For those of you who consider the Grammys an actual, legitimate measure of musical talent (Simpsons fans, please sit down), you may like to check out the just-announced full list of this year's nominees. For everyone else, here's a small sampling of what to care just a little bit about. more ›

Also this Week: more ›

While the rest of the world is talking about Britney's manufactured comeback, another act that showed so much potential earlier in the decade is back trying to put a dent on the current music landscape. Stellastarr*, the post-Strokes, pre-Killers blogger sensation released two underappreciated albums before fading into the background for the last few years. This week, they’ve made a big stand at Pianos, playing 5 straight nights at one of the clubs where they got their start. The showcase at the smaller venue, including similar sized stops in DC, Boston and Philly, acts as a reboot of sorts for the New Yorkers, who have recently been working on a third album. They've got two more nights left at Pianos, although both shows are currently sold out. more ›

Two of the world's largest crossover Country stars joined forces this winter for a massive arena tour that came through NYC this week. Former American Idol and legitimate breakout star Carrie Underwood opened the show for Keith Urban at a sold out MSG, both dazzling the crowd with song and spectacle. While Carrie's set was slightly less ambitious – a mere 4 costume changes and a fairly pedestrian light show to complement the surprisingly competent songs – Urban was the complete package. Even somebody who couldn't hum a single one of his songs would have been transfixed by the ultra-sharp, 50 foot HD backdrop and his dazzling charisma and energy. The highlight of the set might have been when he took it into the crowd mid-song, standing in the lower ring of seats with a mob of fans and camera phones all pointed at him. In a moment of pure generosity and awesomeness, he took the guitar he was playing off his shoulder, autographed it on the spot and handed it to a stunned, random fan. An amazing move to cap off an unexpectedly spectacular show. more ›

Naked Guy at Ted Leo Concert It's a tad early for year end awards, but this story is making a strong, late push for the greatest live moment of 2007. At the Ted Leo show at The Music Hall of Williamsburg Wednesday night, some dude from Jersey took off his shirt and threw it on the stage. Not satisfied with merely being topless in a crowd on that snowy night, he eventually followed the shirt... more ›

I'm Not There Nails It We went into seeing I'm Not There yesterday afternoon kind of expecting to hate it, thinking it would be vague and pretentious and a chore to absorb. But boy were we wrong! The movie avoids many annoying biopic clichés, presenting 6 separate, yet surprisingly straightforward stories based on the life of Bob Dylan. While non-linear, the narratives are complete and engrossing. The film is shot beautifully, and needless to say... more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's trip to Mexico last week was not only a fact finding mission for the city's proposed conditional cash program - it was also a chance for him to show off his Spanish skills! Mayor Mike (Miguel?) gave a 10 minute speech in Spanish, impressing a Univision reporter who said, "We’ve been covering you for many years now and it’s pretty good," though some others, according to the NY Times, "privately tittered at Mr. Bloomberg's accent." more ›

Last Friday, crowds packed into Studio B to see the NYC return of laptop mashup extraordinaire Girl Talk deliver his most satisfying local set to date. 90 minutes of ADD jamz that kept the capacity crowd moving the entire time. This might sound odd, the best parts of a Girl Talk set are the mixes that don't work perfectly. They're few and far between, but sometimes two songs just don't work together. The remarkable feat is that Gillis is able to quickly realize this and seamlessly correct it right there. It's a reminder that he's not just pressing a button and letting the whole set roll, but is actually constructing these mashups on the fly. Nothing made this clearer than when after trying and failing to somehow successfully mix JT's 'My Love' with a variety of songs, finally hitting gold by matching it with the oh so timeless 'Whoop, There it is.' Ever so subtle, the trial and error made the end result that much more rewarding. Getting a peak inside how his head functions in real time gives an added sense of legitimacy to what is an already amazing performance. (Pic via Ben Shapiro's flickr) more ›

At the first Latin Grammys held in New York City, Shakira swept the top categories, winning album of the year, best female pop vocal album, song of the year, and record of the year. The Colombian singer dedicated one award to Latin immigrants and said, "I hope soon they will receive they recognition they deserve from the government." more ›

- And it's the first night of Passover! There are some community seders from the 14th Street Y...and if you want to go all out, we recommend this matzoh-style yarmulke - hello, afikomen! more ›

Remy Stern, New Yorkish more ›

And Sting, Dave Matthews, and Vince Gill were like the bad Beatles cover bad at the crappy bar mitzvah. The best moment was Andre 3000's short and sweet acceptance speech for best rap album. more ›

If you're into the Grammys, Mary Huhn's article about how this year's nominations are hipper than usual may interest you, though the concept of hip is certainly a relative matter for the Grammys. And celebrity stylist Philip Bloch expects a lot of cleavage at this year's show, in spite of Janet Jackson. But CBS has 40 extra people on call to monitor the performance, to ready censor buttons, even though a CBS spokesperson says, "We're not going to use the technology to turn the Grammys into SpongeBob SquarePants. It will still be the Grammys." Oh, so it will still be lame? All right! more ›

While it's possible for most any news stories to make it the top right image block on NYTimes.com (images rotate throughout the day), Gothamist would like nothing more than a big photograph of Andre 3000 and Big Boi wearing something crazy (i.e., something they would usually wear) above the fold on the print edition after day after the Grammys. more ›

The Grammys are over and the winners now get to calling themselves "Grammy-winning." Remember, so is Christopher Cross (sorry, Christopher Cross, you're just too tempting a punchline). So is a deserving Lauryn Hill, but where are you these days Lauryn? We need you. Norah Jones was the big winner of the night, winning the most prestigious categories, Record, Song, and Album of the Year. Bruce Springsteen represented, winning three, and the Dixie Chicks, Eminem, and Coldplay all won two. Dixie Chicks co-producer Lloyd Maines looks exactly like daughter and lead singer Natalie Maines. Eminem gave a respectful acceptance speech, thanking the MCs who came before him. Coldplay gave an awesome rendition of "Politik" with the New York Philharmonic. But the best performance was "London Calling," the tribute to the late Joe Strummer, with Elvis Costello, Dave Grohl, Bruce Springsteen, Steven Van Zandt, and Tony Kanal. There was a lot of making up: Mayor Bloomberg welcoming the Grammys back to New York after Giuliani's squabble with then NARAS head, Michael Greene. The Dixie Chicks pointedly thanked Sony after their contentious earlier fight. Of other interest: Jon Pareles on the many categories of the Grammys; more information about writer of Song of the Year, "Come Away with Me," Jesse Harris; and get thoughts of The Onion A.V. Club, one of the best arts sections around, on the best albums of 2001 and 2002, many of them ones that Grammys voters have never heard of. Virginia Heffernan called the night repressed, Ken Tucker mourns that the Boss didn't win more. more ›

The Brit Awards, sort of like the UK's answer to the Grammys, but infinitely cooler, were held last week. What overshadowed any awards news was Justin Timberlake's dalliances with the Minogue sisters: a sexy duet with Kylie, then hanging out with Danii post-show. Gotta love the British tabloid, The Sun, for finding out from Justin that he wanted to duet with Kylie because she's sexy and added that on a scale of 1 to 10, Kylie's ass was a "58." Kylie is huge in the UK, and they love tracking her lovelife. In other Brit Awards news, Coldplay won two awards and happens to be the only reason why I'm tuning into the Grammys tonight. Previous Gothamist Grammys coverage. [Jen, post-Grammys]: Justin asked Kylie if he could grab her ass again. Kylie, thankfully, said no. Justin's just trying too hard to be a player.
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