Tonight we're wishing a great big Happy 4th Birthday to DJ Ted and his baby BAGeL Radio. The party is at Bottom of the Hill with performances by Birdmonster, Division Day and Two Seconds, and yes there will be cupcakes! The show is 18+ and only $10, but for those of you who aren't in the city tonight you can still listen in to the party performances thanks to the fine folks at Lala.com.......

We visited The Homestead for the first time last summer and it instantly fell in love with the relaxed ambiance, gilded decor and fantastic jukebox. We'd never seen a DJ in there before, so when we saw one this past Monday we were a little worried. It didn't take long for Shellac Shack, a weekly 78 rpm listening party hosted by DJ Chas Gaudí, to win us over. He plays blues, jazz, R & B,......

It's been a few months since we raved about Ratatat and gave away their CD, so we figure it's time again to extol their greatness. Like we said last time, RATATAT's music is so melodic, varied and compelling that it makes vocals and lyrics seem superfluous. The Brooklyn duo expertly mixes snakey synth lines with sneering guitar, cello, sleigh bells and samples like the appropriately primal roar in "Wildcat". File under: Things That Make......

Pull out your wallets because we'd like to tell you about a few new records that you should consider buying. The Herms celebrate their new CD Record Machine (out May 23rd) early tonight at Great American with Loquat and The Husbands, so head down to congratulate them and get your hands on an advance copy of the CD before it's out in stores. We haven't heard their record yet, but we trust our friend Nick......

March music madness is upon us, with SXSW happening in Austin mid-month (this SFist will be covering) and the Noise Pop Festival starting at the end of the month. Start your own music marathon this Saturday at the Rickshaw Stop when Mesh Magazine kicks off its third year with a party featuring The Herms, Tussle, The Ebb and Flow, DJs, artwork and more. We're giving away two tickets to the extravaganza. (We'll pick a winner......

Perusing the club listings for December, we're seeing an awful lot of blank calendars. We reckon that means many of SFist's great music venues are being rented out for holiday parties. Perhaps even parties to which we were not invited. Party throwers, don't be afraid to invite SFist. We promise not to do anything untoward that might tarnish our sterling reputation. Not like we did last year. Dear readers, there is a wealth of good......

Two dear friends of SFist wrote in to let us know about local tsunami relief events. Your Waitress wants photobloggers and everyone else to know that HiMY SYeD, Toronto native and current Bay Area resident, is asking folks to organize neighborhood vigils on Sunday the 9th and Monday the 10th as part of the Global Vigil for the Global Village. Vigils are already planned for Toronto, New York, Karachi, London and Vancouver, as well......

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......