While A Cursive Memory may have found the quickest, brightest route yet to the pleasures of whiny emo-pop, it doesn't make those pleasures any less vapid.

To its credit, the trio's new Vagrant release, "Changes," layers in piano, vocal harmonies and zippy synths with an uncluttered finish, a welcome change in a genre where it's acceptable to clog up every song with ham-fisted sonic wankery.

In contrast, co-headliners The Medic Droid seamlessly embrace the self-trivializing qualities of cutesy emo and overproduced dance singles.

In other words, have your mom gas up the car so she can drive you and your friends to this all-ages gig. TRL RULEZ!

» Jammin' Java, 227 Maple Avenue East, Vienna; with Baumer, Mon., 7 p.m., $10; 703-255-1566.

Though Peter Case has reunited recently with The Plimsouls — who made the new-wave classic "A Million Miles Away" (remember the club scene in "Valley Girl"?) — his songwriting has carried him through a much more enduring solo career of personal, good-natured, witty albums.

One of his pre-Plimsouls songs was covered by Blondie, and his 2000 solo song "Cold Trail Blues" was tackled by acoustic bluesman Chris Smither, which is good evidence that the change to simple folk-blues never slowed down Case's writing.

His most recent album is called "Let Us Now Praise Sleepy John," but for those who want to trek back to Case's early days, he also released a memoir titled "As Far As You Can Get Without a Passport."

» Iota, 2832 Wilson Blvd.; Mon., 8:30 p.m., $15; 703-522-8340. (Clarendon)

TOURING BEHIND ITS supposed industry-revolutionizing album, "In Rainbows," Radiohead played one of the first shows of its U.S. tour on Sunday at Nissan Pavilion.

But instead of a dollop of arena-rock experimentation on a balmy spring evening, fans were treated to a downpour of rain, which was overheard being described as "vengeful" and "deliberate."

The band's decision to play the purportedly environmentally friendly Nissan Pavilion over the more-convenient, Metro-accessible options was ballyhooed across D.C. Internet message boards and blogs upon the show's announcement.

No doubt Radiohead would shed a trail of recycled tears if the band calculated how much gas was guzzled on the long, slow haul to Bristow, Va.

Continue Reading "No Rainbows, Just Rain: Radiohead" »

YOU MIGHT NOT REMEMBER your first grade teacher's name, where you sat at lunch or how you did in that first kickball game, but chances are you know exactly how each situation made you feel.

"Junie B. Jones" a musical based on the popular children's books by Barbara Park, seeks to funnel those first-grade emotions into a brisk musical aimed at children, but sophisticated enough for adults.

The play, which runs a scant 60 minutes, is based on four books in the series: "Junie B., First Grader (at Last!)," "Junie B., Boss of Lunch," "Junie B., One-Man Band" and "Top-Secret, Personal Beeswax Journal."

The traveling musical, produced by Theatreworks USA, stops at George Washington University's Lisner Auditorium on May 12 at 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.

The show's director, Nandita Shenoy, is involved in her 10th tour of the show. She originally started out as the show's choreographer, but when she stepped in as director Shenoy didn't try to change much about the already well-established production.

"The show that was created is really just a fantastic show, so I feel that my job is to re-create the original as opposed to something new," she said. "My challenge is to get honest and truthful performances out of new actors each time."

Continue Reading "Musical Stages: 'Junie B. Jones'" »

EX-TALKING HEADS FRONTMAN DAVID BYRNE plans to turn a landmark building in Manhattan into a giant musical instrument.

State officials say Byrne will create a temporary installation in the Great Hall of the Battery Maritime Building, which is next to the Whitehall Ferry Terminal.

The "Playing the Building" installation will include devices attached to ceiling beams, plumbing, electrical conduits and other parts of the structure. Sound will be produced through vibration, making the building function as an instrument.

Continue Reading "David Byrne Plans to Make NYC Building into Instrument" »

PAUL MCCARTNEY IS WEEKS AWAY from becoming the last of The Beatles to be divorced.

Justice Hugh Bennett on Monday granted a preliminary divorce decree for McCartney and Heather Mills. The decree could become final in six weeks and one day if no one objects.

McCartney and Mills were not in court for the brief proceeding.

Mills, 40, emerges from the rancorous divorce with a settlement of 24.3 million pounds — $47.5 million — and her reputation damaged by her ferocious televised outbursts against McCartney, 65.

Continue Reading "Paul McCartney, Heather Mills Granted Preliminary Divorce" »

"STRANGE TIMES ARE HERE" proclaims The Black Keys' singer-guitarist Dan Auerbach over a synthesized howl on the first single from the band's, well, strangest album yet, "Attack & Release."

That howl, along with flutes, organs and more synthesizers is the result of The Black Keys' first attempt at recording an album in a real studio, with a real producer.

But the producer isn't exactly who you'd expect a drum-and-guitar blues duo to partner up with. Until now, Danger Mouse, aka Brian Burton, was most famous as the brains behind the Jay-Z and Beatles mash-up "The Grey Album" and the producer half of Gnarls Barkley.

The Black Keys — Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney — first worked with Burton on sessions for a new Ike Turner record he was producing.

"Brian gave us a call just out of the blue; we'd never met him before," Auerbach said. "He said, 'I'm friends with Ike and I want to make a record really raw and stripped down.'"

Continue Reading "A New 'Attack': The Black Keys" »

MARY TILLMAN'S BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN new book, "Boots on the Ground by Dusk: My Tribute to Pat Tillman," is a both a moving portrait of her son's tragically short life and an indictment of a military and government that misinformed her about the cause of the Army Ranger's death.

"Boots on the Ground" shifts between touching vignettes about Pat's youth and rise to fame as an NFL football player to sad accounts on how his family struggled with grief and with a bureaucracy seemingly determined to obscure how and why Pat Tillman died.

In the wake of September 11, Tillman signed up for the military with his brother Kevin, a minor-league baseball player. After Pat was killed in Afghanistan on April 22, 2004, his family and the public were told that he'd been shot while heroically battling the enemy.

About a month later, the truth emerged: He was shot by another Ranger.

In his mother's account, the family is told so many different stories about how Pat died that it becomes impossible to determine what happened that day. In the end, Mary believes "Pat was killed in a senseless act by soldiers who were wildly and inexplicably out of control."

But she leaves open the possibility that he was murdered. The one thing clear to Mary Tillman is that the American army and government intentionally misled the American public.

"Pat's death was not thoroughly investigated," Tillman said. "I think it was prompted by the [Bush] Administration — they were prompted to cover it up, because the Abu Ghraib prison scandal was breaking that week. Things were falling apart in Fallujah. The most casualties of the war [occurred] in April 2004. They wanted Pat's death to deflect attention from those things and the only way they could do that was to turn it into this grandiose narrative.

"They never really found out what Pat did out there," Mary continued. "They made up a story before they found out what his actions were. His uniform was destroyed, his equipment was destroyed — it was not sent back to show to the medical examiner. All these things are acts of disrespect. I don't think any soldier believes that will happen. They know there is a possibility of death, being wounded — but they don't expect the government to disrespect their service."

Tillman will further discuss her book and her son via a live chat on WashingtonPost.com at noon on May 12 and in a reading that evening at Olsson's-Penn Quarter.

Continue Reading "Blanket Cover-Up: Mary Tillman" »

"WHY WOULD AN educated Midwestern white girl think that when she got her college degree, the best job out there was forming a band?"

Soon after Laurie Lindeen asked herself this question, she ended up with a novel.

"Petal Pushers: A Rock 'n' Roll Cinderella Story" is Lindeen's memoir of growing up in Madison, Wisc., and eventually marrying Replacements singer Paul Westerberg and starting a family. In between, Lindeen tells of moving to Minneapolis and touring the country as frontwoman for the all-female punk trio Zuzu's Petals.

But for all the fun she had with her band, "I was never a rock star."

And Lindeen cautioned, "I didn't write a tell-all — I wrote a memoir. It's not just the beginning and end of my band. ... It's a book about fronting an all-women indie rock band, but it's also about growing up Midwestern, it's about how women learn to deal with their bodies, it's about women in music and it's a lot about my relationship with my father."

Of course, her relationship with one of alt-rock's idols plays no small role in "Petal Pushers," either.

Continue Reading "Pleased to Meet Me: Laurie Lindeen" »

GIGGLER
STRAIGHT FACE LESSONS UNDER WAY
Jimmy Fallon will officially be given the keys to NBC's "Late Night" franchise following Conan O'Brien's exit. A person close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because the announcement hadn't been made confirmed the widely rumored change Sunday and said a news conference was planned for Monday. All that's left is an official date for NBC's transition: O'Brien's moving out West to take over for Jay Leno on the "Tonight" show and Fallon's following in the next time slot.

JAIL TIME
HULK HOGAN'S SON, 17, GETS 8 MONTHS
The 17-year-old son of wrestling superstar Hulk Hogan was sentenced to eight months in jail Friday after he pleaded no contest to causing a crash that seriously injured his best friend. Nick Bollea was immediately led out of court to begin his sentence. He cast a quick glance at his family and then was taken to the jail next door. The judge also ordered Bollea to serve five years of probation and surrender his driving privileges for three years. Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, testified on his son's behalf, as did his estranged wife, Linda, and daughter, Brooke.

LIES
UPON UTTERING 'WONDERFUL,' WALTERS' NOSE EXTENDED
Barbara Walters says she refuses to engage in a debate with Star Jones, who accused her of revealing a past affair just to sell books. Walters said she prefers to hold onto the good times the former co-hosts shared on "The View." "Star is going through a very difficult time, and I'm going to have very happy memories of how wonderful she was on the program," Walters said on Friday.

Continue Reading "People: Fallon to Take Over for Conan" »