Jonathan Lethem's Chronic City is one of the best books of the year. So sayeth me; so sayeth the sage critterpoos at the New York Times, who include Lethem's eighth novel in their holiday gift guide. (Speaking of guides, check out ours!) While a good friend of mine alleges that Chronic City, which is about [...]

Solvent dignity is an unfortunate casualty of these hard knock economic times. This became pointedly obvious to me after a tiff (just short of scene-making) with an equally cash-strapped barista who overcharged me 25 cents–that's for bus fare, ma'am! So who can blame musicians like Cat Power and now Joanna Newsom for licensing tunes to [...]

Friday

Caverns, Deleted Scenes, Hammer No More The Fingers, Acedia. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10. All ages.
Sweet Interference CD Release Party, Carousel Rogues, Earth Note Syndicate. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
Big Head Todd and the Monsters, Joan Jones. 9:30 club. $25. All ages.
Lonely Hearts Club with DJ Decibelle, DJ Jackie O. and AK Slaughter [...]