What? Matthew Sweet is known for writing immaculate power-pop. He is also known for having his hit song, early ‘90s stonecold classic "Girlfriend," on Rock Band II. For which he is more renowned largely depends (sadly) on age.

What? In its snappy 15 minutes, the shambolic pop of veritable buzz behemoth Black Kids' debut EP, Wizard of Ahhhs (released for free via the band's MySpace page in August '07), leaves no doubt as to what spurred all the blog salivation.

A steamy night in the nation's capital was the scene for a sold-out show at Black Cat's backstage last night, June 30. Glasgow's Frightened Rabbit were headliners, but the opening bands demonstrated how exciting music can be on this side of the Atlantic. Takka Takka and Oxford Collapse more than took over the stage, albeit in very different ways.

It's a shame temperatures crept close to the triple digits last night (June 8) in Washington, DC, rendering any flannel shirt too stifling to don to Mudhoney's show at the Rock and Roll Hotel, for the Seattle-based grunge stalwarts rocked with the vengeance of the genre's early '90s heyday.

Who? Portland, Oregon's Danava is Dusty Sparkles on vocals, guitar, synths, and keyboards, Buck Rothy on drums, Dell Blackwell on bass guitar, and Rockwell on synthesizers. Their second full-length, UnonoU drops Feb.

Who? The Epochs' co-vocalists (and brothers) Ryan and Hays Holladay released Ten Billion Light Years of Solitude on their own in 2003 before recruiting Kevin Smith on bass and Kotchy on drums.