It's been a sad week in the world of rock: first, the White Stripes announced their dissolution, and now, LCD Soundsystem have formally announced the end of their group as well. The band, led by James Murphy, announced that their show at MSG on April 2nd will be their last one ever: "we are retiring from the game. gettin’ out. movin’ on. but for just one more night, we will be playing with friends and family for nearly 3 hours-playing stuff we’ve never played before and going out with a bang." more ›

There was lots of excitement surrounding Conan O'Brian's final New York show before shipping out to LA, with weeks of clips and memories from the show's 16 year run. The final episode featured one of Conan's favorite band, The White Stripes, performing for the first time together in a couple years. The duo seemed a bit rusty, performing the acoustic "We're Going to be Friends," but created a memorable moment, despite not always hitting the right chords. In a way, the performance fit with the aesthetic Conan has always maintained on Late Night, slightly sloppy and not taking itself too seriously, but personable and real. Whatever Conan has in store for his new LA show and timeslot, it will hopefully maintain the always impressive musical booking schedules, giving both major and up and coming bands a bit of TV time. For the video from the performance, check here. more ›

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It seems that every time The White Stripes fade away for a year or two, people seem to forget exactly how amazing they can be live. Perhaps it takes a show like the one at Irving Plaza last Tuesday...filled with hardcore, line-waiting fans and eager and excited members of the media to really drive home just how good a show Jack White puts on, and exactly how impressive Meg is to keep up with him (though not everyone agrees). Those in attendance were in for a treat, as any time an arena band brings it down for a club show, it's always a spectacle. We were floored at Keyspan Park two years ago, and are excited to see them bring it to another level at the Garden next month. Read the reviews at Productshop, The Modern Age, and Stereogum, to (name a few in attendance.) (Pic Via DanFun) more ›

While we couldn't make it down this year (a bit festivaled out between SXSW and Coachella and Sasquatch so far this year), Bonnaroo kicked off last night with a couple local favorites warming up the early arrivers. The National, Langhorne Slim and Apollo Sunshine among others took the stage for the Thursday night festivities. Much much more on the way for the rest of the week, including hometowners Sam Champion, El-P and The Hold Steady. If you're stuck in NYC this weekend as well, relive our full coverage of the hippie/hipster fest from last year here, here and here. Also, stream the current fest at AT&T Blueroom. (Photo via EW's flickr.) more ›

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Mets third baseman David Wright has been embraced by the public for his baseball skills, team work, and adorable face. He's been hitting a .316 average in spring training and now the Mets plan to settle up some important business with Wright: What song will be played when he goes to bat? They announced today the launch of an online fan vote at Mets.com to select Wright's at-bat song selections. The full list is here, let's take a closer look. more ›

Today in New York anchorman, Rob Morrison, has gone and turned in to a music blogger overnight. In one of his latest posts he declares that Wolfmother does in fact rock. more ›

Yesterday Rolling Stone let everyone (well, anyone that still reads Rolling Stone) know the The Raconteurs would be playing a show at the Soho Prada Store last night. Ah, fashion rocks, indeed. more ›

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Mayor Bloomberg and Boston's Mayor Menino hosted a summit to stop the spread of illegal guns in communities, with thirteen mayors from other cities (Buffalo, Dallas, Hartford, Jackson, Jersey City, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Providence, Seattle, Trenton, Tulsa, DC and Yonkers) in attendance. Bloomberg referenced the death of 2 year old David Pacheco, saying, "The only thing that would have helped that child is if we had the courage to stand up and get the guns off the street. And those who vote against getting guns off the street really are the ones as much responsible as the shooter, because if the shooter didn't have a gun, that child would still be alive." Fighting words - and the Mayor also blamed Congress for not doing enough. A Harvard professor explained to the Times, "We are not an aberrant country in terms of crime or in terms of violence. The only difference is homicides, where we are way out of whack. We have many more handguns and much weaker gun laws than any other country." more ›

So, if you weren't aware, Jack White got together a new band. A real, full, five-piece band. It's him, a fella you may know named Brendan Benson (who Gothamist interviewed not too long ago) and three of their friends from the band The Greenhornes. And they play this bluesy classic rock sounding stuff. A couple of covers, a lot of songs they wrote together. Standard mid-life crisis fare. You know how you or one of your friends' Dads was in a blues band when you were growing up? And they'd get a kick out of pulling the Volvo into the street and jamming out in the garage with their other middle aged friends? And while you knew it wasn't very good, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, but most importantly, it was just fun to see your Dad really having a good time? Well, that's kind of The Raconteurs in a nutshell. It was really nothing special in the end, but there was joy found from seeing the occasional malcontent Jack White up there jamming out with some friends and a big smile on his face. more ›

On Presidents' Day, we are going to exercise our executive power to tell you what shows to go see. Here's our vision of the state of the rock 'n' roll union this week: more ›

Anyone who has ever worked in a bar will tell you that Thanksgiving is one of their busiest days of the year- what they don't tell you is that the day, like Black Friday, also begins the Christmas drinking. We thought that there was no better place to start drowning the sorrows that sing Christmas carols than at a bar so festooned with tinsel and lights, it actually makes us wonder if they are hiding elves. From the windows filled with Nutcrackers and angels posed in from of domestic beer signs, to the tiny Christmas trees on every table and the tinsel hanging off every ceiling fan there isn't an inch of the place that doesn't look like the holiday exploded all over it. Our favorite table had a mini-pointsettia jockeying for space with a selection of Quikdraw lottery forms, right under the Budweiser digital clock. more ›

Gothamist returned to Coney Island on Saturday for the second time in two weekends to take in a show at Keyspan Park. While both had stellar bands playing, the mood this week was far different from the energetic evening the White Stripes gave us . Seven acts were set to take the stage between 1:30 and 10:00 this weekend: Nine Black Alps, Mando Diao, Death From Above 1979, Rilo Kiley, Built to Spill, Gang of Four and The Pixies. Out of all four of the Across the Narrows concerts this weekend, this seemed to be, all around, the strongest lineup. Despite this, the turnout on a beautiful fall day was miniscule. Maybe it was due to the fact that the bigger bands have all played New York rather frequently over the past year, but the park was notably empty up until the Pixies came on, and even then, the 8,500 seats remained almost completely empty and there was still plenty of space on the field. Very strange for the caliber of talent on the bill. It gave the whole festival a very amateurish feel. more ›

When we first heard The White Stripes a few years back, we pictured them on the big stage. We imagined them playing packed arenas on a huge rig with lights and props and pyrotechnics. No matter how hard they seem to try, this is not music made for blues clubs and dive bars. These are epic guitar anthems that have always deserved the audience that they are only now getting to play for. more ›

Check out Coolfer's Music Picks for this weekend. And Gothamist's favorite Nick Hornby book is High Fidelity, though Songbook is a nice lazy afternoon book to peruse; the film, About a Boy, is our favorite adaptation. more ›