Detroit Cobras, ‚”My Baby Loves the Secret Agent”
Damn, this is some badass rock and roll. These dudes eat the White Stripes for breakfast.
Sat 5/12 8:00 PM The Detroit Cobras Southpaw 18+ $13a/$15d

Wow, I’m totally kicking myself for sleeping on this show and this record. Much like my reflexive anti-hype dissing of the Arcade Fire in 2005, I ignored LCD Soundsystem out of some misguided allegiance to contrarianism, and then of course, when I heard the new album, I was blown away. I’ve spent the last two weeks worth of workout sessions blasting it on the treadmill, and play ‚”All My Friends” to pump me up whenever I need a lift. If you ever wanted to meet me in person, look for me standing around outside this show, trying to get some last minute tickets.
mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/lcdsoundsystem
Directions/Info: Studio B
Sat 5/12 8:30 PM LCD Soundsystem, at Studio B (limited number of tickets at the door) 18+ $25

This is hilarious:

Fresh from his Alternadad book tour (a hilarious book), Neal Pollack just launched an online blog community for alternaparents: Offsprung

A new generation of parents is currently reinventing the very notion of parenthood, and, for that matter, of generations. Never before have human beings reproduced so interestingly, with such skepticism, and with such clever nicknames for their progeny. This important sociological development has only thus far been the subject of about 500 articles in the New York Times, and many far less important media outlets. That’s why we, a group of sexy and relatively clever parents, decided to start Offsprung Media.

Forget Dr. Phil…. if you need parenting advice you can know consult Neal Pollack:

Do you have questions for Neal Pollack? Well, then, here are your instructions: Um, email Neal your questions. He’s more likely to answer a question about parenting than anything else, and is especially well versed in the cultural aspects of parenting. So those are preferred types of questions. That said, Neal likes to hear himself talk, so he may just answer questions about other stuff as well.

We’re terrified of this creepy gem, that was submitted to the site by Amy Davis:

Before they became the slick, mass-marketed group that many of today’s parents know so well, The Wiggles had the production values of a bad cable access show. And some freakishly scary puppets.

And we love this advice Pollack offers “W”

Dear Alternadad:
My five-year-old son is a real people person. He likes everyone, and he thinks people are genuinely good and kind. How do I cushion him for a tremendous let down without crushing his youthful idealism?
-W
Dear W:
First of all, do you really want to go around referring to yourself as W? … There’s no reason why you can’t make it fun for a kid to learn that the world is complicated. To wit: One of Elijah’s major villains is the ‚”Bush Man,” and he’s the only one that my wife and I made up ourselves. Elijah asked us one time if there were any real villains in the world, and we told him that the Bush Man took away people’s money and then tortured other people.

For those of you who want a little performance art with your rock show, look no further than Brooklyn’s own Dynasty Handbag. Jibz Cameron does totally amazing ranting lyrical stuff over recorded beats, and she always has crazy characters and fantastic costumes. Her Galapagos performance last winter was stunning, with Jibz acting as the mother of an insane baby and managing to make what could have been a didactic piece dynamic and even funny. It’s not a typical show, but it certainly breaks up the monotony in a fresh and unexpected way.
Mp3s: http://www.myspace.com/dynastyhandbag
Show details: 05/ 09 8:00 PM Bronze, Dynasty Handbag Cake Shop 21+ tba

Aquarium Drunkard has generously posted five tracks by Joseph Plunkett & The Weight. We were unfamiliar with Plunkett but have been enjoying him immensely. If you have an aversion to country, avoid at all costs. Otherwise, you can pick them up here. From Aquarium Drunkard:

These five tracks are culled from Plunkett & The Weight’s two out-of-print LPs. Serious twang in the vein of Dwight Yoakam, Steve Earle, and The Star Room Boys. Hard country highly recommended to those who like their edges rough, and their whiskey smooth. Obviously, I’m a big fan.

In other country music-inspired news, Jerry Garcia is on the cover of Fader. A surprising choice for this indie-only zine. On second thought, given all the crusty beards and shell necklaces we’ve been seeing in Williamsburg, maybe this homage is long overdue. From FishbowlNY

“There are so many misconceptions and prejudices regarding Jerry and his legacy,” says [Fader] editor Alex Wagner. “We wanted to dig deep and show our readers that he’s an incredibly relevant and inspiring figure — an honest to goodness rock star who very much deserves his place in the canon of modern music.”

From NME [Thanks Carlos]

Sacha Baron Cohen has signed on to portray Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in a forthcoming film. The actor, widely known for his Borat and Ali G characters, has agreed to play the flamboyant singer in the as-yet-untitled biopic.
The film will chronicle Mercury’s music, lifestyle and untimely death in 1991 due to AIDS complications.
Cohen beat out actor Johnny Depp to the role, according to the Mirror.
“Film makers are working flat out to get the best possible script,” said an unidentified source. “Sacha loves the idea he can get away with playing Freddie after modelling Borat’s look on him.”

Tickets are on sale now.
Additionally, I’m from Barcelona are slotted to play a free show on August 5th and Cat Power/Built to Spill will be performing on July 7th.
We’ll be posting the full McCarren Park schedule here as more dates are announced.

Harefield Road, image c/o noahkalina.com
Our bar guide has been in desperate need of a refresh, since many local establishments have been criminally neglected. Sorry Harefield Road. Sorry Duff’s. Sorry Larry Lawrence. We were too busy getting fucked up at Spuyten Duyvil to realize we’d forgotten you. Comments have been restored too, so let us know what you think of our many local watering holes.

by Dave Thomas

The third installments of three franchises with entries among the top ten highest-grossing films of all time (Shrek 2 – 3rd, Pirates 2 – 6th, Spider-Man – 7th) all come out this month, so you might want to book in advance.
————————————–
MAY 4
————————————–
SPIDER-MAN 3
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Spider-Man vs. Venom, Sandman and the hipper, younger Green Goblin.
WILL IT SUCK?
No. I mean, there are few guarantees in movie life, but the quality of a Sam Raimi film is almost always one of them. Will it be as good as Spidey 2? Maybe not. You only have one of the superstar writers returning (Alvin Sargent), but you still have Sam writing with his brother Ivan, who had input on the first two. You also have an all-star cast with Topher Grace, Thomas Hayden Church and James Cromwell being added to the bunch. You also have one of the best villains in the Spideyverse, Venom, but will that be overshadowed by two other villains being thrown into the mix? I saw about ten minutes or so at CES (pretty much the same stuff released on the web a little while back) and it looks fantastic. Also, Sam Raimi mentioned Gymkata in an interview about the film, and you gotta love that.
Early buzz is phat.
HOW WELL WILL IT DO?
Has an entire blockbuster-free weekend between itself and the weekend-upon-weekend punch of Shrek and Pirates. $346mil.
————————————–
LUCKY YOU
WHAT’S THE PITCH?
Drama centering on the World Series of Poker in Vegas.

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