Your classical music schedule will be busy for the next two or three weeks, through Thanksgiving, and you have the chance to hear almost as much for free as you do buying tickets. BIG GUNS: >> Emmanuel Pahud is one of the leading flutists of the younger generation. He will be in Washington this week, beginning with a recital with his regular pianist collaborator, Eric Le Sage, at the Phillips Collection on Wednesday (November 7,... more ›

There’s something totally undeniable about the music of Bellman Barker. From the moment they hit the stage, toes start tapping. A verse or two in, heads start bobbing. By the time they hit the chorus, you’ll find yourself wanting to jump up and down like a kid who’s had too much sugary cereal for breakfast. Their recorded output has been compared to late-period Belle & Sebastian and rightfully so—these local lads clearly worship at the same altar of 60s pop. In a live setting, however, the songs take on a life of their own, with the bouncy verses and wide-open choruses adding up to something more power pop than twee. Rest assured, there’s still no shortage of vocal harmonies, a whole lot of handclaps and more than a few “Oohs” and “Aahs”. DCist caught up with lead singer and guitarist Aaron Estes to talk about the years he spent working as a Blackjack dealer, the unsung heroes of Motown and the secrets of the handlebar mustache. Check out the full interview after the break. Visit them online at: myspace.com/bellmanbarker See them next at: The Velvet Lounge, October 27th ("Halloween Spectacular") Buy their EP at: CDs at MySpace / MP3s at Amie St. more ›

It's back to school time, and that means we're once again recruiting new writers to become part of our growing team of city bloggers. As you know, we aren't able to pay our contributors -- so please don't apply unless you're ready to do it for the love of exploring D.C., engaging in important debates about the direction of the city, or are just the kind of person who's happy enough to see your name... more ›

Photo and story by DCist contributor Valerie Paschall Leave it to Travis Morrison to throw a CD release party, but forget to order CDs. Morrison shrugged it off, offering up several suggestions of places online (including a half-kidding nod to Napster) from where the audience could pick up his latest release, All Y’all. It’s this quirky charm that makes his live show so engaging; Saturday night’s show at Iota would’ve been worth the ticket price... more ›

The first thing we noticed when City-State's first full-length, Monument, arrived is that it looked very professional. Often with local bands the CDs look (and usually are) homemade. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just something that stuck out as a good sign. The CD cover has a picture of Vladimir Tatlin's unbuilt sculpture "Monument to the Third International," one of those things that pops up in architecture books from time to time, superimposed over the Washington Monument in a night photo of D.C. more ›

If Thursday's show at the Red and the Black was any indication, this year's 6 Points Music Festival looks to be a good one. The local fest, in its fourth year but only its second with a wider reach, aims to someday be a D.C. version of South by Southwest and helped its cause by bringing a diverse indie bill to H Street NE. The show began with Brooklyn's The Lisps, followed by Chicago's Scotland... more ›

MONDAY >> Looking for an act whose name you are sure to forget at least once over the course of the evening? We give you an Orlando hip-hop duo with a name like a serial number: X:144 and SPS. Okayplayer called their debut collaboration, M.E., "a producer's wet dream." At the Red and the Black. 9:30 p.m., $8. >> After releasing solo CDs and making babies, Aterciopelados, Colombia's finest rock en español outfit is back... more ›

Local NPR station WETA-FM recently completely reversed course a second time, switching back to a classical format after two unsatisfactory years as a news station. With the "New Classical" WETA came all kinds of questions about programming, complicated by the fact that WETA was also absorbing the area's last commercial classical station, WGMS. Would WETA return to its former identity before the change to news? Would it become a version of the classical lite WGMS?... more ›

And a glorious Friday to you, Washington. Granted, it's not exactly pleasant out right now, but we're going to boldly agree completely with the National Weather Service about tomorrow: highs in the mid-50s, with plenty of sun (peeking through a few clouds). We'll take it. After the week we've had, we would have taken Antarctica, just as long as we got to sleep in a little and not have to think about work for at... more ›

Between the creepy name and the glowing spermatozoa in the logo, readers can be forgiven for looking at the graphic on the right and assuming that washingtonpost.com is dabbling in creating Frankensteinian abominations/superbeings. Perhaps an alien/Katharine Graham hybrid that can squeeze secrets out of administration sources with its deadly tentacles? There's room for all sorts of mischief in that Arlington skyscraper. Sadly, that's not the case. The project, entitled "onBeing", is actually a new series of video essays that the Post will be adding to every Wednesday. Here's how they describe it:

onBeing is a project based on the simple notion that we should get to know one another a little better. What you'll find here is a series of videos that takes you into the musings, passions, histories and quirks of all sorts of people. The essence of who they are, who we are.

Hmm. It sounds slightly questionable, particularly given the past year's cuts to the Post's news-gathering staff. But we do genuinely enjoy the Style section's Life Is Short feature, and this sounds like it's cut from the same cloth. Maybe it won't be so bad. The site itself is an extremely slick Flash video player — it's worth clicking through just to check out the interface. And the clips are all nicely shot in a style cribbed from Errol Morris (you might recognize it from those "Switch" commercials that Apple ran in the 90s). But the actual content is less than compelling. Right now there are four videos on the site:
• A Georgetown nun talking about how she always sort of wanted to be a nun
• An affable cheesemaker discussing cheesemaking ("at high altitudes you need less rennet")
• A kid edited together into an incoherent ramble about a number of things that sort of sound profound, if you're easily fooled

I'm a Black-Cat-or-smaller, low-spectacle rock band kind of Girl. Venturing to the Verizon Center to see a pop sensation perform to thousands of fans last Friday definitely took me out of my element. But bring together I don't know how many dancers, four drum kits, three keytars, two turntables and one man by the name of Timberlake on an unbelievably tricked-out stage in the middle of the floor and, well, I can find plenty... more ›

Happy Holidays! Chances are, you're reading this the day after Christmas, back at your day job after all-too-short a holiday, and the last thing you want from us is stuff about the holidays. But that's just too bad. Because, see, here in the Ist-A-Verse, we do things ahead of time. It might be December 26 for you, but that's what you get for not checking your Favorite Local Blog on Christmas Eve. Austinist is... more ›

It's a pretty neat little app, and Welsh practically read our mind, since DCist really likes Google maps. He also has his own happy hour map, which is also a topic we wrote about. more ›

For once, we could afford to buy a CD at Tower Records. Unfortunately, the pickings were slim and the occasion sad. In October the national record store chain succumbed to the pressure of its online competitors, selling the assets from its 85 stores to a liquidation firm and marking the end of a generation of music buyers who preferred to curiously browse through unknown bands at the advice of knowledgeable, if surly clerks. Since then,... more ›

We get a lot of CDs here at DCist, and at least 90 percent of them are nothing more than DJ mix tapes. So it was a bit of a pleasant surprise when Beau Tand’s self-titled debut album arrived and we heard what sounded like David Bowie crooning about French model and actress Francoise Hardy over programmed beats. Sure it’s more 1980s Bowie than Ziggy Stardust, and that might be enough to drive some listeners away, but the album manages to take that sound and put an interesting spin on it. more ›

Whoooooosh! What's that giant sucking sound? Oh yeah - it's the sweet reverberation of another record store totally biting it and going out of business in this era of iTunes. In this case, we've got Tower Records bowing out of the business, a fact that, though it feels inevitable, saddens us all the same.

According to an AP article that ran in the Post,

On Friday, after a 29-hour auction, most of the bankrupt music retailer's assets were sold to liquidation firm Great American Group, which bid $134.3 million. The company outbid Albany, N.Y.-based retailer Trans World Entertainment by a mere $500,000.

DCist Hemal has her memories of Tower too, saving her from Tysons purgatory:

I was working at the most soul crushing job ever in the paved hell of Tysons corner my first year out of school. I'd escape into the tower records two to three times a week during my lunch break and browse through the CDs, trying to reconnect with something artistic for a few minutes before I had to go back and be an office bitch.

I remember when my right-wing Christian ex-girlfriend broke up with me and I went out and bought Bad Religion's Against the Grain and a couple of other great punk records at Tower, and I remember thinking, "Aaah, freedom."

I'm hoping for a FUTURE Tower memory in which they eventually start having stuff marked down to the point where I can finally take revenge for years of having to take it in a very uncomfortable place from Tower once I reached the cash register.

Do you have any memories (good, bad, or ugly) of Tower Records?

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Another local record store is closing, hopefully temporarily, as Revolution Records in Van Ness (or North Cleveland Park) will shut its doors on September 3rd. A nice little spot with good selection and neat listening rooms, we're sad to see it go. However, the plan is that the store will not join DCCD in being gone forever, as co-owner Nayan Bhula said they're looking for a new location in or near the District. more ›

When Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams, Ian Hunter, Son Volt, and Calexico make a record to save your life, you’ve achieved icon status in the music world. Yet despite his performing in bands since the '70s and solo since the early '90s, Texas-native Alejandro Escovedo is hardly a household name for those who appreciate roots music. And he rarely sells out East Coast shows. But things are changing. Over the course of the past several months,... more ›

LAist has so much fun this week! They go to E3, where they overhear the timeless remark "Man, this is where nerdy girls get laid." Is that a promise? They also give us this week's best CDs and make us realize that LA is the best place to use Zillow. Ah, Houstonist. They're biking to work, that is, if they can figure out how to get there. That's right, Mapquest says "Houston had the... more ›

No, there isn't anything mysterious about the headline -- a couple really did get arrested for asking a police officer for directions in Baltimore, reports WBAL 11. more ›

So by now you’ve probably seen this year’s HFStival line-up and either you weren’t very impressed, or you have some serious decisions to make. Mr. West or Mr. Jones? Are you "Insane in the Membrane" or “Hands Down” ready for a band that epitomizes emo. You’re a big fan of unnecessary punctuation usage and have heard Panic! At the Disco are the new Killers, but no Brandon Flowers wanna-be can stir up a DAR crowd like Julian Casablancas. more ›

The end of next week could be pretty bleak. The excitement of early February, from Groundhog Day to the Olympics Opening Ceremonies to Valentine's Day to Presidents Day, comes to a rushing halt as the long weekend draws to a close. Bereft of any elementary school-style holiday-appropriate window appliques, you may find yourselves plodding along, just trying to muddle through. But we here at DCist, well, we saw this coming. We knew you needed one last big bang before you bid the shortest month of the year goodbye. And so, we bring you (drum roll, please) Unbuckled 2.0, next Thursday, February 23. more ›

This DCist has managed to satisfy those persistent classical music cravings from time to time lately, but August is a slow month for concerts. In fact, we took our passport to make the trip all the way out to Wolf Trap last night, on a dangerous quest to see Rossini's La Cenerentola in a semistaged version by the Wolf Trap Opera Company (reviewed at Ionarts). The big party resumes in Washington next month, of course, when the National Symphony, Washington National Opera, and the other big guns return from vacation. Until then, the six readers of the Classical Music Agenda will just have to listen to CDs, to supplement the few concerts we have to tell you about. The good news is that, although there may not be much, it is all free. more ›

There are bits and pieces of music info floating around out there that we thought you should know about, dear readers. At first we'd thought we'd try to put them together in some sort of organized manner, but then decided we were too lazy for that. So what follows? Just some tidbits about events and news that we threw together in a random fashion. Because we love you like that. >> A couple of performances... more ›

(From DCist contributor Amanda Mattos) To play in D.C. this week, you apparently have to have played at Bonnaroo, been involved with a movie star, or started your career here. MONDAY: >>After a 2004 tour with the Blind Boys of Alabama, and countless appearances on mix CDs burned in dorm rooms, Ben Harper (at right) alights the 9:30 Club with friend and cohort, Tom Freund. The two recorded the album Pleasure & Pain together in... more ›

What, you thought we could go a week without reminding you of our rapidly approaching concert next Thursday evening at the Black Cat backstage? Hah! That's funny. Nope, here we are, telling you again: Unbuckled, featuring great local bands Cartel and Bicycle Thieves, will be June 30 at 9 p.m., and it's guaranteed to be loads of fun. There'll be live music, DCist staff running all over, and now, prizes! At the concert we'll... more ›

The sold-out Spoon show at the 9:30 Club on Friday night has been a long time coming for the Austin-based band. Spoon has a storied history of being the next big thing, to being dropped by their label, to flying for a while under the radar, and to finally building huge buzz based on their past two CDs, Kill The Moonlight and the recently-released Gimme Fiction. Since their D.C. show had sold out weeks before, it seems like one can safely assume that Spoon and their intricate, well-crafted pop music have retaken the throne as "the next big thing." Or perhaps they've already arrived. more ›

Were you stuck in ticket "virtual waiting room" hell for hours on end while Wilco tickets sold out from under your fingers a month ago? Well, if so, this is a just a friendly reminder that alternatives to going to the show tonight or tomorrow do exist. more ›

Good morning. Today will be partly cloudy this morning and clearing later with highs around 40. Today is also the first publication date for the Washington Examiner, Washington's new free daily newspaper. (Although their website hasn't launched yet - see dcexaminer.com.) The paper is available for free in red boxes around town and delivered free to some neighborhoods. (Seen in the Ambivalent Images photo to the right.) more ›

In the interest of trying to be relatively neutral, we here at DCist cannot normally go off into the sort of ranting and raving reviews of shows and bands that we might like to. (Also because it would probably put you to sleep to hear all of our pretentious ramblings.) But that doesn�t mean we can�t point you toward a couple of great sites that know their stuff about the local music scene. So we hereby give the linkage love to recently-revamped local music sites Big Yawn and Here�s a Hint. more ›