They say that the history of rock & roll is written by losers. But one place where music geeks inevitably win is the world of trivia. Knowledge is literally power in the quiz realm, which is why our current trivia renaissance is proof that humanity is getting, if not smarter, at least more knowledgeable. Maybe, I guess, I don’t know.

So in my night job as a quizmaster, I’m always catering to the music geeky, and I enjoy giving them something to chew on beyond the basic Name That Tune format. Thus I designed the audio round that will be featured at this Monday’s edition of my live game show, The Big Quiz Thing: “Three Degrees of Musical Separation.”

For each question, players must name the three artists, played one immediately after the other. The gimmick: The artists’ names are phonetically linked. Thus, you might hear a tune by R. Kelly, followed by Kelly Clarkson, followed by Sonny and Cher. In other words, “R. Kelly Clarksonny and Cher.” Ha!

Try it yourself: Here’s an example from an earlier edition of the game. The juxtaposition of vastly different artists is fun:

Or this one; remember, the names are linked phonetically, even if the spellings don’t match up:

Better yet, come to this Monday’s Big Quiz Thing at Crash Mansion (199 Bowery at Spring St) for ten brand-new ones, and your chance at massive prizes: $250, tickets to Off Broadway’s The Toxic Avenger, other great stuff, not to mention plenty more trivial delights, including the video round, “The Geography Junk Bin.” Monday, November 9, 7:30pm, $7 cover, bigquizthing.com for more info, unabashed plug out.

“When we started out, we just wanted to be a really, really fast band with really short songs,” Vivian Girls guitarist Cassie Ramone joked earlier this year. “That was our original game plan. Now we’re trying to write songs that are longer than two minutes.” We ask, why bother with a three-minute pop song when you can get the job done in two? This weekend, those of you who like it short and sweet have quite the lineup to choose from. Vivian Girls take the stage at Bowery Ballroom tonight, while indie darlings Girls play the Market Hotel, and Queens garage rockers the Beets bring their shambolic (but delightful) sounds to the Brooklyn Museum on Saturday.

So in celebration of this weekend’s quickie shows, the Volume presents The Ultimate Songs-Under-Two-Minutes mixtape.

Click past the jump for hot two-minute action from Pixies, Minutemen, De La Soul, the White Stripes, Buddy Holly and more. Yes, more!

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Check out Jarvis Cocker’s video for “Further Complications” here, which alludes to Madonna’s “Human Nature” clip. [Idolator]

The Raveonettes, pictured, are offering a free download of “The Chosen One” here. [Consequence of Sound]

Jay-Z came out and rapped during U2’s show yesterday in Berlin. Catch it here. [The L Magazine]

The Diplo-produced follow-up to M.I.A.’s Kala is being billed as Animal Collective meets Gucci Mane. [NME]

The Heartless Bastards

Friday

1. Vijay Iyer Trio at Jazz Standard

The far-flung pianist teams up with rhythm-section mates for a weekend run. Read our preview on the shows here.

2. Warren G at Music Hall of Williamsburg

Everybody better get ready to get regulated upon tonight and at the Bowery Ballroom on Tuesday. Read our show preview here.

3. Girls + Real Estate at Bowery Ballroom

A buzz band headlines a showcase of a range of channeled ’60s sounds.

Saturday

1. Miley Cyrus + Metro Station at Prudential Center

The pop princess brings her Wonder World tour to town with support from her older brother’s band. Read our show preview here.

2. Modeselektor at Music Hall of Williamsburg

The electronic-music duo puts a live set together for a show celebrating the release of a mix-CD.

3. Bruce Springsteen at Madison Square Garden

The Boss has been circling around town for a few months now but finally takes Manhattan for shows tonight and tomorrow.

Sunday

1.Wolfmother + The Heartless Bastards at Terminal 5

Two bands call upon the sounds of early ’70s by British bands to forge hard rock & roll. Read our preview on the shows (they also play Monday at Music Hall of Williamsburg) here.

2. Monsters of Folk at Beacon Theatre

A group of “monsters” of indie rock—Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, My Morning Jacket’s Jim James and M.Ward—come to the Beacon for a little folky sing-along. The quartet also plays a show earlier this weekend at United Palace on Friday. (Read our review on the band’s record here.)

3. No-Neck Blues Band at Knitting Factory Brooklyn

The intrepid local avant-psych outfit heads up a trippy bill in Brooklyn.

No Doubt sued Activision for using the band members’ likenesses singing other artists’ songs in Guitar Hero 5. A similar controversy had ensued over the Kurt Cobain avatar. [A. V. Club]

Catch footage of the Monsters of Folk and the Roots playing “Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.)” on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon here. [Pitchfork]

La Roux added more dates to her 2010 tour, including a gig at Webster Hall February 11. [Consequence of Sound]

Download Bebel Gilberto and Mark Ronson’s “The Real Thing” for free here. [Paste]

Photographs by Thomas Hauner

On the heels of a new release, Natural Forces—read our review here—Lyle Lovett brought his Large Band to the Beacon for a night of salt-of-the-earth tunes.

Welcome to Play Count, the Volume’s weekly mix of the best in recent hip-hop. In this edition, new music from Lupe Fiasco, Kida, Chip tha Ripper, Beanie Sigel and more.

Click past the jump for commentary.

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Photos: Taso Hountas

John Popper and his crew jammed out at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza last night, and they were more contemporary than you might think: recycled ’90s hits aside, the bassist was wearing a Yankees hat, supporting the new World Series champs.

1. Carsick Cars + P.K.14 + Xiao He at the powerHouse Arena
Tonight marks the first local stop of the fascinating bill featuring stars of the Beijing rock underground. Dan Shapiro wrote about it in this week’s magazine. Be there tonight and witness the bands’ U.S. debuts.

2. Fucked Up at Brooklyn Masonic Temple
The Canadian punk band Fucked Up plays its latest album, The Chemistry of Common Life, in full. Featured guests include Andrew W.K. and Vivian Girls.

3. Arturo O’Farrill and the Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra at Symphony Space
Tonight, O’Farrill and friends perform the world premiere of a newly commissioned work inspired by local-judge-made-good Sonia Sotomayor.

4. First Nublu Jazz Festival at Nublu
The groovy East Village club stages a jazz festival with the Mandingo Ambassadors, Jemeel Moondoc Trio, Juini Booth and Charles Gayle.

5. Paula West at the Oak Room at the Algonquin Hotel
One of cabaret’s brightest stars comes to town for her annual Oak Room gig.

Catch Norah Jones’s full album The Fall streaming here, two weeks before its release. [@largeheartedboy]

Four Tet announced a new LP, There Is Love in You, that will come out in late January. Preview the single “Love Cry” on its MySpace page. [Pitchfork]

Dave Grohl said the release of Foo Fighters’ Greatest Hits record is premature and looks “like an obituary.” [NME]

The full Beatles discography will be released in December in a USB drive shaped like an apple. [Paste]

Listen to a new Spoon track here, “Mystery Zone,” which will appear in the band’s seventh LP, Transference, out in January. [Consequence of Sound]

That’s right: Karen O & Co. will play a show at an as-yet-undisclosed venue on the LES on Friday, to mark the launch of a fancy mobile phone. Tickets aren’t on sale to the general public. You can “win” tickets by buying a Droid phone on Friday, or follow Verizon’s street team at twitter.com/vcastmusic—so you can track them down, try out the phone and have a chance of winning a ticket. All sounds a bit complicated to us. From the press release:

You can be one of the first to experience the brand new Droid by Motorola – the world’s first smartphone with Android 2.0 – available exclusively on the Verizon Wireless network. Follow Verizon Wireless’ New York Street Teams at twitter.com/vcastmusic to find out where they will be so you can be one of the first to try the Droid out for yourself and win tickets to attend an exclusive celebration in Manhattan’s Lower East Side featuring a performance by Yeah Yeah Yeahs and mingle with celebrity guests including Adrian Grenier, Kim Delaney, Katrina Bowden and more.

Sock it to the man, Yeah Yeah Yeahs!

Sean Kingston + New Boyz at Gramercy Theatre
For our money, one of the year’s strongest singles is Sean Kingston’s kiss-off anthem, “Face Drop” (view the vid above). Tonight, check out the pop-reggae star as he performs in support of his sophomore LP, Tomorrow, a surefire mood lifter. If you found “Beautiful Girls” addictive, you’ll fall instantly for the disc’s breezy, danceable hooks. Opening is the skinny-jeans-sporting L.A. rap duo New Boyz, currently generating heaps of buzz with their brash rhymes.

Gretchen Parlato at Jazz Standard
She’s just past 30, but jazz diva Gretchen Parlato—who has held her own alongside heavyweights such as Herbie Hancock and Wayne Shorter—comes off like a seasoned pro. Here she plays behind her second disc, In a Dream. For more info, read Steve Smith’s preview of the gig.

Buraka Som Sistema at (Le) Poisson Rouge
According to our own Sophie Harris, this Portugese kuduro outfit put on one of 2009’s most infectious NYC shows at Bowery Ballroom back in May. Tonight it stops by a much smaller downtown venue for a sure-to-be-crazy performance.

Lyle Lovett and His Large Band at Beacon Theatre
The wry country favorite hits this classy uptown joint with a new album, Natural Forces, in tow.

Say Anything at Highline Ballroom
Max Bemis and his visionary, tragicomic emo outfit close out a two-night local stand. Read Hank Shteamer’s feature on the band here, and view an exclusive acoustic performance by Bemis here.

The Very Best at Santos Party House
The Euro-Afro pop experts—recently profiled in TONY—make up for a canceled CMJ appearance at this lively Tribeca spot.

1. Julian Casablancas Phrazes for the Young The Strokes frontman unexpectedly issues one of the best records of the year. Read our review here and listen here.

2. Say Anything Say Anything The uncommonly innovative emo-punk outfit gets boldly optimistic. Read our recent feature on the group here and listen here.

3. The King Khan & BBQ Show Invisible Girl The raw energy of a Khan show gets captured on disc yet again.

4. Cold Cave Love Comes Close A wider release comes for a synth-heavy buzz band. Listen here.

5. Weezer Raditude Will Weezer start to measure up to its first years anytime soon? If the Rainn Wilson–penned title of this record is any indication, no. But, hey, we’ll take a listen.

For more releases, see Largehearted Boy.

Dean Johnson, a songwriter from the Wirral near Liverpool, U.K., has set some unseen George Harrison lyrics to music, which you can listen to here. [NME]

Check out the video for Massive Attack’s “United Snakes” here. [Massive Attack]

Them Crooked Vultures is giving away a new studio track, “Mind Eraser, No Chaser,” here. [@crookedvultures]

Listen to a new snippet of the forthcoming collaboration between Charlotte Gainsbourg and Beck here; the track’s called “Heaven Can Wait.” [Pitchfork]

Weezer’s Raditude is hot at $3.99 on Amazon. [@weezer] Check out the band’s collab with Kenny G here at the Volume.

You don’t have to be a fan of either Weezer or Kenny G to be at least a smidgen curious as to what the hell this strange collaboration would sound like. A couple of weeks back, Weezer taped five songs for AOL Sessions, with cameo appearances from rapper Chamillionaire, Sara Bareilles and pop-jazz icon Kenny G. Before recording began, G admitted, “I don’t know anything about Weezer—nothing. I’ve heard the name, but I never knew any of their songs [except] some song about a sweater…with the wool coming apart?”

But you know what the funny thing is? Kenny G’s funny little sax spot is easily the most interesting thing about the song. “I’m Your Daddy” is Weezer-by-numbers; power chords, hand claps and a bored-sounding Rivers Cuomo singing the line, “This ain’t predictable” (umm…). Maybe the band thought it would be hilarious to have cheesy old Kenny G play on the track, but musically it’s the creative highlight of the performance. Check it out!

After the jump: G’s diabolical “Songbird.”

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Say Anything at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
Things are looking much better these days for Say Anything frontman Max Bemis, and the group’s new self-titled album (out today on RCA) proves it. The band plays the first of two local gigs tonight: just enough time for you to read Hank Shteamer’s feature on Bemis and the boys, then head down for the show.

Bushwick Book Club: On the Origin of Species at Goodbye Blue Monday
Franz Nicolay, Susan Hwang, Dave Novak and other local luminaries offer a melodic tribute to Charles Darwin’s (r)evolutionary tome.

Noah and the Whale at the Mercury Lounge
A breakup is a terrible thing to endure, yet it can be a thrill to listen to a gifted songwriter recount amorous woe. Charlie Fink and his bandmates offer potent proof during their second show of the week.

The Mahavishnu Project at Drom
Whether you remember the days of blazing jazz-rock fusion or not, you won’t soon forget seeing drummer Gregg Bendian rolling sextuplets across his kit amid blazing guitars, violin and keyboards.

WBGO Champions of Jazz with the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra and more at the Rose Theater
The local jazz community would be far poorer without the efforts of Newark radio station WBGO-FM, which celebrates its 30th anniversary by turning the spotlight on its own honorees: saxophonist Paquito D’Rivera and Downbeat magazine.

“It’s a punk rock show, what the fuck did they expect?” muttered one girl to her friend at Saturday’s Halloween Vice party. She was bitching about the heavy-handed security men who were trying (and failing) to keep order during Bad Brains’ headline set (“Leave it to Vice to hire the Mafia for security,” wrote one partygoer on Brooklyn Vegan). What was funny about the hoo-ha was that across the street at Brooklyn Bowl, Deer Tick had just finished playing its Sex Pistols tribute show—so you could stroll from pretend punk to the real deal. Find out the full story after the jump.

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Called “an emblematic band for the 29th CMJ Music Marathon” by Jon Pareles of The New York Times in his festival wrap-up, West Palm Beach’s Surfer Blood is steadily rising to the top of a big ol’ pile of hype.

I didn’t catch them at CMJ, but the quartet’s upcoming debut, Astro Coast, is here on my desk. It’s full of catchy indie rock that’s lined with surf, light reverb and hooky guitars. The record doesn’t get Best New Music-ed by Pitchfork till January so check out “Swim” below and see them on Friday, November 13, with Art Brut at Brooklyn Bowl. And then brag to your friends about how cool and on top of shit you are.

Hot Chip, pictured, announced the release of a new album in February. If you preorder it here, you can download a new track for free. [@coslive]

Monsters of Folk dressed up as Kiss and covered the band’s songs during its October 31 performance in Louisville’s Palace Theater. Watch some audience-recorded footage here. [Pitchfork]

New tunes from Paul McCartney and Leonard Cohen surfaced on the Internet, and they can be heard here and here, respectively. [Consequence of Sound]

Vampire Weekend played two secret shows in Los Angeles, featuring music from its upcoming album Contra. The record comes out on January 12, 2010, but in the meantime you can listen to “California English” here. [Stereogum]

“Weezer fans have the Halloween spirit!” declared Rivers Cuomo, at Weezer’s Hammerstein Ballroom Halloween party, Saturday night. The band took the stage dressed as bugs, following sets by Matt & Kim and PT Walkley, and TONY photographer Lizz Kuehl was there to catch the action. The band also welcomed a special guest onstage for its new single, “(If You’re Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To”—Gossip Girl Leighton Meester. Check the vid after the jump.

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