We never even had a chance to be bummed out when the Village Voice's annual Siren Festival in Coney Island was cancelled because of the simultaneous announcement of a replacement. But now after seeing the lineup we're all like, "Siren What?" The 4Knots Festival (so named because "the East River runs at a speed of 4 knots") will feature The Black Angels (who are no stranger to Gothamist), Oberhofer, and Davila 666, and the organizers promise plenty more band and deejay announcements to come. more ›

The Village Voice's Siren Musical Festival opened yesterday to cloudless skies and sweltering heat in Coney Island. Despite the twin temptations of air-conditioning and, for the relatively jetset, the Pitchfork festival in Chicago, the free-music faithful returned in droves. This happened gradually, however, and many attendees missed an opportunity to learn a little bit more about enigmatic Worcester, MA act DOM—whose sound may have translated poorly over the booming sound system. However, many were left more mystified than ever. more ›

Click on the images for more about this Week in Rock; this week features Kanye at Webster Hallt, Spank Rock at Siren and on the Williamsburg Bridge, and a Gothamist House (at CMJ) announcement! more ›

With Coney Island's future uncertain (not to mention the future of print), it's nice to see the Siren Festival back for another encore. The Village Voice just announced the lineup for their 9th annual music fest, which will take place on Saturday, July 18th. Sure, it will never trump the 2004 Siren, where Gothamist got to touch Ben Gibbard, but very few things can—so without futher ado, the lineup is (drumroll please): Built to Spill, The Raveonettes, Frightened Rabbit, Grand Duchy, Monotonix, and Micachu & the Shapes. They promise to announce more acts soon, and remind that the event is free, and open to all ages, as always. Be sure to check out the full poster for this year, another colorful one by Paul Antonson. more ›

It certainly says something about the state of the music industry that perhaps the biggest music story of the week is the placement of some tunes in a video game. But what tunes! At the E3 conference out in LA, Harmonix announced the 80+ songs that will appear in the upcoming sequel to the plastic instrument rock sim. While the list overall is excellent, hitting many genres from the last 5 decades, there were some interesting standouts. Sure, it was a surprise to see a Turn on the Bright Lights-era Interpol track make the cut, and even more shocking to see a 30 year old Bob Dylan classic among those ranks. But who woulda thunk a GnR Chinese Democracy track would make it on here before seeing store shelves? Axl has decided to debut a track from the vaporware album in the game before anyone has even ever heard it -- this may be a legit sign that this album will actually come out before the end of the decade. more ›

Fleet Foxes came to town this week, riding a wave of slightly understated buzz into a sold-out Bowery Ballroom. The band was excellent, playing jams off their critically acclaimed record and constantly thanking the crowd for showing them so much love. Those in attendance were remarkably supportive of the act, especially considering the often indifferent attitude our local crowds often take. Between songs, they hooted and hollered from the first note, while staying deathly silent during -- letting the band's complicated harmonies and mellow sounds shine through. While frontman Robin Pecknold was a little under the weather, with a brutal cough during breaks, you could never tell from listening to them. It was about as close to perfect as a show at Bowery could be. A great first impression for a stunning new band. more ›

Every year we're drawn to the Coney Island shoreline by the sirens...or at least, The Village Voice Siren Festival. This year they seem a bit more on top of things, announcing their initial lineup today -- a full two months before the show! more ›

Rumors of Siren's demise have been greatly exaggerated. The annual Coney Island music festival will be back for at least one more go this summer, despite rumors to the contrary that persisted all winter long. Coney Island is currently undergoing a major facelift, to help revitalize the area, so the old neighborhood may not look the same as you remember, but this, combined with at least one more season of the original Astroland, should give many one last reason to make the Nathans pilgrimage. While no lineup details have been announced yet, there are hints as to who won't be playing this year. Both the Pitchfork Festival in Chicago and the Mile High Festival in Denver will be happening that same weekend, and many popular and up and coming acts have already been claimed up. That’s not to say that Siren won’t come through in the end, as they always seem to do, but just don’t get your hopes up for Dave Matthews Band or O.A.R. this year. Again. more ›

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. more ›

Yesterday the annual Siren Festival at Coney Island took place. We'll have a full report tomorrow, for now check out some photos of the day (taken by contributer John Del Signore). The first five are most definitely not PETA-approved. more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: a motorcycle jacking at 230th Place and 148th Ave. in Queens, shots fired at police at Gates and Nostrand Aves. in Brooklyn, and multiple pedestrians struck at Coney Island and Ditmas Aves. in Brooklyn.
• State and city politicians broke ground in the Bronx yesterday on a new Metro-North station stop at the under-construction Yankee Stadium. It's hoped that the transit option will cut down on auto traffic from upstate fans driving to games.
• The FDNY's officers (e.g., lieutenants, supervisors) will get a 4% pay increase retroactive to March 20th, and annual increases of 4% each year for the next three years. It nets out to a 17% salary increase.
• A tip led police to the arrest of two women in the brutal 2003 killing of a 91-year-old woman in a robbery that gained them a gold chain snatched from the woman's neck and a stack of bath towels.
• Long Island animal-cruelty authorities are offering a $20,000 reward in an effort to find out who tied a two-year-old dog to a tree, doused it with gasoline, then lit it on fire and left it to die.
• The Nautica New York City Triathlon is tomorrow and there will be significant traffic disruptions on the West Side and Henry Hudson Highways and 72nd St. NY1 has the details.
• It's Saturday, so Canada's Globe and Mail takes a look at which city has the better 24-hour, never-sleeps nightlife, London or New York.
• If Jay-Z's mom bought him a computer with Microsoft Excel when he was little, instead of a boombox.
• There's still some time to get to Coney Island to catch the headliners of today's Siren Festival. Here's the schedule.
• Helmet-cam video of a NYC bike messenger on the talk show "Ellen".

That's an awful, awful pun and we do apologize. These mini headlines aren't easy! The Pool Parties are officially in full swing, and we took a trip out to McCarren this weekend for the diverse lineup of OCDJ, Dan Deacon, Erase Errata and The Octopus Project. While all four bands put on a solid show, the standout was clearly Deacon, who set up his gadgets and widgets on a fold-out table at the base of the stage on the pool surface. The massive crowd (probably the largest he's performed for yet) all huddled around the table, as per usual, jumping and dancing and cheering along. There will be a constant adjustment period for Dan Deacon over the next year or so as he copes with playing intimate basement music to an ever expanding fan base. If Sunday's show was any indication, there may be some rough patches, but he'll always figure out a way to make it work. (pic via occipital lobe's flickr) more ›

If Justin Timberlake is being credited for bringing sexy back, then the Scissor Sisters can be credited for bringing disco, fun and colorful stage shows back. The (mostly) New Yorkers are back in town tomorrow night, taking the stage at MSG. Babydaddy recently took the time to answer some questions for us (he's the one in the pink pantsuit). more ›

EVENT: Help raise some money for the good fight with the Rude Mechanical Orchestra and Time's Up! Two long time allies are coming together to raise money and awareness for the environment. RMO is NYC's punk rock radical marching band and will lead the evening of music that includes Monkeyshine 9, Heavy Creatures, Quick Release and Phil Not Bombs. Also featuring DJ Suggested D's dance floor madness and the infamous blender bike. more ›

Well, Gateway National Recreation Area is right in our neck of the woods, extending in three New York City boroughs and into northern New Jersey. It is a good place to start your quest for the perfect patch of sand and cooling waters. more ›

Looking for a list of free summer shows in the city this summer? Check out Prefixmag's guide to free concerts. There's a lot to take in, here's what we'll be heading to: more ›

We want you to be there. Seriously, it just wouldn't be the same without you. We have two pairs of tickets to give away, so you can bring some arm candy with you. If you want 'em, jus email your answer to the following question to CONTEST CLOSED. more ›

Aside from those last two, that's the foundation for a pretty good lineup. Actually, we don't really love the Stills either. We're psyched to finally see Stars on the bill though. And who doesn't love a little Cowbell by Tapes 'n Tapes? Listen: cowbell.mp3 more ›

Shonali Bhowmik, Leader of indie band Tigers and Monkeys, member, Variety Shac more ›

It's time to get sweaty in the sand, surf and of course the long subway ride to Coney Island. Siren Fest is this weekend, and rain or shine we'll be there. But for those not up for the long haul and long day under the sun and stormclouds, there's always an alternative. Either way, it all seems to be about the surf this weekend... more ›

Saturday: Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms. Highs around 80 degrees. Lows in the low 70s. [via WNBC] more ›

What a disaster yesterday was. After prominently featuring the Cloud Cult show at Knitting Factory last week, it ends up the show was never actually happening. If you bought tickets, contact Knitting Factory and/or Ticketweb and get your money back. The good news: we wouldn't have been able to talk about Cloud Cult on Gothamist otherwise, so hopefully you discovered a great new band (still haven't listened?). more ›

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 both be back to play Summerstage on August 7th. more ›

We successfully moved to a new server last weekend, thanks for Jake, so we hope that loading Gothamist has been faster and easier than ever. There may still be a few bugs, so please let us know if there's anything you think we need to address. more ›

Kelefa Sanneh gives a backhandedly sorta positive review of this year's Siren Festival and basically says that it wasn't that adventurous but it was rather comforting with all these younger bands aping styles of the Rolling Stones, Liquid Liquid, and New Wave bands. He also notes that the Coney Island venue that offered daylight was something new for the bands and their fans: "dazed-looking hipsters, blinking in the sunlight." Among the performers Sanneh mentions: Idlewild; The Kills; Datsuns, !!!, "scene-stealing" plus a song called "Me & Giuliani Down by the Schoolyard (A True Story)"; Hot Hot Heat; Northern State; Ted Leo, who appeared at Tinkle on Sunday; and Jen's favorite, Modest Mouse, whose uneven act was challenging. more ›