The cold weather - and holiday festivities - descended upon Gothamist. The Rockefeller Christmas tree was lit, Broadway stagehand finally ended their strike, and NASCAR decided to run their victory lap through Times Square. There were disturbing photographs revealing the working conditions in which many city manholes are produced and ninjas were also a hot topic, either robbing homes or entering into alibis. But the city was really rocked by how Rudy Giuliani's visits......

We missed SXSW last week, but some of our friends were down there covering the mayhem and brought back some great photos. You can see local photographer and friend of SFist Julie Schuchard get up close and personal with Iggy Pop and The Stooges in this slideshow and see tons of SXSW photos taken by DJ Ted of BAGeL Radio. Also check out a bunch of coverage from our friends at Austinist. Since all......

We're doing our part for the SFist Holiday Gift Guide this month as well, by bringing you some extra special music giveaways. Barsuk Records is home to a lot of amazing artists, including San Francisco's own John Vanderslice. One of their newest signings is Portland's Menomena, a trio who manage to blend post-rock and pop in a deliciously haunting manner. Download the title track of their newest EP "wet and rusting" and see them......

They've moved away from San Francisco to a small town in Connecticut, but we're still claiming Mates of State as our own. The birth of the couple's baby girl Magnolia hasn't slowed their relentless tour schedule: on Tuesday they play their first of two nights at Great American (The Court & Spark open Tuesday and Asobi Seksu on Wednesday). We've got a copy of their latest record Bring It Back, out now on Barsuk......

Our life as a reader isn't all about borrowing and buying books -- sometimes we like to go to literary events, as well. We interviewed Nic Harcourt a bit back. He's the music director at LA's KCRW and host of "Morning Becomes Eclectic". This Friday at 6 p.m. he's going to deejay from the Virgin Megastore DJ booth, and read from his new book, Music Lust: Recommended Listening for Every Mood, Moment and Reason.......

If you're wondering, Tuesday night, where all the cool kids have gone, look no further than 111 Minna's free Sigur Ros listening party from 8pm to 11pm. Admit it: you've always been curious about just what exactly goes on in that place, with its huge shameless windows and clutches of hipsters huddled around the side entrance. Sponsored by Filter Magazine, Popscene and KCRW -- basically a trifecta of awesome music -- and organized by......

When we were a kid growing up in Seattle, we remember when Washington State tried to pass a law barring minors from purchasing music with Tipper Gore's infamous Parental Advisory stickers on them. Our grandmother, an honored member of the local ACLU chapter, even offered us up as a potential litigant in a class action suit if the law was passed -- we agreed, figuring we might get a free copy of "Straight Outta......

SFist interviews Nic Harcourt of KCRW's Morning becomes eclectic...

The Ditty Bops are Amanda Barrett and Abby DeWald, two modern LA twenty-somethings celebrating yesteryear with their self-titled debut album [listen here]. Both their record and their live show are a must-hear, featuring bell-clear vocal harmonies, finger picked guitars, and upbeat melodies that'll have you partying like it's 1929. These KCRW-darlings have already appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" and are currently touring the country with......

Music-loving good samaritans, this is your lucky week. If you like to enjoy a little partying and live performance in exchange for your charitable contributions, you have no less than six different tsunami relief benefits to choose from. On Friday, The Independent is having their second benefit, featuring members of New Monsoon, ALO, Samantha and the Ritual for a donation of $10-50. Great American's benefit that night with indie kings Gibbard, Kozelek, Richman and Bachman......

Something's been puzzling us lately. How is it that a Santa Monica-based radio station is sponsoring live shows in San Francisco? OK, technically it's not KCRW-FM the station, it's their Web site KCRW.com, where you can listen their broadcast online from anyplace. But still, it seems a little invasive. We feel violated. Why aren't these shows being sponsored by one of our local stations, or by SFist? As soon as we sell enough SFist......