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This Issue 09/13/2007

Also in this issue

• woodcock rocks
• HOW did you spend your nso?
• EGO OF THE WEEK
• Give me 5

We know - four months of music, but no Street to make sense of it all. Can we make it up to you? This week, we recap Summer 2007 with the Top 5 things you need to know, but might have missed.

1. Daft Punk Returns, Kicks Ass

The robotic duo of Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter, better known as Daft Punk, brought their timeless dance music to the States for the first time since 1997, in what was arguably the best show of the summer season. The "Alive" tour saw the French group, dressed in their mystifying robot helmets and jet-black leather suits, command the crowd from a monolithic light pyramid - it pulsated hypnotic waves of warm red, electric blue and psychedelic rainbows of ROYGBIV in rhythmic synchronicity to the pounding beats. Classics like "Around the World" were mashed with newer favorites like "Television Rules the Nation" to create a unique, near-perfect hour and a half set. A query for "Daft Punk Alive" on YouTube now brings up close to 700 fan-recorded clips from the most talked about tour of the summer.

With a proper DVD release of the tour coming in the near future and a live CD in the works, those who unfortunately missed out will soon be able to witness the seizure-inducing spectacle in all its triangular glory.

-- Johann Diedrick

2. The Smashing Pumpkins Reunion

In a summer rife with reunion tours - the Police, Rage Against the Machine, etc. - no band was as hotly anticipated as the Smashing Pumpkins. Although only two of the original members, lead singer Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlain, played in the reformed group, the hype was unbelievable, beginning with Corgan's full-page advertisement in the Chicago Tribune announcing the reunion - two years ago. The Pumpkins played their CD-release show for Zeitgeist in my hometown of Washington, D.C., and did so in style. The performance was a spectacle, complete with a motorcade, "Secret Service" escorts, political banners and a mock protest, all before doors even opened to reveal the club decked out in red, white and blue bunting and Pumpkins' flags. All futher proof of why the Smashing Pumpkins is one of the defining bands of the Nineties.

- Grace Ambrose

3. Record Industry, R.I.P.?

This summer, major labels continued clutching at straws in order to stay afloat. The New York Times predicted this Christmas might be the CD's last. EMI, running last among the four major labels, began offering its catalog without copy protection (DRM) on the iTunes store for a higher price.