Alex Ross has worked as the music critic of The New Yorker for over a decade. Somehow he still had time to churn out a book though, his first, The Rest Is Noise: Listening to the Twentieth Century, hit shelves late last year. The tome delves into the cultural history of music since 1900, and even has Björk touting: "Alex Ross's incredibly nourishing book will rekindle anyone's fire for music." Tonight he'll step away from......

Charles Mee is renowned for his distinctive approach to playwriting, which synthesizes disparate pre-existing texts into startlingly new theatrical creations bursting with music, dance, video and other inspired surprises. The superb Signature Theatre is now in the midst of their season devoted to his plays; the first production, Iphigenia 2.0, was a devastating depiction of America’s Iraq catastrophe as seen through the prism of classic Greek tragedy. The current show, Queens Boulevard, is a funny,......

In Charles Mee’s Queens Boulevard (the musical) the titular traffic artery is no longer the “boulevard of blood” notorious for hit-and-run collisions. In fact, there isn’t a drop of blood in Mee’s colorful fairytale, which takes as inspiration the centuries old dance-drama style of Hindu theater called kathakali, among other things. In Mee’s eyes, Queens Boulevard is the symbolic common thread connecting New York’s myriad ethnicities and cultures, with Queens as the proverbial melting pot......

In their quest to take over New York, Bowery Presents is opening yet another venue! Ask just about anyone (and we have) and they'll say that the Bowery Ballroom is their favorite place to see and/or play music - so who better to open even more spaces than the creators of that one? The latest establishment will be in Midtown and is called Terminal 5 (the old Club Exit). Currently there are no photos, but......

We've survived the sirens for many years, and if this truly was the last Siren Fest ever, it certainly went out with a bang. Coney Island was packed full of thrifty music fans for the 7th annual Siren Festival this weekend. Despite the current trend of awful weather for every worthwhile free outdoor concert this summer so far, nobody could complain about the perfect day at the beach this past Saturday. We got down there......

MUSIC: If you haven't checked out the Summer of Love exhibit at the Whitney, head over there after work and get a double dose of rock while you're at it. Tonight Dirty Projectors and Lucky Dragons take the stage at Whitney Live. Get there early to get in. Check out this "Take Away Show" in New York featuring the Dirty Projectors. Friday // 6pm // The Whitney [945 Madison Ave at 75th St] // Free......

The city has announced that parts of West Street will be closed so searchers can look for remains from the World Trade Center attacks. Last October, Con Ed workers excavating a manhole found human remains, leading to renewed searches which have since yielded over 400 bone fragments. According to the NY Times, a memo Deputy Mayor Edward Skyler sent to Mayor Bloomberg noted that closing West Street was necessary so workers could excavate recently discovered......

ART: Projecting on the outdoor walls of MoMA through February 12th will be Doug Aitken's first large-scale outdoor installation in the US. The installation consists of eight large moving projections in which five characters' lives are played out during one night in New York. Actors include: Tilda Swinton, Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Seu Jorge, Ryan Donowho, and Donald Sutherland. We hear Cat Power will be playing a show at MoMA in February - stay tuned!......

Family members protested at Ground Zero, asking that Mayor Bloomberg involve the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) in the renewed search for remains from September 11, 2001. Local politicians like Representative Carolyn Maloney and City Councilman Alan Gerson support the families, but Mayor Bloomberg feels it's the "city's responsibility. We're not going to walk away from our responsibility and let somebody else bear the pressure of the work." The families argue that in spite......

After over 200 hundred bone fragments have been found in recent searches for remains at the World Trade Center site, Mayor Bloomberg is expanding the search considerably. Here's the Mayor's press release about a report from the Despartment of Design and Construction:Although the report finds that the vast majority of the site had been thoroughly searched and is free of human remains, it recommends the continued excavations on the haul road where remains have been......

Last night (or rather, yesterday at 4 in the afternoon) we headed over to the tiny spot that was given to us on the (way end of the) red carpet for MTV's Video Music Awards.The awards were back in NYC this year, and brought a whole lotta Hollywood with them. We stood next to Scott, who held a sign that said "The Internet", and eventually, some of the celebs came by to chat. The Raconteurs......

This week is full of shows by some of our favorite new artists. On the high-profile end of the spectrum, The Hold Steady are back at Bowery Ballroom for a two night run Friday and Saturday. We're especially interested in checking out the openers on Friday. It's the Pitchfork-approved, Coldplay-tour-opening, Village Voice weird album of the week winning band called Black Mountain. On Sunday, M.I.A. plays her biggest and freeest NYC show yet at......

Hip-Hop dominates this week with at least three recommended shows. Some of the best acts in indie hip-hop play Irving Plaza tonight (Monday). It’s one of the only stops on the Stone Throw Records Tour featuring Madlib, M.E.D, Peanut Butter Wolf, and J-Rocc. On Tuesday Madlib and M.E.D. will also perform for free at Fat Beats. [Listen to some music Madlib put out on Blue Note.] Last year Madlib joined MF DOOM to release......

We're anxious to see if M.I.A.'s live show has improved since her last (and only) N.Y.C. show at Knitting Factory in February. Then again, we don't really care. After releasing one of the year's hottest albums, it's hard for the grimey Sri Lankan-born rapper to do any wrong. Diplo mans the decks Tuesday and Wednesday night at S.O.B.'s. You can also hear Diplo DJing at Rothko Tuesday night (after the M.I.A. show), and they'll......

Aziz Ansari says if you're not hyped for tonight's Gothamist.com Laughable Hype Comedy Show then you need to read this review of his last show: "Aziz Ansari destroyed Tonic last night. Seriously, he demolished the place... The zaniness only intensified after Aziz flipped the f*@k out at his roadies when a plug was accidently pulled between 'MIA' and 'gay marriage'. Aziz went insane and started throwing equipment and water bottles at the roadies who apparently......

Tomorrow morning - okay depending on your idea of time maybe 4pm isn't morning - so, tomorrow afternoon head over to APT for 'Sup Magazines Tea Time with Hot Chip. It's free, and while there is no mention of actual tea in the description there is mention of FREE WAFFLES, as well as drink specials. So wake up by sundown and enjoy a Sunday afternoon soundtracked by deejays Hot Chip* while filling your belly with......

We planned on giving you a whole list of things to do on this rainy, cold Monday (aka: Valentine's Day) but let's face it, your destiny is sealed. Either you're "coupled" and you're going to spend the night in a dimly lit Italian restaurant. Or you're going to sit home alone on the couch with a dozen mini cupcakes from Sugar Sweet Sunshine watching Bridget Jones' Diary. Okay, maybe we have a few suggestions up......