Beat the Devil @ Bowery Ballroom
2/1: Joanna Newsom w/ Brooklyn Philharmonic @ BAM
2/6: Cat Power @ Terminal 5
2/13: Jason and Lucas Ajemian’s “From Beyond” @ 436 West 15th Street (behind Passerby bar)
2/13: MGMT, Yeasayer, Violens @ Bowery Ballroom
2/14: Yeasayer, MGMT, Chairlift @ Music Hall of Williamsburg
2/23: The National, My Brightest Diamond @ BAM
3/7: “Peter Grimes” @ Metropolitan Opera
3/10: Vinicio Capossela @ Joe’s Pub
3/13-15: SXSW (highlights: Motörhead, Holy Fuck, My Morning Jacket, Liam Finn, Bon Iver, Atlas Sound, Wye Oak, Pissed Jeans, Handsome Furs, Health, 2 Live Crew, White Shoes and the Couples Company, the Pillows)
3/30: Boredoms @ Terminal 5
4/2: Beach House, Papercuts, Luke Temple @ Bowery Ballroom
4/4: Shelby Lynne @ Ethical Culture Society
4/6: Simone Dinnerstein @ Town Hall
4/9: Nick Lowe w/ Robyn Hitchcock (and Elvis Costello!) @ Grand Ballroom, Manhattan Center
4/16: Joe Jackson @ Town Hall
4/17: Opening party @ John Varvatos store, 315 Bowery (former CBGB): Wayne Kramer, Handsome Dick Manitoba, Tom Morello, Jerry Cantrell, Slash, Joan Jett, Ian Hunter, Ronnie Spector, others.
4/19: “Satyagraha” @ Metropolitan Opera
4/30: Madonna @ Roseland
5/4: Tashi (Wuorinen, Takemitsu, Messiaen) @ Town Hall
5/19: The Swell Season, Interference @ Radio City Music Hall
5/24: Rosa Passos @ Allen Room
6/6: MIA, Rye Rye, Holy Fuck @ McCarren Pool
6/11: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss @ WaMu Theater at Madison Square Garden
6/13: Teenage Jesus and the Jerks (Lydia Lunch, Jim Sclavunos, Thurston Moore), Information @ Knitting Factory
6/14: Oneida (“The Wedding”) @ The Kitchen
6/20: My Morning Jacket @ Radio City Music Hall
6/23: Coldplay @ Madison Square Garden
6/25: Leonard Cohen @ Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, Place des Arts, Montreal (pre-festival)
6/26-28: Montreal International Jazz Festival (highlights: Dee Dee Bridgewater, Vieux Farka Touré, Return to Forever, John Jorgenson, Al Green, Hank Jones duos with Joe Lovano and Brad Mehldau; Mehldau solo; Saxophone Summit w/ Lovano, Dave Liebman and Ravi Coltrane)
7/5: Rush @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
7/9: Vaselines, Indelicates @ Maxwell’s
7/12: Beth Orton, Matt Munisteri @ Celebrate Brooklyn
7/13: Breeders, Matt & Kim, the Whip @ McCarren Pool
7/18: Billy Joel @ Shea Stadium
7/19: Matmos, Leprechaun Catering @ Le Poisson Rouge
7/20: Liars @ McCarren Pool
7/25: Black Kids, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Zambri @ Santos Party House
8/7: Neil Diamond @ XL Center, Hartford
8/9: All Points West: Radiohead, the Roots, Kings of Leon, Black Angels @ Liberty State Park, NJ
8/17: Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, Menahan Street Band @ Central Park Summerstage
8/20: The Ex with Gétatchèw Mèkurya; Mahmoud Ahmed and Alèmayèhu Eshèté with Either/Orchestra; Extra Golden @ Damrosch Park Bandshell, Lincoln Center Plaza
9/10: Bill Frisell, Paul Motian, Joe Lovano @ Village Vanguard
9/17: Lee Ann Womack, Jamey Johnson @ Allen Room
9/23: My Bloody Valentine @ Roseland
10/11: Haroon Bacha @ Forest Hills Jewish Center
10/16: TV on the Radio, Dragons of Zynth @ Brooklyn Masonic Temple
10/17: “Baltimore Round Robin” w/ Beach House, Jana Hunter, Santa Dads, Lexie Mountain, Lesser, Teeth Mountain, Nautical Almaniac, Lizz King, Creepers, WZT Hearts, Ed Schrader, Sand Cats, Thank You @ Le Poisson Rouge
10/21-25: CMJ (highlights: Shugo Tokumaru, Jay Reatard, the King Khan & BBQ Show, Growing, Psychic Ills, Sian Alice Group, Mission of Burma, the Muslims, School of Seven Bells)
11/7: Rosanne Cash, Joe Henry @ Rubin Museum
12/5: “Red Hot + Rio 2”: CéU, Curumin, Bebel Gilberto, José González, Otto and João Parahyba, w/ Kassin, Moreno Veloso, Domenico Lancellotti, Money Mark, Janja Gomes, Jorge Continentino, Carlos Darci and Zé Luis @ BAM
12/6: Tori Ensemble (Yoon Jeong Heo, Erik Friedlander, Kwon Soon Kang, Young Chi Min, Ned Rothenberg, Satoshi Takeishi) @ Asia Society
12/10: Bon Iver, the Tallest Man on Earth @ Town Hall
12/18: “La Bohème” @ Metropolitan Opera (with Ramón Vargas)
12/31: Joan Osborne @ City Winery
12/31: Akron/Family, Deerhoof, Megafaun, etc. @ Knitting Factory

(Top photo credit.)

Slow news day

From AP feed on NYTimes.com homepage:

Man Who Aided Bicycle Theft Plan Has Bike Stolen

Filed at 11:31 a.m. ET

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- A former Fort Lauderdale city commissioner who helped create a program to combat bicycle theft had his own bike stolen while trying to help people involved in a vehicle crash.

Tim Smith said he witnessed the traffic accident as he was cycling to the beach on Monday. He said he left his bike on the sidewalk to rush to the cars involved. But after finding both drivers uninjured, he went to retrieve his bike and discovered it was gone.

To add insult to injury, Smith -- as a commissioner -- had successfully pushed for a citywide bike registration program to help police track stolen bikes. But when he contacted police to report his own stolen bike, he had to admit it was not registered.