Saturday, April 21: Physical media – in other words “things” and “stuff” – changing hands with the bacteria and bills in cramped rooms with real people leaning on racks, some of whom know what they are talking about: Record Store Day remembers and celebrates what we used to just call reality.

Sunday, April 15: Whether art should be a reflection of reality or a perfection of it is a little out of my scope at the moment, but I do want to recall how utterly alien the Afrocentric “conscious rap” of Arrested Development sounded to these ears in early ’90s, when the album for which they will always be known, 3 Years, 5 Months & 2 Days in the Life of…, dropped into the middle of a world obsessed with gangsta rap on the one hand and the inflammatory politics of Public Enemy on the other.

Garland is an eminence in the New York music world, a generous, prolific presence with whom people flock to work– including collaborations with John Zorn, Yoko Ono, Sufjan Stevens and Meredith Monk. He also hosted WNYC’s  Spinning on Air for 28 years. On Verdancy, Garland sings of nature, but his tongue is as New York as “fuhgettaboutit.”

Saturday, April 7: It is one thing to have fame reignited in a wave of nostalgia, and quite another to be up for capitalizing on it. Thing is, Valli, the most famous falsetto in rock, has never gone away.

Friday, March 23: The Felice Brothers are more Dylan, Yard Sale more Band. Read on.

Friday, March 9: Their masterwork asserted itself like a time-release capsule in the bloodstream of pop culture.

Saturday, March 17: Blazing virtuosity has always been the basic bar to entry in this band. 

Saturday, March 10: The acclaimed percussionist and composer joins forces with the experimental flautist and MacArthur “genius grant”-winner Claire Chase and SUNY-faculty member and pianist Alex Peh to premiere Ibarra’s newest work, Talking Gong for flute, percussion and piano. 

Friday, March 2: The New Paltz-born reggae band the Big Takeover have been dominating the local club scene for a decade now, with numerous personnel changes over a core anchored by songwriter and singer Nee Nee Rushie and bassist/musical director Rib Kissner. What has been a struggle for this accomplished and successful band has been naming the style they play.