Take The Giant Step Survey - Get Free Downloads It's that time of year again when we get the opportunity to learn more about our community. We do get the chance to see and hear from some of you at our events and parties, and through emails and on our forums, but the annual survey gives us a better insight into who we are trying to serve. Your feedback and opinions are crucial to us as we're constantly striving to bring you the best in what's new. So, thanks once again for being...

Photo © Collin LaFleche You know that part in The Wiz when Evelline dies and all the workers unzip their fug suits and reveal themselves to be finely crafted specimens of muscular excellence swathed in cherubic linen? That's how I felt this weekend. The sun finally dropped its deadbeat ways and while picking out miniskirts on Sunday, I felt like a liberated Oz worker. The journey to freedom started with an acoustic set...

Last week kicked off with another blessed Hudson Hotel jump-off featuring Jo Jo Flores . The Montreal-based DJ launched into a very capable set that included sparkly disco and deep house gems that put the shine in Michael Jackson's pre- Off The Wall era jheri curl. Plus, DJs with dimples make the world go around. Photo ©

An astounding crossbreed of Flamenco and electronic music, Spain's most international group Chambao is set to play live at The Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater this Saturday, May 3rd. La Mari, the voice and soul of Chambao, toured the world with the group for 2 and a half years after their last album Pokito a poko went platinum in their home country, spent 70 weeks in the charts, and was released in more than 20 countries. Her duet with Ricky Martin “Tu Recuerdo”...

Warp Records' electronic/soul sensation Jamie Lidell has a new video for his next single "Another Day," the first track off of his forthcoming Jim full length (out next week Tuesday!). Directed by Timothy Saccenti, the music video boasts Jamie in a dashing white suit, bringing lovely girls to their senses with his magical melodies and vocals. Don't forget: Jamie's headlining our Central Park SummerStage event Sunday, August 3rd. More details

Old School veterans (A Tribe Called Quest, Nas, Mos Def) and new school, urban acts (Flosstradamus, Kid Sister, The Cool Kids) join up for another Rock The Bells summer spectacular. The tour begins July 19th in Chicago with additional dates in the UK and Japan TBA. "Our thought is that we always want to put together a well-rounded bill that represents a lot of different facets of live hip-hop," says founder and organizer Chang Weisberg. Lineup A Tribe Called Quest Nas...

Photo of 9th Wonder I watch way too much Sex and the City . I used to have a two-episode-per-day habit that I've whittled down to a more sensible once-every-few-days dependency. Luckily, my irises haven't dissolved into jelly. But one thing I've picked up from the show is that sometimes the glamorous New York life is hit or miss. Sometimes you lose your Manolos at a self-absorbed photographer's baby shower. Sometimes your boyfriend dumps you on a Post-It. This...

Amp Fiddler has recorded a post-tour podcast as he reflects on some of the best moments on stage in March. You can hear it exclusively through his website - click the link below for a free download too. If you haven't heard Amp's previous podcasts, which includes plays of some previously unreleased material as well as him giving his tip for the US presidential elections, you can still download that for free through iTunes.

This week's column was supposed to be all about art. I was having a very New York Friday which included a mouth-watering pastrami sandwich at the tourist-infested but very hype-worthy Carnegie Deli in Midtown. Then I popped by MoMa to take in the convergence of imagination and technology with "Design and the Elastic Mind" and the ambitious use of hues in "Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today." But my blithe metropolitan day was interrupted by a vigil in Union Square. If you're a...

In this 35-minute video, Portishead divulges much of their forthcoming album (11 tracks) Third (out Apr 29th) live in studio.