Brooklyn duo The Forms, who graced us with their tour diary back in 2007, released Derealization in February. A "remix" EP of sorts, the group tweaked their existing bouncy, occasionally dark pop songs with the help of guest artists Matt Berninger of The National, Nat Baldwin of Dirty Projectors, and Daniel Hart of St. Vincent among others. Now, they've released a video for the album's first track, "Fire To The Ground," which showcases Berninger's vocals over dizzying choreography and striking visual effects. Shot at Minetta Lane in Greenwich Village with the help of choreographer Lily Baldwin, who has worked with David Bryrne, the video is a lush look at a moving tune. more ›

Last night we had a chance to see Liz Phair play an intimate show at Maxwell's in Hoboken, a kick-off to her tour (which brings her to Bowery Ballroom tonight). Before she went on, we went down to the basement of the venue and sat in a makeshift greenroom with her and Alex Tween of The Forms, who was there to interview the '90s icon for us. The two share someone in common—Craig Wedren—who Phair has worked with, and who recently sang on The Forms's new EP, Derealization (out February 15th). Phair talked about her new album Funstyle, her most celebrated album, Exile in Guyville, and of course the good ol' prostitutes of the East Village. more ›

In celebration of their new release, Live From Home, Shudder To Think is playing a one-night-only show at Bowery Ballroom this evening. This comes after the band reunited last year, ten years after their breakup, and played a limited amount of dates nationwide—this album contains tracks handpicked from that tour. Prior to all this, the band (on Dischord Records) pushed the boundaries of the hardcore punk scene, and their legendary Pony Express Record (appropriately released on Epic) is regarded amongst many as one of the most influential albums in recent years. more ›

REMINDER: Don't forget to check out the World Science Festival, running through Sunday. And David Byrne needs your help Playing the Building. more ›

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No "Lost" spoilers in this post. Stephen Merritt doesn't bring the band around too often, so it's always a treat when The Magnetic Fields take the stage in town. Despite the band hailing from Brooklyn, this is the first local show they've played in quite a few years, and the sold-out 4 night run at Town Hall did not disappoint the anxious fans. While their latest album, Distortion, casts a fuzzy haze over the otherwise deliberate, straight forward folk/pop tunes; the live show stripped them down completely, leaving nothing but acoustic instruments and voices. Every song comes across sharp, witty and with complete confidence, and manage to sound universally better then they ever do on record. (pic via coeur-sang's flickr) more ›

• Today on the Gothamist Newsmap: serious trauma at Attorney and Houston Sts. in Manhattan, a water rescue at 1st St. and Astoria Blvd. in Queens, and a gas leak on Kingsland Ave. in Brooklyn.
• The NYPD and FDNY collaborated yesterday to put divers in the dark and frigid waters off a jetty at Orchard Beach in the Bronx, in order to rescue a 14-year-old boy trapped in the rocks of the jetty as high tide encroached. They were successful and none of the rescuers was injured.
• Newark hasn't experienced a single murder in more than 30 days, the longest stretch of non-killing since 1963.
• An entire Queens family--mom, dad, son, daughter, and son-in-law--were arrested this week for running a family cocaine distribution business out of their quiet home.
• The freaks of Coney Island's past, present, and possible future.
• Joe Torre all decked out in his Dodger blue and white uniform.
• Al Sharpton digs to the root of Major League Baseball's steroid scandal and determines that it's all about criminalizing black men.
• Thanks to everyone who came out to our Movable Hype show last night at Union Hall in celebration of our 5 year anniversary. And a special thanks to Craig Wedren for deejaying and Salt & Samovar, The Forms and Pattern is Movement for playing. You can watch a clip of The Forms performance here (courtesy of Sam Horine).

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As we mentioned last week, Gothamist is turning 5 years old next month! Come celebrate with us at a special show at Union Hall. Here are the details: more ›

Gothamist is turning 5 years old next month, and to celebrate, we're throwing a little party at Union Hall! We wanted to give you plenty of time to think of creative cakes you can bake us (pictured is one a reader whipped up for us on our 3rd birthday). Here are the details: more ›

We checked in with some folks recently for a little end of '07 "exit interview" before we enter a new year. It's safe to say that our first subject in this series had a pretty big year with his band Ghostland Observatory (let's just say they've certainly outgrown our Movable Hype shows). With a new album coming out in March, they're poised for world domination in the 2008. more ›

READING: We originally thought this was going down yesterday, but you still have a chance to see it! Not in a million years would we have thought we'd be listing a reading by former Guns n' Roses guitarist, Slash. But it turns out old rockers love to dish on their sordid lives, and this mysterious musician is no different. Tonight he'll read from his book, called Slash, which apparently "redefines sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll." more ›

Later on we'll be posting our CMJ Awards (we're thinking of giving Kanye one, since he never wins anything)...but for now we wanted to take a look back at the four long days of shows we held at Gothamist House. more ›

Yesterday CMJ began to take over the city. Reports of long lines at the badge pickup station came in quickly, but if this week is about anything it's about long lines. Oh, and music. If you're off for the day, come and knock on our door at Gothamist House. It's free, and here's a preview of what you'll hear: more ›

It's time to start polishing up your leaving-work-early excuses, because CMJ is just around the corner. This means day shows, night shows, after parties and nearly every space downtown turning into a venue for the week. more ›

With just over a week to go before the CMJ music marathon takes over the venues and random spaces in this city...we're finally ready to announce the Gothamist House lineups for this year. One day at a time. As a reminder, this year WOXY will be broadcasting from the space -- so if you find yourself at work you'll still be able to listen in! At the end of the week stay tuned for a Best of Gothamist House podcast, also provided by WOXY. Now without further ado, here is the lineup for day one: more ›

You might better picture Björk in some sort of magical Garden rather than the Garden, but nonetheless the avant-queen took the big stage earlier this week and brought her elaborate, over the top live show with her. She's been a busy gal all summer, headlining many of the major American music festivals, and with this being her second time through NYC. The last time she was in town she played increasingly large theaters night after night, and MSG acted as a spectacular encore. There were lasers, pyro, confetti and, perhaps most exciting, another guest appearance by Antony, whose haunting voice eerily echoed around the arena in a duet. An impeccably executed show, throughout. (pic via elcunzio1's flickr) more ›

THEATER: John Fugelsang, the son of an ex-nun and a former monk, declares war on right-wing evildoers in his one man comedy All the Wrong Reasons. Targets include sex, politics, Klansmen, stem cells and the drug war (which Fugelsang recently skewered on the Huffington Post.) Theater blogger What’s Good/What Blows raves: “…once he settles in to tell the story of trying to get through Orlando airport with an 1/8th of weed in his sock and another 1/8th in his girlfriend's bra, you're pretty much on the edge of your seat till the end. He even throws in some touching realizations. This is a great evening to take a date to.” - John Del Signore more ›

We were just introduced to The Forms music recently, and once we were we immediately booked them for our show in Austin last week. Singer Alex Tween kept a log of his trip for us, which you can read below. more ›

While down in Austin, our friends at Autopilot took some great footage for us. Here is a little recap of our show, starring: Nicole Atkins, Apes and Androids, Earl Greyhound, The Forms and many more! more ›

The Forms (Steve Albini-recorded) shimmering rock is our new go-to comfort music after a terrible night finally ends. You know, when you've totalled the rental car but the stereo still works and all you need is something until the tow truck comes? This is that formally febrile, meticulously messy something. more ›

We're in Austin and ready to tackle this SXSW thing for another year. Below is the flyer and info for our show, which takes place tomorrow from 11am to 6pm at The Mohawk. It's free, no badges! So stop by if you're one of the many New Yorkers heading down there. more ›

In March, much of the city will migrate to Austin, Texas for another SXSW (or, as we've learned to call it over the past few years: South By). This year we're hosting another day party with Austinist, and for the first time we've joined forces with another blog: Gorilla vs Bear! more ›

THEATER: A one-of-a-kind theatrical event is happening this weekend only in a clothing store and barbershop on the edge of Chinatown. Called American Standard, this solo, seven character ‘sideshow’ is the work of Canadian-American troupe bluemouth,inc., which has been building a reputation for staging innovative theater in bizarre locales. (Other productions have taken place in hotel rooms and the basement of an office building.) In their latest foray, “a preacher, a tourist, a politician, an entertainer, an immigrant, a poet and a terrorist inhabit a storefront installation, spilling onto the street and lurking within the basement.” Martin Denton praises the show as “dense, artful, absorbing, and fun. The penultimate scene is so thrillingly unexpected that to say anything about it risks spoiling American Standard's neatest surprise; suffice to say that you've almost certainly never witnessed anything like it in any theatre of any description.” more ›