1. Joanna Newsom Have One on Me The quirky queen of harp rock returns with a dense, beautiful three discs of genre-spanning folk and pop. Check out TONY’s glowing review here. NPR streams it here.

2. The Brian Jonestown Massacre Who Killed Sgt. Pepper? If you haven’t seen Dig, plop that into your Netflix queue right now. It shows you all you might need to know about the psych-rock madness of Anton Newcombe’s songwriting, a centerpiece never stable enough to really earn Brian Jonestown Massacre its due adulation. Listen here.

3. Holly Miranda The Magician’s Private Library The Dave Sitek–produced solo debut of the ex–Jealous Girlfriends lead singer Holly Miranda has surely garnered its fair share of attention (guilty as charged), but sometimes, like on The Magician’s Private Library, all the fuss is totally worth it. Listen here.

4. Quasi American Gong (Dig) Ex–Sleater Kinney drummer Janet Weiss and former husband Sam Coomes return to Quasi with their indie-rock pioneer sensibilities intact on this odd yet friendly disc. Stream it here.

5. Shearwater The Golden Archipelago The Texas outfit’s sixth record is an emotional, pretty affair. Stream it on Spinner here.

Friday

1. Jonathan Richman at Music Hall of Williamsburg

The real-life romantic begins a weekend run at MHW that goes through Sunday. Read our preview on the shows here.

2. Obits at Cake Shop

Indie vets play an intimate gig on Ludlow Street tonight and Saturday.

3. B.B. King and Buddy Guy at United Palace Theatre

The blues legends make a trip uptown well worth it.

Saturday

1. Charles Mingus Festival at St. Bartholomew’s Church

The Mingus Orchestra heads up this free fest that also occurs Sunday.

2. The Magnetic Fields at BAM

Stephin Merritt & Co. play a great room for their quirky, detailed sounds.

3. Yes at the Town Hall

Benoit David steps in in lieu Jon Anderson for vocal duties and the results are better than you might expect.

Sunday

1. Annual Valentine’s Day Improv Night at the Stone

John Zorn’s blowout features Kayo Dot’s Toby Driver and Canadian tech-metal visionary Steeve Hurdle. Read our preview on Hurdle, who also plays the space Saturday, here.

2. Jo Lawry and Fred Hersch at Cornelia Street Café

Australian vocalist Lawry is backed by pianist Hersch. Bring your date.

3. A Glasslands Valentine Party at Glasslands Gallery

Kyp Malone’s Rain Machine headlines tonight’s festivities.

Monday

1. Yoko Ono at BAM

Yoko resurrects Plastic Ono for her first area shows in years. Read our feature here.

2. Tegan and Sara at Terminal 5

The popular indie twins play a large, seated gig.

3. Holly Miranda at Other Music

One of our picks for breaking it and making it in 2010 plays a free in-store.

Tim Hecker, Tapes, Radian and Mountains at (Le) Poisson Rouge
The Unsound Festival New York buzzes along with an evening of boundary-blurring sound artists, including dreamy ambiences from Tim Hecker and Mountains, as well as a grainier brand of electricity from Austrian combo Radian (pictured).

Happy Ending Music Series: Holly Miranda at Joe’s Pub
In the latest installment of this popular series, fast-rising singer-songwriter Holly Miranda shares the stage with author Joshua Ferris.

Midnight Masses at Union Pool
This NYC-Texas combo, run by members of …And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Dragons of Zynth, brings its dark, dreamy sounds to Williamsburg. (You can see the band’s exclusive performance in TONY’s office right here.)

Eric Church at the Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza
A lot of hard-twanging guitars, a working knowledge of Merle Haggard and AC/DC, and a pinch of corny hokum—add it all together and you get Eric Church, country music you can believe in.

Vijay Iyer and Mike Ladd: Holding It Down at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse
Iyer’s a cerebral jazz eclectic with an earthy touch, and Ladd’s a provocative poet and spoken-word artist; neither is done justice by those reductive descriptions. The pair has done potent work in past collaborations; for this new one, inspired by the Iraq War, the voices of veterans have been incorporated.

Holly Miranda has been on tastemakers’ radars for some time now (including our own), and the release date for her debut solo LP, The Magician’s Private Library, is approaching. However, you won’t have to wait until February 23 to hear material from the Dave Sitek–produced LP, as Ms. Miranda stops by Other Music for an in-store performance February 15 at 8pm.

Check out TONY’s interview with Holly from last year, and catch her excellent Black Cab session after the jump.

Read more »

The first time we heard Holly Miranda sing we were riding round Williamsburg in a black London taxi, for her upcoming Black Cab Session—and even being jostled around in a sweaty little space, we got goose bumps. Whether she’s performing a cappella or surrounded by a full, warm fuzz of music—as on her Dave Sitek–produced forthcoming debut—Miranda is a rare talent. And no, we’re not the first to hear it—she’s already been hyped by Kanye (always Kanye!), The New York Times and Vanity Fair. But being fans of Holly’s excellent blog, we had an idea that she’d be good to talk to.

Read on, to hear about her earliest singing experiences:
“I used to sing so loud on the way home from church when I was little that my two older sisters made me lie down on the floorboard of the car if I wanted to sing.”

On leaving home and coming to New York:
“I said, ‘Mom, I’m not coming back.’ She said, ‘I was wondering why you packed your Wonder Woman poster.’”

And that Sitek-produced album:
“It probably sounds like nothing you’ve ever heard…that’s not a back-door brag either.”

Read more »