R.I.P. Donna Summer (1948-2012)

Disco may have started out its brief life as dance music promoted by DJs in gay NYC clubs, where it was difficult to find live bands who would actually show up and play. As it gained strength in the late ’70s, it slapped lingering hippie sensibilities right in the face; this was music for dancing, not for introspection. Let’s not sit around contemplating the greatness of artists. Let’s do a line, get up and shake our asses until we collapse,...

Chiddy Bang's video for "Mind Your Manners" is pretty much amazing

Hip-hop duo Chiddy Bang have released the video for "Mind Your Manners," the second single off full-length debut Breakfast. Yes, the record is called Breakfast. The track samples heavily from Icona Pop's dreamy little tune "Manners," but it's all good. This video is somewhat of an experiment into the uses of 360-degree photography. Check it out below:

Tomorrow is Record Store Day!

Are your wallets full in anticipation of tomorrow's record-buying bonanza? Let's hope so, because the cup of vinyl in Connecticut definitely runneth over. This week we directed you to some of our favorite local record shops

Weird Al to make fun of stuff from Waterbury's Palace Theater stage

Fans of polka and pop-culture parodies rejoice: Weird Al will play the Palace Theater in Waterbury on May 13!What would pop music be like if these popstars weren't at risk of being given the old Weird Al send-up?

Tonight at BAR: Aunt Martha

As if no cover charge wasn't reason enough to head to BAR tonight for Manic Productions' weekly show installment, here's another: Aunt Martha is playing tonight. Who's Aunt Martha? Aunt Martha is a great folky, alt-country band I had the pleasure of catching down in Austin at SxSW last week. Randomly and by accident, in fact.

KISS and Motley Crue to play Hartford's Comcast Theater on Sept. 23

Two of the biggest, oldest acts in the glam-metal world will roll into town this fall, according to Pollstar.

Cake to play the Palace Theater in Waterbury on May 9

Cake, that quirky Sacramento band with a loyal following, plays a Connecticut gig at the Palace Theater in Waterbury on May 9.

Dee Snider Makes a ..... Broadway Album?

Oh, Dee Snider. Always the entertainer, Snider has been turning heads and dropping jaws since his time as frontman for Twisted Sister in the '70s and '80s. And us CT peeps had the pleasure of letting Snider wake us up with his Radio 104.1 morning show from 1999-2003.

Oh, My Bones!

Happy weekend, dear reader. In honor of my trip next week to Austin, Texas for SXSW, (and my love of the TV show "Bones" AND my penchant for yelling "oh, my bones!" whenever i'm in any kind of pain), I present to you a short and sweet Spotify playlist of my favorite songs about bones. And one song by Ryan Gosling's band because they have "bones" in their name. Also, swoon, Ryan Gosling. A few...

Satan, Booze and Womanizing: A Memoir of the Louvin Brothers

Satan Is Real

John Mayer to play the Oakdale Theatre on April 22

Grammy Award-winning musician John Mayer hits the road on April 9, dropping in on 18 cities through the beginning of May, with a stop at the Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre on April 22.

Counting Crows heading to MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods in April

Remember them? Sure you do: "Mr. Jones," "Round Here," "A Long December," that one from one of the Shrek movies? Yeah, you do.

Cee Lo Green to perform at Foxwoods in April

The R&B crooner and "The Voice" judge arrives on April 13 at 8 p.m. in the MGM Grand Theater.

Blink-182 to play Mohegan Sun Arena in May

Blink-182, America's foremost purveyors of catchy pop-punk, alien conspiracy theories and dick and fart jokes, will hit Mohegan Sun Arena on Friday, May 18. You can listen to their 2011 release Neighborhoods, the band's first in eight years, on Spotify. Tickets are $49.50 and $69.50, and go on sale next Friday, Feb. 24.

Album of the Week: Plants and Animals

Plants and Animals

New Sleigh Bells Track is Crazy and Awesome

Oh, Sleigh Bells. You so crazy. The noise pop duo's 2010 debut Treats is a spazzy, fuzzy, poppy exlosion of craziness and good, catchy fun. Set to be released next week is follow-up Reign of Terror, and judging by "Comeback Kid," available on Spotify and also as a video on the duo's website, fans will not be left wanting. The video features plenty of jumping on beds, dancing in the street and bad-ass grocery shopping. Check...

Dave Matthews Band heading to Hartford's Comcast Theatre for two May shows

The mighty DMB rolls through on May 25-26, with Mariachi El Bronx opening the first show and Carolina Chocolate Drops opening the second.

The Beach Boys reunite with Brian Wilson, Al Jardine at Mohegan Sun on May 12

I guess fences have been mended between Brian Wilson, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Bruce Johnston and David Marks: they're getting back together for a new Beach Boys studio album and 50-date tour this spring (and a headlining slot at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival?). They'll play Mohegan Sun Arena on May 12.

Watch new Neon Indian video

B.o.B., Ludacris, Wale and Sam Adams to play U. of Hartford's Spring Fling

The announcement was made by the University of Hartford Campus Activities Team on their Facebook page this afternoon.

News, Newt and JGL, Songified

The Gregory Brothers, those musical geniuses who brought us Auto-tune the News, and songified Antoine Dodson's bed intruder rant and the double rainbow guy's head-asplosion, released a new video this morning.

RIP, Etta

In honor of Etta James, who lost her battle with leukemia this morning at age 73, I wanted to post one of my favorite covers of "At Last." Yes, James' version was a cover, too, but she made the song.  Back when Napster was my primary means of finding new music, I came across a live version by Christina Aguilera, and it blew me even farther away than I thought possible. Say what you will about Christina and her "image" or whatever, but there's no denying that girl could blow your house...

A New Book from Michel Houellebcq: Very Little Sex Tourism Here

The French novelist Michel Houellebecq is possibly best known for pissing off Muslims and for endorsing sex tourism. Add to that a reputation for crazy boozing, and the guy doesn’t win loads of sympathy. (A mini flap over the author’s alleged plagiarism from Wikipedia seems quaint by comparison.) He’s sort of old school in his ability to debauch and infuriate. Houellebecq’s new novel, The Map and the Territory, out this month in English, is perhaps surprising for...

Watch new Real Estate video for "Easy"

The Knocks play tomorrow night at Arch Street Tavern in Hartford

The Knocks, who just released their Magic EP, have remixed tracks for Flo Rida, Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears, Katy Perry, Foster the People, Ellie Goulding and Marina and the Diamonds.

Listen to the new Xiu Xiu track, "Hi"

Here's the first track from the upcoming Xiu Xiu record, Always. We interviewed Jamie Stewart a couple of months ago. You can read that here.

Van Halen to play Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on March 3

Mohegan Sun announced this morning that Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Van Halen, fresh off a club gig at Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village, will play at their venue on March 3 at 8 p.m.

First Music Brain Challenge of 2012: Skrillex

Music affects your brain. It's science. It has an effect on your memory, concentration, emotions and more. The music of Mozart is said to increase learning and retention by helping to activate both sides of your brain. Fun, huh?

Original members of New Edition to play Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville on Feb. 18

Yeah, this was bound to happen sooner or later: Mohegan Sun announced via press release that original New Edition members Ronnie DeVoe, Bobby Brown, Ricky Bell, Michael Bivins, Ralph Tresvant and Johnny Gill have smoothed things out for long enough to hit the road together.

A new Christmas album by ... John Zorn?

NPR is featuring a new holiday album, "A Dreamer's Christmas," by avant-garde saxophonist John Zorn. And guess what: it's pretty damn good.

The Oxford American's 13th Annual Music Issue: Incredible

Holy mackerel. The Oxford American’s annual music issue is always good, but this new one -- number 13 -- is a staggering piece of work. Possibly the best-ever stocking stuffer for the music nerd in your family. (It’ll pretty much fill up a stocking good.) It’s a head-shaking feat that the staff at the OA can pull off this mix of advanced-calculus-level music-writing and deep-diving obscure archive-digging compilation assembly. This year’s issue focuses on the state...

Merle Haggard to Play CT

Merle Haggard – the greatest of all craggy country jeremiahs – is coming to Connecticut. The Hag will play Torrington’s Warner Theater on April 19, 2012. Tickets go on sale Friday, Dec. 2.  Merle’s tunes about raising Cain despite being taught better by your mama, about living on the run from the law, and about wanting to do a line of blow despite knowing that it would probably fry out his bum ticker are among the most...

Lauryn Hill to play Mohegan Sun on Dec. 17

Tickets to see the ex-Fugee are on sale now, starting at $58. Go to ticketmaster.com or call (800) 745-3000. If you've ever seen one, you can also go to a Ticketmaster outlet.

Chris Meltzer Talks About Making a Documentary on Fishbone

Ed Sheeran: Today's accidental music discovery

I'd like to take this moment to personally thank Rupert Grint for exposing my ears to what is surely to be come my jam of the month: Ed Sheeran's "Lego House."

10 cool Spotify playlists: hipster tracks, Occupy Wall Street (pros and cons), Jethro Tull rarities

I love free music to listen to. Not only that, I love that there are tons of interesting people out there making choices so that I don't have to actually decide on my own. Here's the best of what's floating around right now.

Roger Waters brings The Wall to the XL Center in Hartford in June

Bust out your lighters: Hartford's XL Center will host The Wall, Roger Waters' production of the classic 1979 Pink Floyd double-album, on June 29, according to an announcement posted on Twitter this morning.

Let's Go Crazy! Real Art Ways to host live Purple Rain sing-a-long on Nov. 12

As Charlie Murphy said on the Chappelle Show, the Great Purple One could ball (he was referring to his moves on the basketball court). Prince ruled the airwaves in 1984 with Purple Rain, the killer soundtrack to a lousy movie that has aged poorly into one of the most unintentionally funny movies of the period.

Spotify playlists: remember the hits of 2001? And 1991? and 1981? ...

Remember these hits from 10 years ago? How about 20 years ago? Thirty years ago? FORTY YEARS AGO!! (And special bonus: 50 years ago.) (Source: Billboard) Click on the linked dates for the Spotify playlists.

Mesmerizing video of Gyorgy Ligeti's "Poeme Symphonique" for 100 metronomes

Got 8:14 to spare? Watch (and listen) to these vintage metronomes slowly tick away until they die off, one by one.

Own a tooth that once belonged to John Lennon

On November 5, Omega Auction House will sell one of Lennon's molars, according to a CNN story.

New music from Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin

Tom Waits releases a new album, opens up to the press

Just in time for the release of Bad As Me, his first album since 2004, Tom Waits has opened up to the press, granting interviews to Jon Pareles for the New York Times

Gen-X Nostalgia: Rush to release three box sets spanning entire Mercury Records era

How is Rush not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? I can't figure it out. Let's get a petition going already. (Oh, there is one.)

10 cool Spotify playlists: U.K. pop, Greil Marcus, music for the zombie apocalypse

Tuesday's as good a day as any to hunker down in front of the desktop and crank out some work. Here are some playlists to pass the time as you break down those figures for the boss.

Lance Bass, We Need to Talk

In my youth, I was a big fan of *NSync. And I guess I still am, for nostalgia's sake. (My defense when someone tries to make fun of me for liking them is "Hey! I was 14 for a whooooooole year.") A lot of their songs are just down right terrible, but there are a lot of them that I genuinely like, regardless of if I think they're "good" or not. And, judging by how easy it is for pop juggernauts to get hit after hit after hit, writing catchy, likeable songs for boyband goons doesn't seem to be ...

300 "great seats next to stage" for Katy Perry's Nov. 15 show in Hartford to be sold Oct. 14

Katy Perry will be performing at the XL Center in Hartford on Nov. 15 as part of her California Dreams tour.

Dex Romweber Duo plays Cafe Nine in New Haven on Nov. 6

Dex Romweber, a monster guitar player formerly of the surf-rockabilly-punk group Flat Duo Jets, teamed up with his sister, drummer Sara Romweber, on a new album called Is That You In The Blue? It's alternately spooky (in a haunted-house kind of way) and exhilarating. They'll be in New Haven on Nov. 6 at Cafe Nine.