Remember that episode of The Simpsons where Barney is dating a Japanese art student? And they show up at Moe’s and she orders “a single plum, floating in perfume, served in a man’s hat”? We can kind of imagine Blonde Redhead frontwoman (and former art student) Kazu Makino ordering that same thing. And Makino’s otherworldliness is so captivating that, like Moe, we probably wouldn’t bat an eye. Decked out in a menacingly short shirt-dress, Makino…

Good news, Washington: our vicarious American Idol dreams live on! Despite a performance of “I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing” that prompted criticism even from Paula Abdul, D.C. resident Antonella Barba has made it through the show’s first round of voting. Nice as this is to hear, it’s not unexpected. DialIdol.com, a site that provides autodialing software and analyzes the incidence of busy signals to gauge voting volume, predicted that Barba would finish safely…

FRIDAY >> Start the night off right at the DCist Happy Hour at 51st State. We’ll all be there to celebrate our nation’s veterans in the traditional manner: by drinking heavily. >> Who doesn’t love a DJ who posts iPod playlists on the Internet so you can recreate a great night of dancing anytime, anywhere (especially when those playlists include choice selections like Kaiser Chiefs, The Rapture and James White and the Blacks)? Come celebrate…