Death Cab for Cutie hit the scene before most of the well-known music blogs even registered a URL -- and even though they've made the major label jump (moving from Barsuk to Atlantic in 2004), become prime time sweethearts (with their music soundtracking shows like The OC) -- they've maintained their indie cred. On May 13th they released their second album on Atlantic, their seventh in total, called Narrow Stairs, and tomorrow night they play a sold out show at McCarren Park Pool. Last week Ben Gibbard talked to us about the new album, the old days, and a questionable recipe for peanut butter veggie sausage toast. more ›

Sure, with the All Points West Fest announced, Coachella may not have the same appeal for east coasters this year, but the lineup announcement is still an exciting annual event. Over the last few years, it has established itself as the granddaddy and standard bearer of the American festival circuit. Unfortunately, most people are finding this year's lineup is a bit of a dud. Coachella's been operating at such a high level since 2003 that it was really only a matter or time before the lineups would stop exciting everyone, and while last year had it's plusses and minuses, this year seems to have really fallen off. Many of the smaller acts played the fest recently, something they used to try and avoid, and the headliners seem to be all over the place. Sure, a Portishead reunion is a treat, but how many Roger Waters fans are into Jack Johnson? Is a Love and Rockets reunion and Death Cab for Cutie really above the fold top draws? Doesn't seem like it. While we can't speak for their bottom line, which surely is doing okay, it might serve them well to try and scale back a bit in the future if this year has a bit of a drop off. Two days in the desert is more than enough for most, and to pack those days full with bands everyone can get excited about is a much more appealing scenario. more ›

May 3: Cheezapolooza III: Naked vs Cooked more ›

Mets third baseman David Wright has been embraced by the public for his baseball skills, team work, and adorable face. He's been hitting a .316 average in spring training and now the Mets plan to settle up some important business with Wright: What song will be played when he goes to bat? They announced today the launch of an online fan vote at Mets.com to select Wright's at-bat song selections. The full list is here, let's take a closer look. more ›

Looking ahead to this week's movie options, there's a few indie-sized pics and one massive, Super Big Gulp-sized car racing comedy. Ordinarily Gothamist is all about championing the cinematic little guy, but when it's this goofy, yet earnest we say go for the excess. more ›

Thursday night we attended the release party for Death Cab For Cutie's Directions DVD (even though it was at Marquee). An interesting thing happened there. We were standing with Scott (who you know as Stereogum.com) and Nick Harmer (who you know as the bassist for Death Cab For Cutie), and Nick asked us to take a picture of him with Scott. He scrambled for his camera, handed it to us, we took the shot, he took a Stereogum t-shirt and the two bonded. He was citing old posts as a fan would cite lyrics...he was a fan of the blog. more ›

For a long time we didn't listen to Wolfmother just because they had "wolf" in their name. We were sick it. Wolfmother, Wolf Eyes, We Are Wolves..."how could any of them be better than Wolf Parade?" we thought. more ›

The Onion may have been joking about a Franz Ferdinand member getting injured, but one of them really did! The odds were pretty good it was going to happen...a few Scottish boys, on a scissor lift being hurled towards the sky in New York City...bottle of vintage Scotch in hand. Yeah, that scenario only ends with a first aid kit. more ›

This week requires you to make some very important decisions. It all starts on Wednesday with the question, "will it be SPIN or Summerstage?" SPIN is celebrating their 20th anniversary at Webster Hall with an incredible lineup that includes Public Enemy, Death Cab for Cutie, LCD Soundsystem, Drive-By Truckers, Lady Sovereign, Diplo, and Afrika Bambaataa. All that can be yours for only $10 more than it'll cost you to see just Death Cab in a venue twice the size a few weeks later. BUT WAIT, Summerstage had to go ahead and mess everything up by planning a Katrina-related benefit show on the very same day. Strangely, this benefit featuring Lou Reed of the Velvet Underground and J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. is free, though we doubt you'll be able to live with yourself if you enter the premises without paying at least the $25 "suggested donation." Can't decide which show? You can try to hit both. That's what the Drive By Truckers are doing. They're listed on both bills (and they're at Warsaw in Brooklyn the next day). more ›

It's CMJ week in NYC. Arcade Fire, Devendra Banhart, Lady Sovereign, Feist, Nouvelle Vague, Doves, The Wrens, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Cursive, !!!, Wolf Parade, The Hold Steady, Brian Jonestown Massacare... we can't even begin to list everything going on. Why should we? CMJ's listings reveal everything you need to know. Further inspection of CMJ.OhMyRockness.com lets you in on even more. The CMJ archives at BrooklynVegan will clue you in even further, and Central Village's itinerary has more than enough to keep you busy. Instead we'll focus on a few select non-CMJ shows happening during CMJ. more ›

We're proud to announce that Neighborhoodies is sponsoring the Movable Hype 4.0 show on Monday. Amongst other things they'll be giving out goodie bags stuffed with treats! So get there early before they run out, it's first come first served. more ›

Will the real Neil Diamond please step forward?
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Call it shameless self promotion if you want, but the place to be tonight (Monday) is Knitting Factory for Gothamist's own Movable Hype 3.0 show featuring some of the hottest bands from NYC and Austin. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah just self-released their debut self-titled album and its quickly become one of our favorite listens of the year (read the Gothamist interview). Fans of Talking Heads and the Arcade Fire should take note (MP3s at their site). And the $8.00 bill doesn't end there. NY Press cover stars The Fame (read the Gothamist interview), local favorites Man in Gray (read the Gothamist interview), and the popular electronic rock duo Ghostland Observatory from Austin make this show more than a bargain. Even Pitchfork agrees with the hotness. Get tickets (also available at the door if it doesn't sell out). more ›

The Duplass Brothers, Filmmakers more ›

- Our thoughts on Mayor Bloomberg's fondness for the Jets more ›

Seems like just about everybody in town is sick or still hung over from CMJ. If you feel like hitting the clubs this week, here's what you can see: more ›

Once upon a time, in a college town in the Pacific Northwest, four young men formed a band. They chose a name (the title of a Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band song that appeared in the Beatles' compilation. more ›

For a while now Music For America has been providing us with endless amounts of entertainment, events and information. more ›

Gothamist Arts & Events' Jen Carlson and Janelle Gunther headed to the Siren Music Festival and have some choice pictures from the hot Coney Island days of music (that's David Cross in the crowd, above). The NY Times' Kelefa Sanneh thinks concert goers were fortified/stupefied "by a potential toxic mixture of sun, beer and fried clams" (Gothamist loves the accompanying photograph by Rahav Segev which shows the Cyclone, fans, and Death Cab for Cutie). Carlson and Gunther, great pictures, but you left the fried clams out - what gives? more ›

Gothamist is aware that you're probably already finding yourself pulled towards the sweet Sirens sounds promised to be coming from Coney Island tomorrow, but we wanted to give you a reminder of the event in the form a preview. We are really excited about it ourselves and are having a problem figuring out which acts to catch, so here's our rundown for your sake and our own... more ›

For New Yorkers, this week's concert calendar should be focused on Saturday's Siren Music Festival down at Coney Island. (Hopefully the weather will hang in there. As of today the forecast is for isolated thunderstorms, which I suppose is better than intense heat and humidity.) This year's line-up is a dream come true for the fan of indie rock. Death Cab For Cutie, Blonde Redhead, TV on the Radio, the Fiery Furnaces, Har Mar Superstar, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead, Electric Six, Mission of Burma and lots more. Get there early--the Fiery Furnaces hit the stage at 2pm. more ›

There are a lot of free concerts in New York this summer. So many, in fact, we're struggling to keep up with all the festivals and park performances. more ›

Thank you, Coolfer! You have compiled the list of NYC shows we'd want to see in the next few months. Cooler's list is much more comprehensive, but here are a few we're interested in checking out: more ›