http://www.nypress.com/blogs-1-1-1-3.html Jan. 20 is going to be exciting day. Why? Well, there is some nonsense in DC, which means that there will be less people in my way when I head to Market Hotel to see Fucked Up with Vivian Girls. Check out this new video of FU below, which truly gives me hope that Jan. 20 will bring change for a better tomorrow. Photo by http://flickr.com/photos/redheadwalking/ ]]> The Brooklyn Philharmonic is all over the place. Whether the group is playing at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, like it will on Feb. 28 with Final Fantasty and Grizzly Bear, in Prospect Park for Celebrate Brooklyn! or at the Public Library, the orchestra is always on the go. So we were thrilled to see that the designs for the group's new home, a former firehouse on Degraw Street in Cobble Hill, were released this week. We can't help but think tha]]> Whether busking on subway stations around the country or on actual stages in the college circuit, this local singer is what modern folk music is all about. She also has great sense of humor—on her website, she lists the odd items left on her guitar case in the different cities she's played in. Items include thermal underwear, drugs, religious pamphlets and costume jewelry in addition to foreign currency that she keeps as memorabilia. Gelman]]> It's not unusual to leave a show at the Bowery Ballroom with your ears ringing, but after last night's show by Scottish rockers Glasvegas, the crowd spilling out onto Delancey Street was seeing spots. The band, which played a short, sweet set, employed a set of insanely bright lights to punctuate its songs, leaving more than a few audience members covering their eyes as they sang along to the Wire-by-way-of-the-Shangri-La's tunes.  --- Th]]> While catching up on our blog reading, we caught this intriguing post amid all the materialism and hot girls on Kanye West's blog:--- ---"WORLD PREMIERE ... THEY SENT THE SONG TO ME FIRST! PETER BJORN & JOHN... SHIT IS DOPE!! DRUMS ARE CRAZY AND I LIKE THE KIDS ON THE HOOK. THERE NEW ALBUM IS CALLED 'LIVING THING' ..... WITH ALL THAT SAID I DON'T KNOW THE NAME OF THE SONG... LOL!!!... I'M GONNA ASSUME IT'S CALLED, 'NOTHI]]> A funny sort of economics governs the world of music piracy. Those who buy usually do so out of morality. Those who steal steal with some misgiving, but they're too poor for the moral cost to outweigh the financial benefits. Apple's new iTunes pricing plan might bring the threshhold—the point when you agree that it's worth it to support the artists you like—a little closer. Now Apple, which previously set all song prices at 99 ce]]>   The Loom/ArmsPianos1/6/09Brooklyn’s DIY scene has had its year. Vivian Girls, Crystal Stilts, and High Places all saw loads of attention from the media in 2008. And while this scene will continue to thrive, the ever-present lack of attention span and need for something new by indie fans and bloggers means that this might not be the scene that gets all the attention in 2009.Watching The Loom at Pianos on Tuesday night, I couldn&rsqu]]> Have you been reading all the stories and coverage of Andrew Bird? Yes? Well now you can get the exclusive (legal) first listen over at NPR. Click HERE to check it out.]]> As if coming back to work after the holidays wasn't bad enough, today legendary Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton was found dead in his Michigan home. Iggy might look like a scary handbag now, but we'll always have a soft spot for those boys. Check out a video of the band after the jump. --- ]]> The gang at Buffetlibre have unleashed their second Rewind project, where they ask up-and-coming acts to submit covers or remixes of oldies-but-goodies for the masses. You may not have heard of many of these bands yet, but the first edition's alumni include Dragonette, Purple Crush, Cannonball Jane and FrankMusik, and this one features buzzy acts like Starfucker, Little Boots, Heads We Dance, and AC Slater.--- ---We're still working throug]]> Missed it? Well, so what. Knitting Factory finally closed its doors in Tribeca with a promise to open in Brooklyn in March. But we're not sure anyone even cares. We reported in November about all the employees being let go and the strangeness surrounding the transfer of power amongst the owners and promoters. But does anyone even pay attention or care anymore? The end of year apathy only seemed to continue for the final performance. Akron/Family ]]> The Chicago Tribune reported that disc sales fell nearly 20 percent, to 362.6 million, "the seventh decline in eight years, according to SoundScan's report, which was released Wednesday." At the same time, online downloads reached a milestone: Over 1 billion songs were bought online. But that doesn't mean the music industry isn't still fucked. Overall, album sales were down 8.5 percent and "every musical genre reported across-the-board declines i]]> The atmosphere was thick with Eastern European accents at Webster Hall last night as gypsy-circus outfit Gogol Bordello held the first of three end of year NYC shows. Nothing gets a sold-out crowd more loaded and loose than a good support act though and psychedelic rockers Apollo Sunshine delivered a masterful set.--- Musical diversity is so appealing in a band and the Sunshine crew was all about it. Their sound was that of an electr]]> After one of the worst concerts I've ever been, for the first time in my life I can truly say I'm ashamed of the Jewish people. They've been supporting "Good For the Jews," a schlock song-duo consisting of guitarist David Fagin and lead singer Rob Tannenbaum. How else could such a poor excuse for entertainment have a cross country tour? Their recordings sound nice on iTunes, but thanks to musical engineering just about anybody c]]> Paramount StylesMercury Lounge, 12.21.08 Some musicians ride through their careers on the success of past projects, without really producing anything of value for years. This is not the case with Scott McCloud. During the 90s, his band Girls Against Boys were one of the definitive alternative bands. They hardly get the credit these days, with the 90s seemingly belonging to The Pixies, Pavement, Sonic Youth and The Jesus and Mary Chain, but yo]]> This week we feature one of our favorite transsexual performers, Allanah Starr. And then we found Jonny McGovern's latest parody—which takes the Beyoncé/Sasha Fierce's "All the Single Ladies" to an entirely new level. Enjoy the "Tranny Ladies (Put Some Duct Tape On It)". ]]> Frequently described as "hilarious" and in the same vein of humor as Jon Stewart and Sarah Silverman, New York indie Jew-rock duo Good For The Jews will be playing on Tuesday, Dec. 22 (the third night of Chanukah) at the Highline Ballroom. Singing comedic tunes about Jewish life like "They Tried To Kill Us, We Survived, Let’s Eat” and the seasonally appropriate “It’s Good To Be A Jew At Christmas,”&nb]]> Mash-up mavens The Hood Internet, whose output shares a lot of similarities with Girl Talk, have unleashed a fever dream of a mix with “Single Foxes (Put A Wood On It)”, which lays the vocals of Beyoncé’s “Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)” over a slice of the lovely Fleet Foxes track “Ragged Wood”. --- ---The duo is releasing it as part of their year-end round up series of mixes they couldn&rs]]> I remember when I was in ninth grade—mostly I was listening to Blink 182, fumbling with Dispatch songs on my acoustic and wondering how to ask that Winn-Dixie cashier to homecoming. Julian Bennett Holmes, the drummer for Fiasco, was covering hardcore bands like Minor Threat and The Circle Jerks, and a year or two later he was playing CBGBs. How? Why? No answers. Maybe friendship is one, though. Holmes has known Fiasco bandmate Lucian Busce]]> It was not a very good time a few years ago for New York-based British singer and songwriter Leona Naess. Although she already established herself since her first album, 2000’s Comatised, Naess now admits that she was unhappy and lonely back then. She was seeing her friends were in relationships while she felt “all over the place.” Then she experienced tragedy in 2004 when her father, Norwegian businessman Arne Naess, Jr., died]]>