Blog: The Village Voice: Sound of the City

Q: How do you get to Carnegie Hall? A: Release a bewildering triple-CD and date Andy Samberg. It's frankly shocking it took so long, but everyone's favorite mega-baroque harpist hits the big time ... Continue reading "Joanna Newsom Is Playing Carnegie Hall" >

Yes In My Backyard is a semiweekly column showcasing new and emerging MP3s from local talent. New York's various punk-inflected marching bands and steampunk street crews have brought out the inne... Continue reading "Download Asphalt Orchestra's Cover of Frank Zappa's "Zomby Woof"" >

• Asphalt Orchestra, "Zomby Woof" » 5153865.0.mp3

There is a thing where people get on the internet and express a strong, contrary opinion in the interests of getting other people angry. This is not that thing. There is a thing where a person se... Continue reading "One Man's Desperate Attempt to Find a Reason to Like the Arcade Fire" >

Rejoice, ye lovers of absurdly grandiose indie-gone-arena-rock, for Arcade Fire's The Suburbs is out today, a full hour of anthemic chest-beating and regret-tinged nostalgia and Springsteenian gra... Continue reading "Happy Arcade Fire Day, Everyone" >

Salt-N-Pepa/Naughty by Nature/Slick Rick Wingate Field Monday, August 2 "Y'all look like a free concert out here," notes Salt wryly, shortly before launching into "I'll Take Your Man" in front o... Continue reading "Live: Salt-N-Pepa, Naughty By Nature, And Slick Rick Do "Old-School Night" At Wingate Field" >

Here is a mostly intentionally delightful chat with Iggy Pop about his rampant shirtlessness, as conducted with the New Yorker, with all the high-culture/low-culture disorientation that implies. ... Continue reading "Iggy Pop, Quoted In The New Yorker: "His Pubic Hair, He Volunteered, Is Also Blond"" >

Sonic Youth - Express Way To Yr Skull - Live in Prospect Park from Big Ass Lens on Vimeo. There was this terrific moment Saturday night during the encore of Sonic Youth's terrifyingly mobbed Pros... Continue reading "Live: Sonic Youth Draws a Gazillion People to Prospect Park" >

And so it came to pass on Saturday that the exalted Lincoln Center became a venue for a bunch of aging, outré Detroit musicians. Blame Ponderosa Stomp, the 501(c) 3-certified cultural organizatio... Continue reading "Photos: Death, the Gories, and ? and the Mysterians Headline "The Detroit Breakdown" at Lincoln Center" >

Veil of Maya, thankfully not causing epilepsy. Summer Slaughter Irving Plaza Sunday, August 1 The fourth-annual traveling circus known as Summer Slaughter rolled through town last night, offeri... Continue reading "Live: Summer Slaughter Brings Hours And Hours Of Death Metal To Irving Plaza, Including The Polish And Their Goddamn Strobe Lights" >

On Saturday, the Times ran an overview of the woes facing this summer's tours, which have seen sales overall suffer despite sellouts for the likes of Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber. Even the Eagles--... Continue reading "Six Ways Live Nation Could Become More Fan Friendly" >

Julian Lynch, La Big Vic, Campfires, and Ducktails Glasslands Friday, July 30 Julian Lynch played at Glasslands on Friday night on a bill with some old friends. It was a rare New York performan... Continue reading "Friday Night's Julian Lynch Show as a Microcosm of Suburban New Jersey, Enduring High School Friendships, and the Undying, Irritating Myth of Beach Pop" >

One of the many things we loved about Drake's Thank Me Later was the way in which the 23-year-old rapper pulled back the curtain on fame and the industry: he talked honestly and simply about what ... Continue reading "The Kanye West Spontaneous Office Performance Train Rolls On" >

Nas/Damian Marley East River State Park Saturday, July 30 With the Manhattan skyline behind us and the sun setting on the first not-disgustingly-hot NYC day in ages, Nas and Damian Marley took ... Continue reading "Live: Nas And Damian Marley Teach Personal Chemistry In Williamsburg" >

Spiritualized Radio City Music Hall Friday, July 30 Jason Pierce sits on a chair at stage left in Radio City Music Hall in front of a backdrop of hi-watt stars with what looks to be 29 other pe... Continue reading "Live: Spiritualized Revive Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space at Radio City Music Hall" >

For everyone's sake I hope Ted is being hypothetical here, and not referencing, y'know, the free Jelly show he played last night at Brooklyn Bowl. Cause those guys all know better than that, right... Continue reading "Ted Leo: Please Play Better Music After My Set" >

In the week the words "Kanye West" became synonymous with social media, the rapper performed at Facebook while dissing Twitter, performed at Twitter while dissing his mother's old boyfriends, the... Continue reading "Week in Review: Bootcut Shorts" >

Frankly, this lawsuit is getting a little depressing. The internet crowed when TMZ first broke the news that the mysterious woman on the cover of Vampire Weekend's Contra was suing both the band a... Continue reading "Vampire Weekend Cover Model Ann Kirsten Kennis Sees Herself Everywhere" >

It's been a rough year for the five-year-old music blog Pop Tarts Suck Toasted: in February, Google unceremoniously disappeared the site as part its merciless spring blog purge. So PTST proprietor... Continue reading "Announcing Pop Tarts Suck Toasted's Imminent Return to the Internet" >

MI21: Mother India 21st Century Remix with DJ Tigerstyle and Falu Celebrate Brooklyn/Prospect Park Thursday, July 29 "Some of you already have the Bollywood thing down, wearing your sunglasses a... Continue reading "Last Night: Falu Perform at Celebrate Brooklyn's "Mother India: The 21st Century Remix"" >

At last, an affordable alternative to all those irresponsible Kanye West Tweets about impossibly expensive credenzas. We will happily trade the identity of the person who is operating this accou... Continue reading "Please Welcome @BudgetKanyeWest to Twitter" >