The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

Content shared by l'etoile magazine

The Midwest has relocated to New York City. Or, at least, a few of its native musicians have. In October of 2007, Jones Street Station - a band of cornstalk state transplants -released their debut album, Overcome, full of rootsy (if not downright 'roots')-style songs, and are primed to release their sophomore effort early this year. Right now they're circling back across the country on tour, and will soon hook up with Ben Kweller for a run of shows.

When I was drinking years ago, I picked up at least one good habit in that I learned to play piano in bars (cheaper that Julliard but far more costly). As the seasons change, I try to "compose" one short something-or-another on a good piano when I can find one. So let me clue you into the the best free piano in Chicago. It is located in the old trading floor that is connected to the Art Instititue. This lonely instrument is a Steinway knock-off and it has a very soft sound.

Probably this is a reaction leftover from my childhood years, when after brushing my teeth I rinsed out my mouth with water imbibed from a certain papery/waxy vessel, but my first association when I heard the name A Paper Cup Band was: Dixie.

We're rounding the home stretch of the seemingly endless holiday season! After January 1st it's back to business as usual, carrying in tow millions of New Year's resolutions that were simply made to be broken. While we have complete faith in you and your ability to kick the junk food/cigarettes/crazy boyfriend to the curb, we still think any and all vices ought to be indulged to their fullest extent on New Year's Eve! Why not? 2009 will wipe your sinful slate clean, so we say, LIVE IT UP!

Here at Secrets of the City and MNSpeak, we thrive on the hustle and bustle of the holiday season. We love to feast and be merry with our friends and families...and to exchange cool presents, which is often easier in theory than in practice - especially with all that merriment. But gifts happen, so we prepare! Think of this guide as your brainstorming jump-start: gift ideas, tips for fun shopping efficiencies (oh yeah), and thoughts on how to make your holiday season sparkle in a creative and original way.

I’m onstage fellating the giant red nose of a woman in a six-foot tall hot dog suit. At most shows, this would seem pretty bizarre, but tonight at First Avenue it feels like a natural progression of events. Philadelphia Dj-ing phenom Diplo is well worn into his post behind his turntables. The throng of dancers in the audience have long since checked their coats and wiped the first layers of sweat from their foreheads.

Has anyone seen the movie Diva recently? It's this 1981 French film my dad really likes, and that, by extension, I pretended to like when I was young, and now have grown to like genuinely (I think). The plot centers around an American opera singer - Cynthia Hawkins - and a young courier who's obsessed with her.

Sometimes being road-weary is a good thing. Like maybe, say, when Neil Young handpicks your band to tour with him around North America. From now through the middle of December, such is the fate of Everest, a Los Angeles-based group whose debut album, Ghost Notes, has won some much-deserved acclaim since its release in May.

Beck opened with "Loser." Talk about instantly winning over a crowd - a good portion of the audience mouthed along with the semi-non-sensical lyrics, and kept their lips moving Franny-like for the rest of the show. Mellow Gold came out fourteen years ago, and because this was an eighteen-plus show, this means some of the concertgoers were only four years old when it dropped.