There are some classic indie bands all of us take for granted, bands who've been around so long they seem like institutions. Maybe it's because they don't put out records very often anymore, and they've fallen off the what's-in blog radar, or maybe it's because some of them are more consistently excellent than they are challenging at times. They're still some of the best bands performing today, bands such as Yo La Tengo, Lambchop, Super Furry Animals, and especially, Superchunk. more ›

Click through for more on cinematic music from The Album Leaf, the "Rites of Spring" Haiti Benefit, and summer concert series announcements. more ›

Click through to read more about Snoop Dogg in Brooklyn, The Tallest Man on Earth at the Highline Ballroom, and The Thermals at Brooklyn Bowl. more ›

On November 1st, a new law banning texting or using electronic devices like iPods and laptops while driving goes into effect in New York State. But Senator Chuck Schumer announced yesterday at one of his patented Sunday press conferences that he's pushing for a nationwide ban on texting. Schumer cited data showing that text-messaging while driving has resulted in almost 100 teen deaths over the last five years in the city and on Long Island. more ›

A study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine estimates that a national tax of just one penny per ounce on sugary beverages would raise $14.9 billion in its first year, which could help pay for some sweet health care initiatives. Such a tax was floated by Governor Paterson earlier this year, then quickly defeated by the beverage industry. Will the same thing happen here? The health care reform plan from Senator Max Baucus has an estimated cost of $774 billion over 10 years, but includes no mention of a tax on sugary drinks, which some doctors think could lower Americans' soda consumption and ultimately reduce consumers' health problems. But according to some critics, the risk is that the tax it could transform America into a communist-run labor camp! Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent called such a tax "outrageous. I have never seen it work where a government tells people what to eat and what to drink. It if worked, the Soviet Union would still be around." Any patriots out there who want to stop the government from forcing feeding tubes down the throat of every decent, soda-loving American can join the beverage industry's fight at Americans Against Food Taxes. more ›

Tonight’s hot ticket, as you know, is Plants and Animals at Central Park Summerstage; the phenomenal Montreal trio will also be joined by up-and-comers Yeasayer and The National (never heard of ‘em.) This event is sold out, but funnyman Mike Birbiglia is giving away a pair of tickets to whoever writes “the nicest request on my Facebook wall.” To snag the tix, you'll at least have to top this misspelled plea: "I request that you look in the mirror so you can enjoy your face as no amount of modern medicine could cure you of your mild case of the handsomes! Sufficent?" more ›

Mayor Bloomberg kept himself in the middle of national political scene by speaking at an Independent Party fund raising breakfast in Minnesota. While he was expected to tout John McCain a little, Bloomberg had spent equal time praising both McCain and Barack Obama to the Independents, noting the candidates' willingness to buck party lines. more ›

City Schools Chancellor Joel Klein characterized last year's assessment test scores as "good," but critics say that they represent a lack of progress and a failure of Mayor Bloomberg's efforts to reform city schools. City kids' scores stayed flat on national assessment exams in math and reading, with a slight improvement in 4th graders' math scores and a drop in 8th graders' reading scores. "New York City’s eighth graders have made no significant progress in... more ›