Jarvis Cocker
‚”Jarvis”
Rough Trade, 2007
After artsy Brit-poppers Pulp imploded in 2001, their iconic front man Jarvis Cocker seemed to go on a permanent musical hiatus as well, preferring guest editing stints at the UK’s Guardian newspaper and hanging out with his wife in Paris to releasing new music. To the delight of many fans, he reemerged last year with a witty, political track called ‚”Cunts Are Still Running the World,” and Cocker seems to have lost none of his ability to provide sardonic social commentary via pop music. On his self-titled solo release, he rails against naughty, chubby teenagers on ‚”Fat Children” and questions how parents can explain away the ills of the world on ‚”Disney Time.” Cocker also casts a critical eye on modern romance in ‚”Don’t Let Him Waste Your Time,” (which he wrote for Nancy Sinatra), but seems to find redemption on the joyful ‚”Baby’s Coming Back to Me.” Musically, the album is a bit sparer than Pulp’s grandiose recordings, but still unmistakably Brit-pop. From ‚”Common People” to the cunts in control, Jarvis is proving to be one of the smartest and most sardonic chroniclers of our time.
Show details: Mon 4/23 8:00 PM Jarvis Cocker Webster Hall 18+ $32
-Cortney Harding

image c/o Gothamist
We’ve been meaning to spread the word about our favorite new brunch spot, Brooklyn Label. It can get crowded at times, but the food is well worth it. A welcome addition to the hood. Have you been? Let us know what you think here.

Animal Collective
The line-up thus far looks pretty solid and, as always, all shows are free [via BrooklynVegan]
June 1 – Animal Collective & Danielson
June 16 – Brooklyn Philharmonic
June 17 – The Jonas Brothers
June 29 – TBA
July 6 – Fujiya & Migyagi & TBA
July 13 – Menomena & TBA
July 20 – Bishop Allen & Rock Plaza Central
July 27 – TBA
August 3 – Turntables on the Hudson — Billie Holiday Remixed and Reimagined
August 10 – Au Revoir Simone & Metronomy
August 17 – The National & Takka Takka & The Forms
August 24 – TBA
August 31 – Battles & TBA
September 7 – TBA

CocoRosie, ‚”Hairnet Paradise”
CocoRosie are definitely an acquired taste, but fans of Devendra B and Joanna Newsom should be eating this right up. I interviewed them a while ago and found them to be cool, down-to-earth girls who spun good stories and avoided talking about new agey unicorn bs. Plus, one of them has the best fashion mullet ever.
Show details: Warsaw 16+ $18.50
-Cortney Harding

According to the Harry and the Potters website, ‚”[t]he idea is that the Harry Potter from Year 7 and the Harry Potter from Year 4 started a rock band. And now, no one can stop the wizard rock.” Does this sound like the greatest thing ever, or what? I’ve never read any of the Harry Potter books and am scarred for life by the fact that I worked at a bookstore the summer one of the books came out and had to get up at 6am on Saturday to paint lightning bolts on kids’ faces, and I’m still excited for this show. Geek rock at its finest.
Mp3s: http://eskimolabs.com/hp/listen.htm
Show details:
:: Harry and the Potters
:::: Japanther
:::::: Jason Anderson and the Best ——> x Wolf Colonel
[ SUGAR FACTORY UPSTAIRS ]
289 Kent Ave @ S 2nd St | ALL AGES | Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L-Bedford, G-Metropolitan, JM-Marcy | doors 8PM sharp!
-Cortney Harding

Blogotheque has the story. [Thanks Aaron]

That’s right, Disco Biscuits are slotted to jam-out this August at McCarren Park. Obviously, Live Nation (aka Clear Channel) has its fingers on the pulse of Williamsburg. From Crooked Rain

Look’s like Bisco, as Disco Biscuits are known to fans, and Umphrey’s McGee are going to be playing McCarren Pool this summer.
Now for those of you not down with the jam band scene, Bisco and Umphrey’s are two of the bands jockeying to fill the vacuum created after the disbandment of Phish and save the scene from complete obscurity. After seeing both bands several times, which I am a bit ashamed to admit, I have to say not only do they both kind of suck, but also have incredibly annoying fans. The only saving grace of hippies is their drug induced haze enables them to dance at shows rather than stand there like statues, desperately trying to look cool (NY hipsters, cough). However, I usually found that most fans of these bands tended to be more into the drug aspect of the concert than the actual music, so I guess it’s a trade off. In the end, the irritating fans and monotony of the music caused me to abandon jam bands for greener pastures.
SO, be sure to avoid McCarren Park and Bedford Ave on 8/15 if troves of Long Island hippy stoners and twenty-minute suck-fest songs scare you as much as they scare me.

On the bright side, Cat Power will be playing in July.
On a related note, check out our new website mccarrenpark.com for all the latest info on McCarren Park Pool.

UPDATE: Sadly, “Sludgie” has died

Given how polluted those waters are, it will soon be spawning some creature that will battle King King on the streets of Manhattan. From the AP

In this photo released by the United States Coast Guard, a minke whale swims in New York City’s Gowanus canal, Tuesday, April 17, 2007. Marine biologists were dispatched to investigate the whale that found its way into the narrow Brooklyn waterway best known for industrial pollution. It was not known whether the animal was in distress.

[Thanks Tooney]