As previously reported here, the latest issue of the Chicago-based cultural magazine Stop Smiling is all about D.C., with Backyard Band’s Anwan Glover featured on the cover. The D.C. release party for the issue on Nov. 13 has a pretty impressive lineup: Glover and George Pelecanos are guests of honor, with DJs Ian Svenonius and Kevin Coombe spinning.

Info: Nov. 13, 7-10 p.m., Civilian Art Projects, 706 7th St. NW. $5 donation requested (included copy of the magazine). RSVP to rsvp@stopsmilingonline.com.

It still gives off a nicely creepy silent-film vibe, though. Here’s the clip for the local singer-songwriter’s “Still Working”:

You can also check out video of McArdle performing the song as part of our short-lived “Live From BPB HQ” series:

It’s an iron-clad rule of concertgoing that there’ll always be one person who’ll reflexively cheer when their hometown is mentioned, regardless of the context. A few years back I was at a Randy Newman concert in San Francisco, and the songwriter was playing “Rednecks,” a brilliant retort to smug northerners who feel they have the moral high ground when it comes to racism. It closes with a laundry list of Northern ghettos where blacks are “put in a cage.”

“And he’s free to be put in a cage in Fillmore in San Francisco,” Newman sang.

“Whoo-hoo!” cried somebody in the audience.

Something similar went on last night at Billy Bragg’s show at the 9:30 Club. Bragg’s between-song chit-chat has a skeptical-liberal tenor to it—he’s eager to unite his base but quick to caution them about getting too optimistic. So while he mentioned the election plenty, he almost studiously avoided mentioning Barack Obama’s name for most of the night; it was a concert, not a rally, and the notoriously chatty Bragg did get around to playing a few songs. So the out-and-out cheering moments were surprisingly rare. But there was one weird cheering moment when Bragg noted that the times we’re living in may mark the end of American exceptionalism.

“Whoo-hoo!” cried the audience. Lots of applause.

I get it. Nobody at a Billy Bragg show wants to argue for unfettered American imperialism. But that’s not precisely what “American exceptionalism” means—it’s a slippery fish, actually—and even if you accept Bragg’s definition, it seems odd to enthusiastically celebrate the argument that America’s strengths have been rendered meaningless in the face of the collapse of global markets. But the moment showed how much times have changed for folkies. Time was, if you wanted an audience to celebrate its own sad state of affairs, you needed to be ironic about it:

No more, it seems.

Filmfest DC’s “Arabian Sights” festival, which kicks off tonight with 33 Days, continues through the weekend at Goethe-Institut Washington and the E Street Cinema. Closing out the Sunday schedule is Slingshot Hip-Hop, a documentary about Palestinian rappers. Jackie Shalloum spends time with a host of MCs but mainly centers on DAM, a trio living and performing in the Israeli city of Lod. Their perspective on the genre is woefully out of date by American standards, which is partly a function of how hard it is to get access to the music. (One rapper describes being thrilled at finally getting hold of an Eminem cassette from Canada.) But it’s hard not to be drawn in by DAM’s connection of Tupac’s “Holla if Ya Hear Me” and the second Intafada, and the excitement of Shalloum’s film is in watching a scene build itself from the ground up. There are more than a few headaches involved on that front—power outages, absurdly long waits at checkpoints, sexism, and racism, for starters. The fellow-feeling between DAM and an upstart trio from Gaza, PR, is so strong and inspiring that you can easily ignore the pride with which one member sports his Troy Aikman jersey.

Shalloum, DAM, and female Palestinian MC Abeer will attend the screening on Sunday, Oct. 26, at 5 p.m. at E Street Cinema, 555 11th St. NW, followed by a performance by DAM at the Hard Rock Cafe, 999 E St. NW. Tickets are $15 for the film and concert, $10 for the concert only.

(via)

The Red & the Black’s Web site doesn’t make it very clear what’s going on with tonight’s “Music Is Bulletproof” show; neither does the MySpace page it points to. Details on the show below:

EVENT DETAILS: Music is Bulletproof benefit for the Victims of Violent Crime Compensation Fund

Music is Bulletproof was founded by DJ Key-K after he was shot in 2006. As a result DJ Key-K has been unemployed since his shooting, but it hasn’t changed his will to make a difference in his community. This event uses music to bring peace, support and awareness to individuals, families and communities who are impacted by violence.

This year, Music is Bulletproof is focusing on the awareness of the U-VISA. The U-VISA provides support to non-citizens who experience substantial abuse resulting from a wide range of criminal activity and helps with the prosecution of the crime. The U-VISA also provides eligible immigrants with authorized stay in the United States and employment authorization. Unfortunately, the U-VISA is not a readily available or known about. For more information on Key-K and Music is Bulletproof visit, www.myspace.com/music_is_bulletproof

Only by coming together can we create violence-free communities.

Event will feature:
Trinidad resident- Dj Mellie Mel (80’s Alternative)
Dj Seth B (Master of Old School Hip Hop, Reggae & Funk)
Dj Key-K (World Music)

Cover: $5 suggested donation (upstairs)
Proceeds will goto Victims of Violent Crime Compensation Fund Office.

Oct. 2nd
The Red and Black
1212 H St. NE
Washington, D.C.
21+ to enter

Kay Bozich Owens and Lynn Owens‘ new book, Lost in the Supermarket: An Indie Rock Cookbook, includes recipes from the likes of Black Dice, Belle and Sebastian, Country Teasers (still keepin’ it classy with a drink called “Red Headed Sluts”), the Mountain Goats, Xiu Xiu, Sonic Boom, and more. I know practically nothing about cooking, and I’d be pretty careful about ingesting anything prepared by a former member of Spacemen 3. But Guy Picciotto’s recipe for rhubarb crumble does sound appealing. Reprinted with permission of Soft Skull Press.

Guy’s Rhubarb Crumble

Serves 6 to 8

Filling Ingredients:

4 cups diced rhubarb, cut into smallish chunks

3 Granny Smith apples

3/4 cup of honey

1-1/2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1/8 teaspoon of cardamom

Crumble Topping Ingredients:

1/2 cup unbleached flour

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tiny cubes (put butter in freezer briefly till cold and hard)

2 tablespoons of sliced almonds, crushed walnuts, or crushed pecans or all of the above

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Dice the rhubarb into small chunks and peel, core, and cut the apples into thin slices.

3. Combine all the fruit in a big bowl then mix in the honey, cornstarch, and cardamom.

4. Dump the fruit concoction into an 8 x 8 inch baking pan and then smooth out the top with a rubber spatula so it’s nice and even.

5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.

6. Take the cold butter and dice it up into little mini butter squares.

7. Toss the butter square tidbits into the dry topping ingredients. Rub the butter bits into the mix with your fingers just till it forms crumblets. Don’t over rub—you want nice crumbs. Add the nuts and then spread the crumble topping over the fruit filling in the pan.

8. Bake for 55 minutes till the top is nicely browned and the fruit filling is bubbling up like a tar pit.

9. Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or as is. Refrigerates nicely.

We’ll try to keep this under 140 words characters: Black Plastic Bag and City Paper music updates are now available on Twitter. (We have feeds for City Desk and the Sexist too.)

Punk legend, Blowoff DJ, and onetime City Paper columnist Bob Mould is going to publish his autobiography with Little, Brown. Michael Azerrad will assist; pub date’s 2010. Mould has more info on the deal on his blog.

Tomorrow night Gordon Withers will play songs from his CD Jawbox on Cello. The show, like the CD, is a benefit for Cal Robbins; more info on the show is at Murky Coffee’s MySpace page.