MUSIC

Local trio Wild Fruit makes some pretty nice, stimulant-addled David Byrne-ish garage jams. With You're Jovian and Rocket Boat at Black Cat Backstage. $8.

I have no idea how to pin down the blurred, nostalgic aesthetic DJs Aaron Baird and Sean Peoples (of Sockets Records) will explore at Color Wheel, their night at St. Ex, but this playlist should give you an idea. 10 p.m. at St. Ex.

Or, if you want more blurred and nostalgic music, see San Francisco ambient producer Tycho at Rock & Roll Hotel. $15.

FILM

A bunch of Ibero-American Film Showcase offerings.

Afro-Peruvian slaves toiling in the silver mines and sugar plantations were barred access to drums, so they had to make do with what they had around them—wooden boxes called cajon and donkey jawbones.  Centuries later, singer Eva Ayllon and music and dance ensemble Peru Negro will bring those Peruvian percussion instruments and more to the George Mason Center for the Arts tomorrow, performing separately and together. The 50-something Ayllon is a diva in her home country and has performed for arena-size crowds in Lima. She's been dramatically crooning ballads and warbling rhythmic musica criolla since the late 1970s. Her mixture of slow- and fast-tempoed sounds, combined with her sultry dancing, has earned her the nickname “Peru’s Tina Turner.” Ayllon is more than just an Afro-Peruvian pop star though.  She's covered public domain traditionals and recited poetry that addresses issues of race and class.

Peru Negro formed in 1969 to demonstrate the country’s Afro-Peruvian folkloric traditions. But this ensemble of 30-some musicians and dancers does not do so in a quaint, tourist-friendly manner. The drummers sit on the wooden boxes and expertly pat out funky rhythms accompanied by congas, bass, male and female chanted vocals, and flamenco-sounding guitar, while the women dancers shake their bottoms and add dress-twirling flourishes. The group also includes male dancers who add their own sinuous Afro-Peruvian movements. Although they have released a number of albums, they’re best known for their cuts on the 1995 compilation The Soul of Black Peru that David Byrne released on his Luaka Bop label.

Eva Ayllon and Peru Negro perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the George Mason Center for the Arts, 4400 University Drive, Fairfax, Va. $23-$46 (students get a discount). (888) 945-2468.  Pre-show discussion with members of Peru Negro at 7:15 p.m.

The Kings don’t go for synth-supported chitlin' circuit soul or modern R&B: This is strictly throwback soul in the late-'60s and early-'70s style, with three vocalists and seven instrumentalists. That means gospel-rooted vocals that alternately wail or hit falsetto heights, Latin-rooted percussion, tinkling keyboards, and a horn section blaring in and out.

Quarterman is best known for his group Sir Joe Quarterman and Free Soul, whose first single, the funky, catchy, and topical "(I Got) So Much Trouble in My Mind," entered the R&B Top 30 in 1973. (You may have heard it in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas).

Kings Go Forth and Sir Joe Quarterman perform tonight with MC Mingering Mike and DJs Nitekrawler and Secret Chimp. Doors open at 8 p.m. at the U Street Music Hall,1115 U St. NW. $12. (202) 588-1880.

Good morning! This is the fifth post on this Web site about the death of Alex Chilton. I found out about it last night via Twitter, and an hour later, the influential Big Star leader was beginning to feel overmemorialized. Everybody wants their piece of Chilton's death.

And that, especially in this case, is OK: For me, and for a lot of people, Big Star was like The Wonder Years but cool, inhabiting that anxious, bittersweet teenage universe I associate with a number of films from the '70s but that truthfully none of them nails as well as #1 Record/Radio City. That disc collects the band's first two albums, and I bought it seven or eight years ago in a shitty used CD store on Rockville Pike that's probably not there anymore. I'm fairly sure the clerk told me it was perfect. He also recommended Television's unfortunate early-'90s reunion album, but I didn't know enough at the time to realize that should've raised some flags.

I'm not sure where I'm going with this, and I don't have any Big Star memories as acute as March Hirsh's (you should really read his tribute). All I know is that the chorus of "The Ballad of El Goodo"—all shimmering guitars, sad-angel harmonies—still releases all the right chemicals in my head.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities' latest issue of its ART(202) Journal is online.

DCMumboSauce.com reminds purveyors of mixtapes: Include a tracklist!

The New York Times' Ben Sisario ponders the stakes of South by Southwest. Conclusion: They're not very high. When I wrote about New York's CMJ Music Marathon in the fall, I landed on a similar thesis.

Here is a video from David Byrne's ill-advised song cycle about Imelda Marcos.

First off, thanks for the kind Thanksgiving wishes and the unusual hyperlink to various turkey-shaped items! I thought that my access to such Web oddities would be cut off once my aunt forsook Hotmail. But no!

It's also pleasant to hear that you and Mr. Slim are back together—for months I lay awake, fearing you two might never top the "Toe Jam." But a concept album about the wife of Ferdinand Marcos? Touché, sir! Plus, what an array of cameos—Santigold? Sharon Jones? Is Eno in on this thing? Good Lord this is gonna be weird!

Intrigued by your anticipated "rebranding,"
Arts Desk

P.S. Glad you're still in touch with Santa's Elves. Didn't I see them onstage during last year's "Everything That Happens" tour? Oh, those were just Siberian midgets? My bad.

[Full email below the jump.]

Hello,

Sorry for the mass mailing. I missed saying hi to some of you at the office Turkeyfest, but hope everyone had a good time. See you all next year.

I have, after many years, finished the Here Lies Love CD project – at least this iteration of it. It will come out in late February on Nonesuch. It's a collaboration with Fatboy Slim, an upbeat series of songs sung each one by a different singer. The songs are about Imelda Marcos and Estrella Cumpas, the woman who raised her. The package includes 2 CDs (22 songs), a DVD with videos of 6 of those songs, and a 100-page book that explains it all. Singers include Florence Welch (of Florence + The Machine), Sia, Santigold, Nellie McKay, Sharon Jones, St. Vincent, Róisín Murphy and many more (even me on 1 and 1/2)... I am pretty excited about this, but who knows, it might just make people crazy.

We'll see. There will be more concrete news, with links and music, in early January.

In the meantime, I have decided to rebrand myself, inspired by Philip Morris changing their name to Altria, Blackwater to Xe, and the train I'm riding on right now that calls itself Acela – none of which mean anything, but they are cleverly evocative. When I decide on the magic word, you'll be the first to know.

-David Byrne

Midtown

P.S. Santa's elves have stock of Bicycle Diaries, fresh from their polar workshop.

Washingtonians rarely get an opportunity to experience Brazilian forro music, but Saturday night they'll get two opportunities.  The Brazilian Film Festival will be featuring "The Man Who Bottled Clouds/O Homem que Engarrafava Nuvens", a documentary about Brazilian forro composer Humberto Teixeira, while National Geographic will be hosting a concert by New York City-based Brazilian ensemble Forro in the Dark, who have covered Teixeira songs.

Forro, a rural dance music sometimes compared to zydeco, was once sneered at by middle- and upper-class Brazilians as music for hicks, maids, and cabdrivers. But it was later endorsed by musicians in Brazil’s hip tropicalia scene and more recently received the support of David Byrne and others. Byrne has referred to Teixeira as a “Brazilian phenomenon — the composer of popular songs who was also an intellectual, a power in the law (he established song copyrights) and politics.”  Forro in the Dark was long led by Mauro Refosco (zabumba, a bassdrum) and Rob Curto (accordion).  Curto has since been replaced by Jorge Continentino (pifano, a wooden flute).  On their latest effort, Silence is Golden, the marching beats and twangy guitar keep things rhythmic, while the pinging triangle and the flute provide  country roots.

Sat. Dec. 5 at 6:00 p.m.  The Man who Bottled Clouds/O Homem que Engarrafava Nuvens (documentary about the life of Brazilian "forro" composer Humberto Teixeira) for free at The Greenberg Theater, 4200 Wisconsin Ave NW Washington, D.C.

Sat. Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. Forro in the Dark at National Geographic, 1600 M Street, NW

• X, Steve Soto & the Twisted Hearts. 9:30 club. $25. All ages.
• Alex Rhoads, Midnight Ride. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Dean & Britta, Cheval Sombre. Black Cat. $15. All ages.
• Viva Voce, Cut Off Your Hands. IOTA Club & Cafe. $15. +21.
• The Kennedys. Jammin’ Java. $18.
• Threat Signal w/ The Agonist, Flatline, Thy Will Be Done, Cab Ride Home, Kysmet, Murder the Element. Jaxx. $12–$14. All ages.
• Capital Jazz Fest 2009: Alonzo Bodden, Natalie Cole, Fourplay. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $39.50–$100.
• Rock Solid: The Champions Production Hip-Hop and RNB showcase w/ Crimestoppers, City Limits, and the Ian Walters Project with Angel B. The Red & The Black. $8. +21.
• A Place To Bury Strangers, Caverns, True Womanhood. Rock and Roll Hotel. $12. All ages.
• Like Bells, Kadman, Stella Schindler. Velvet Lounge. $8. +21.
• PJ Harvey and John Parish. Warner Theatre. $45.
• Sunsets with a Soundtrack: The U.S. Army Concert Band. West Steps U.S. Capitol. Free.
• John Prine, Steve Earle. Wolf Trap. $25–$42.
• Liberation Dance Party w/ Natalie Portman's Shaved Head. DC9. $8. +18.
• Subatomic Sound System, Dubblestandart, Jahdan Blakkamoore, Paul Zasky. Comet Ping Pong. $10. All ages.

Saturday

• Doves, Wild Light. 9:30 club. SOLD OUT. All ages.
• Hey Norton, Doug Parks and the Lone Wolves. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Lowen & Novarro, El Fin Del Camino. Birchmere. $29.50.
• Denali, Ki:Theory, Pygmy Lush. Black Cat. $13. All ages.
• Buster Brown & the Get Down. Fireflies. Call for price.
• King Wilkie. IOTA Club & Cafe. $10. +21.
• Early show: The Friday Night Boys (CD Release) with The Downtown Fiction, Bobby Faithful. $10–$12. Late show: The Fif, Violet Says 5, The Echo Boom. $10–$12. Jaxx. All ages.
• Washington Men’s Camerata: “Thanks for the Memories.” Kennedy Center Terrace Theater. $30.
• Shakin' The Blues Away w/ Doug Bowles, Alex Hassan, Cindy Hutchins. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• Capital Jazz Fest 2009: Will Downing, George Duke, Norman Brown, Marion Meadows, Roy Ayers, Joey Sommerville, The Underground Divas. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $39.50–$100.
• BSO: Marin Alsop conducts violinist Hilary Hahn in a program of Beethoven, Higdon, and Dvorak. Music Center at Strathmore. $30–$85.
• The Black Hollies, The Breakups, DJ Bobby Babylon. Rock and Roll Hotel. $10-$12. All ages.
• Mittenfields, Typefighter, Vox Pop. Velvet Lounge. $8. +18.
• David Byrne, Devotchka. Wolf Trap. $25–$42.
• DJ Dk. Cafe Saint Ex.

Sunday

• Blues Jam with the Idle Americans. Bangkok Blues. Call for price.
• Zac Brown Band. Birchmere. $25.
• Blind Pilot, Local Natives. Black Cat. $13.
• Disappears, Dangerosa. DC9. $8. +18.
• Capital Jazz Fest 2009: Al Jarreau, Kirk Whalum, Lalah Hathaway, Marcus Miller & Friends, Pieces of a Dream with special guest Phil Perry, En Vogue. Merriweather Post Pavilion. $39.50–$100.
• Louisiana Swamp Romp. Wolf Trap. $25.
• Thunders, Caustic Casanova, Seamonsters. Velvet Lounge. +21.
• Warm Gun, Another Empty Box. The Red & The Black. $6. +21.
• The Fairfax Wind Symphony. Kennedy Center Millennium Stage. Free.
• DJ Eskimo. Cafe Saint Ex.

Photo of PJ Harvey and John Parish via IslandRecords.com.

Inspired by Imelda Marcos, the high heels-happy wife of ex-dictator of the Phillipines Ferdinand Marcos, Byrne penned the album with Fatboy Slim. Together they're recruiting different vocalists for each track. So far, Santigold is on board as well. Byrne told BBC's 6 Music:

There is a different singer on every song including Sharon Jones from Amy Winehouse's backing band The Dap Tones, Alice Russell and Tori Amos. There's a lot of singers, it goes on and on.

"On and on"? How many tracks are on this album? Here's hoping Byrne doesn't jump the shark with this one.

I've suspected this Stone of rolling downhill for a couple years now (when Beck's "Modern Guilt" engenders the same critical acclaim as the Jonas Brothers' "A Little Bit Longer," one questions Jann Wenner's editorial prowess). But the magazine's ranking of the top 50 albums of the past year was the nail in my subscription's coffin; 2008 seems to have forced Rolling Stone's critical condition into just that.

Number one is TV on the Radio's "Dear Science," a solid, if predictable, choice. Having no real gripes with that one, I turn the page to find Dylan's dusty bootlegs "Tell Tale Signs" stealing Lil Wayne's #2 position. Neither new nor revelatory (nor objectively musically "good," if such a thing exists), the Dylan album seems out of place on this list. What's more, British divas Coldplay clock in at #7, while refreshing and revered eponymous debut of Ivy-punk/Afro-pop darlings Vampire Weekend rounds out the top ten.

These are but minor and (by now) expected disappointments from Rolling Stone. And for the most part, I can live with the flaws and false praise until I get to numbers 39 (Taylor Swift, "Fearless"), 40 (Jonas Brothers, "A Little Bit Longer"), and 41 (AC/DC, "Black Ice"). Teen queens Swift and the Jonas Brothers not only beat out time-addled Aussies AC/DC, but the trinity takes precedence over David Byrne and Brian Eno's collaboration "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today." Eclectic, fresh and always creatively relevant, Byrne and Eno's work is everything that trinity is not – heck, everything Dylan's bootlegs, at #2, are not (there's a reason Dylan is just now releasing those cataloged cash cows).

So that I may let my frustration with Rolling Stone's list rest in peace, I've rearranged their top 10 of their 50 "Best" Albums of 2008:

1. Vampire Weekend, "Vampire Weekend"

2. Lil Wayne, "Tha Carter III"

3. Beck, "Modern Guilt"

4. David Byrne & Brian Eno, "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today

5. TV on the Radio, "Dear Science"

7. No Age, "Nouns"

8. Fleet Foxes, "Fleet Foxes"

9. The Magnetic Fields, "Distortion"

10. Girl Talk, "Feed the Animals"

What is David Byrne interested in as a musician? What does he like, and what makes him cranky? There's probably no multiplatinum-selling rock frontman who's more deliberately Sphinx-like—he's usually had some complaint or other to make about consumerism, but he's more likely to soak those messages in abstraction ("Heaven") or irony ("[Nothing But] Flowers") than in anything resembling outrage. Saying that he's a tough guy to figure out, though, is not the same thing as saying he's disinterested. For an hour and 45 minutes at the Warner Theatre last night, he played an energetic set that was drawn largely from his collaborations with Brian Eno, from their new album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today back to their work with "other musicians," as he said at the start of the show. Maybe saying the words "Talking Heads" is what makes him cranky.

To be sure, the man likes to keep things stage-managed. Byrne, along with his four-piece backing band, trio of backup singers, and trio of dancers, were all dressed head-to-toe in white and choreographed for songs that ended with blackouts more often than not. The dancers in particular were meticulously arranged, moving across the stage in well-bleached outfits and disarming pasted-on smiles—as if this show was a detour from their main gig performing in a Broadway musical version of Todd Haynes' Safe. The setlist had a calculated push-and-pull as well, shifting from the polyrhythmic "I Zimbra" to the drowsier, acoustic "One Fine Day," and from there into a powerfully reconceived "Help Me Somebody," a track from 1981's Byrne-Eno collaboration My Life in the Bush of Ghosts. There, Byrne replaced the Pentecostal fervor of the original's samples with his own hectoring vocals, and between his shouts and insistent guitar vamping, it was one of the rare moments he seemed to genuinely revel in.

Which is to say, at that moment he looked the way other, more emotionally expressive musicians do when they're having a blast. Byrne's having a good time too, but he clues you into that not by engaging in audience patter or even by breaking much of a sweat—he does it by projecting the supreme confidence of a guy who knows he has a bulletproof back catalog to work with. So in a way, Byrne's chill persona is what made a track like "Crosseyed & Painless" so rousing. With the band toiling busily around him and getting the crowd dancing, he can sink into the tune's curiously gnomic lyric. A great David Byrne show involves a host of musical ideas embedded in some art-school fuckery. But it mainly involves playing half of Remain in Light.

Photo by Flickr user miamabanta.