Following last year's triumphant Pavement reunion, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks will release their latest, Beck-produced album, Mirror Traffic in two weeks. The very positive early reviews have focused on the melodic aspects to the new record, and suggest that, despite being recorded just prior to the reunion, Mirror Traffic harkens back to Malkmus' former band's sound more than any of his other solo albums—BBC calls it "one of those records that’ll tempt fair-weather fans back to the Malkmus name." And Malkmus will celebrate the release with two rare NYC record store appearances. more ›

In a recent interview with Spin magazine, Stephen Malkmus—who lives with his family in Portland, Oregon—talked about his old stomping grounds of New York (where he used to be a security guard at the Whitney!). Unlike his Pavement bandmate, Mark Ibold (who you can find behind the bar at Great Jones Cafe), he has no plans to return... especially not to Park Slope. Malkmus declares: more ›

If there was any justice in this world, Ben Whitesides would be a household name, but there isn't, so it's up to us introduce a man who shouldn't need an introduction. On the bright side, if you've never been introduced, you're in for a treat. Whitesides is one-fourth of the critically-acclaimed but largely forgotten Portland band The Joggers (MySpace), and one half of The Cajun Gems (MySpace) , an even more forgotten duo that recorded just one album, Richard Byrd At Little America, in a basement in the year 2000. This mesmerizing disc bursts with 19 tracks of lo-fi, finger-pinking, lyrically mesmerizing delight. Whitesides collaborated on the album with Darrell Bourque, who is also in The Joggers, and sold it via mail-order on The Joggers website, where a few copies fell into the hands of frustrated Joggers fans jonesing for something to tide them over until next Joggers' album, which never came. (Or hasn't come yet?) more ›

Last night '90s alt rockers Pavement played the first of many anticipated reunion shows in NYC. When the band's reunion was first announced a year ago, it initially seemed that the band would play just one gig, scheduled for Rumsey Playfield in Central Park. The first show immediately sold out, and so another date was added, and then another and another, and now Malkmus & Co. is cashing in with a five night stand, which kicked off last night at The Williamsburg Waterfront. Were you there? Or were you supposed to go but couldn't remember where you stashed the tickets you bought a year ago? Last week, The New Yorker reported that Pavement fans of a certain age were struggling to remember where they put the damn tickets: more ›

Since beloved Washington State punk band Sleater-Kinney dissolved two years ago into an "indefinite hiatus," drummer Janet Weiss has carved out a new niche for herself in Stephen Malkmus's small family of musicians, the Jicks. Weiss played an active role in the creation of Malkmus's fourth full-length "solo" album, Real Emotional Trash, which came out in March. In its wake she's been tearing up the road in the U.S. and Europe with Malkmus and company; on Saturday they'll be headlining, for free, the annual Siren Music Festival in Coney Island. We caught the Portland-based Weiss for a few minutes earlier in the week as she was about to board her flight east. more ›

Perhaps in an effort to capitalize on some pending April Fools Day confusion, (or, less cynically, to honor the cozy club,) Norah Jones made a surprise appearance at the Living Room on Monday night. The Ludlow street lounge, which has been celebrating its 10-year anniversary with night after night of packed lineups with a sprinkling of some big names, is where the Queen of Mom Music got her start many years ago. more ›

Real Emotional Trash, the fourth post-Pavement solo album by Stephen Malkmus, is arguably his best, and at the very least rivals the acclaimed Pig Lib for inventiveness. A well-crafted balance of catchy pop, multi-part prog rock compositions, heady guitar shredding and his signature lyrical whimsy, the album is sure to stymie Pavement fans on a nostalgia trip and the skinny jean set appalled by any song that dares last longer than five minutes. Joined by former Sleater-Kinney drummer Janet Weiss, bassist Joanna Bolme and keyboardist/guitarist Mike Clark, Malkmus's Jicks will give New Yorkers their first chance to hear how all this new trash translates live, starting tonight at Bowery Ballroom. They play there again Tuesday night before heading over the river for a Wednesday night gig at The Music Hall of Williamsburg. All three shows are sold out. more ›

The holiday-time movie releases are starting to pile up with their usual feverish frequency. Some have Christmas themes, like the widely reviled Vince Vaughn vehicle Fred Claus that’s already roadkill on the lost highway of cinema history; others, like Ridley Scott’s American Gangster, are timed to make an impression as close to Academy Award-voting season as possible. Here are some of the biggest gorillas set to dominate New York’s screens in the next six... 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 ›

THEATER: The esteemed Classical Theatre of Harlem is reviving Peter Weiss’s masterpiece Marat/Sade. The dizzying action takes place in an asylum in France, where the infamous Marquis de Sade is sequestered in 1808. To pass the time, he directs a play about the assassination of Jean-Paul Marat during the revolution. His asylum casting pool yields up some magnificent performances, though the production is almost squelched by the hospital administrator, a tool of Napoleon’s post-revolutionary regime. In the right hands, which CTH certainly has, the whole production is a multi-layered feast of subversion. - John Del Signore more ›

Those folks at JellyNYC (also responsible for the free Sunday shows at McCarren Park Pool this summer) booked a great lineup for the 2007 Plug Awards. The awards will take place on February 10th at Irving Plaza, and so far the lineup looks like this: more ›

We're at the home stretch! Sunday was a bit of a quieter day for us, but by no means did the music disappoint. The plan was to make it a short day and get back to civilization that night, but due to some travel miscalculations we ended up sticking around till they kicked us out. Very glad we did. more ›

Thank god the holidays are finally over and bands are getting back into the swing of things. Now we can sell off all our unwanted gifts on eBay (how much do you think we can get for a hypercolor "hip" bible?) and spend the cash on evil rock and roll, which is back with a vengeance in our fine, fine city. more ›

This weekend seems to be all about the music. Outside, in parks, on rooftops. It'll be everywhere, and here is where we would be if we were you... more ›

Hip-Hop dominates this week with at least three recommended shows. Some of the best acts in indie hip-hop play Irving Plaza tonight (Monday). It’s one of the only stops on the Stone Throw Records Tour featuring Madlib, M.E.D, Peanut Butter Wolf, and J-Rocc. On Tuesday Madlib and M.E.D. will also perform for free at Fat Beats. [Listen to some music Madlib put out on Blue Note.] Last year Madlib joined MF DOOM to release a highly acclaimed album as Madvillain. MF DOOM joins the not-very-indie De La Soul and The Roots on Summerstage Tuesday night for a benefit to save the Rhinos. Alternatively, Jean Grae (another indie favorite) joins Killah Priest from Wu-Tang Tuesday night at SOB's. [Listen to Jean at her website.] Wednesday the "Best Damn Rap Tour" with J-Live, Vast Aire, and C-Rayz Walz are at Northsix. Thursday 50's enemy Ja Rule plays BB Kings. more ›

No offense, Fleshbot, but it's obvious that there are only two real babes covering Hurricane Ivan. Jim Cantore can crawl back into the scary gym teacher corner from whence he came: I'm talking about CNN's Bill Hemmer and TWC's Mike Bettes. more ›

Lately, the opening chords of Stephen Malkmus' song "Jennifer and the Ess-Dog" is the only thing that is a sure-fire way of making me smile...well, that, plus Will Ferrell. Or pandas. Of course, it's because the first word he sings is "Jennifer" in this knowing tone. There's something to be said for hearing your name in a song. Of course, I object to "Jenny," but as I just play the opening over and over again, I'll let it slide. more ›