Senator Hillary Clinton is asking the public for some advice on what may very well be the most important part of her campaign: The Song. The choices: "City of Blinding Lights" - U2, "Beautiful Day" - U2, "I'm a Believer" - Smash Mouth's cover of the Monkees' song, "Get Ready" - The Temptations, "Right Here, Right Now" - Jesus Jones, "Suddenly I See" - KT Tunstall, "Ready to Run" - Dixie Chicks, "Rock This Country!"......

The Bronx is up and the Battery’s down, The people ride in a hole in the ground, New York, New York, It’s a helluva town. - Lyrics from "On the Town" Betty Comden, who co-wrote lyrics to some of the most famous musicals, died yesterday at age 89 in Manhattan. The cause was heart failure. Comden and partner Adolph Green worked together for more than 60 years on musicals for both the stage and the......

There's a particularly crazy fight over an Upper East Side backyard featured in today's NY Times. One family, the O'Maras, bought a townhouse with a big back garden that extends across a few properties on East 83rd Street. When their plans to building a three-story kitchen and personal gym addition that would span three backyards (see this graphic), their immediate neighbors to the west, the Brimberg-O'Brian family, freaked out. And now the two neighbors have......

Neil Diamond's heartlight isn't turned on for his Upper East Side neighbor: He's suing his neighbor over construction on the roof of her townhouse. Diamond lives on the top floor of 17 East 63rd Street, giving him "exclusive use of the rooftop" and put money into renovating the roof "to create a serene environment" for himself, according to the AP. However, the singer-songwriter noticed that construction on the roof of 15 East 63rd Street was......

Years ago, Gothamist would head over to Smalls on 10th Street to listen to jazz. It was byob, cozy, intimate, dark and open pretty much all the time. In 2003 Smalls closed its doors. We were left with high priced jazz venues that looked more like Miami nightclubs. However, we recently heard a rumor of Smalls re-opening. We can't seem to find a thing about it, can anyone confirm? As for other jazz spots around......

Will the real Neil Diamond please step forward? The kings of (indie) rock n' roll converge on NYC this week. Each will attempt to outdo the other. Ben Gibbard impersonator Colin Meloy and his merry band of Decemberists return for their umpteenth NYC show since they first set foot here in May 2003. We aren't complaining. The Thursday night gig at the 5000 capacity Summerstage promises to be their biggest New York show yet, but......

Gothamist didn't know if it was some sort of subtle threat to voters' ears or just some way to show how the Internet! seriously! rocks!, but we have to admit that we got a kick of the NY Times' story about how City Council Speaker and wannabe mayor Gifford Miller love love loves to sing. The NY Times also has a slideshow with audio that has Giffy belting out some tunes, and while he's not......

There's a lot going on this weekend, as per usual. While we didn't celebrate Cinco de Mayo last night, nor were we at the New Order show...we are finding ourselves a little bit tired today. We blame the weather and lack of caffeine in our system, so we're hoping the sun will come out and we'll be able to motivate to some of these events: FILM: The Arlene's Grocery Picture Show is returning this Saturday.......

Turn your heartlight on this summer, and enter Gothamist's new contest to win Neil Diamond concert tickets. The Brooklyn native is coming to NYC this summer on his world tour, and the countdown to the ticket sale is on. But Gothamist happens to have three pairs of tickets to give away! Enter at Gothamist Contest: Neil Diamond Concert. Each pair of tickets (good for a winner and guest) is for the August 18 concert.......

Bobby Fischer, the brilliant but reclusive chess champion, was International > Search for Former Chess Champion Ends at Tokyo Airport" href="http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Japan-Bobby-Fischer.html">detained at Tokyo's Narita Airport while trying to go to the Philippines. There is talk of extraditing Fischer back to the U.S., because Fischer has been wanted ever since playing a game in Yugoslavia when sports games were sanctioned. A chess player, a wanted criminal, just for playing a game. Yes, sanctions, but it seems......

[Ed. note: Gothamist got our favorite music blogger, Coolfer, to take a break from his copious music industry watching and give us the scoop on this weekend's shows that might be of interest. Without further ado, straight from Coolfer:] A few of the best shows this weekend are sold out, but this is New York and there's never a shortage of good live music. The Cardigans play Southpaw Sunday night and the Bowery Ballroom Monday......

Excellent news for wine conoisseurs, winos, and those interested in living longer: A study says red wine extends life! It's all due to a nautral chemical substance called resveratrol, a compound found largely in the skins of red grapes. Also, resveratrol is found in grapes of cooler climates, like New York State, in what can only be a boon to the New York wine industry. The Times quotes the Oxford Companion to Wine: "Pinot Noir......