This piece was originally posted at Patrick Smith’s website AskThePilot.com and is republished with permission. His new book Cockpit Confidential is available now. I REMEMBER THE DAY I bought it. Newbury Comics — the one on Newbury Street — on a midweek afternoon, sunny and hot. I was eighteen years-old. We knew there was an…

Movoto, a real estate broker, has taken a look at the Internet and correctly guessed that people in all 50 states love to see graphic representations of what music their state loves. Thus, they “calculated musical taste scores using data from the National Endowment of the Arts, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and the U.S. Bureau…

Every Friday, we pick five must-see new Minnesota music videos to showcase. This week, deM atlaS kicks a football (metaphorically), Alpha Consumer get trippy, Paul Spring snuggles up, TBT talk economics with David Letterman, and the Cactus Blossoms raise the roof. Dem Atlas, “Lucille” According to superstition, Dem Atlas should be facing seven years of…

In honor of Johnny Winter, and by request of several Coffee Break listeners, we're going to do an all blues edition of the 9:30 Coffee Break. What blues songs do you want to hear?

Ahead of her show at First Avenue, Sharon Van Etten and band stopped by The Current studio to perform tracks off the new record, Are We There. Between songs, Sharon chatted with host Jill RIley about being a notable user of the omnicord, how the Everly Brothers shaped her voice and what her connection is to John Cale of the Velvet Underground.

In an Eat Street space that used to house a German bakery, Arwyn Birch and Teresa Fox have made their own mark on the culinary scene in Minneapolis; the vibrant, pink-ceilinged Glam Doll Donuts sells about two dozen different types of doughnuts, including a new one every Wednesday, and they craft custom designs for special events.…

Minneapolis could soon have a new hive center for music education and appreciation thanks to a plan currently in the works by the Steve McClellan-led Diverse and Emerging Music Association (DEMO). And if all goes smoothly, operations could begin at a vacant Longfellow elementary school as soon as this winter. The McClellan Center for Music…

Sly and The Family Stone got into trouble with the law, John Lennon was ordered to leave the country, and The Beatles record "Helter Skelter" Today in Music History.

The Pitchfork Music Festival begins today in Chicago; the three-day festival features headliners Beck, Neutral Milk Hotel, and Kendrick Lamar. The Current’s Andrea Swensson and Leah Garaas will be there; follow them at @SlingshotAnnie and @leahgaraas. Also, read Andy Moe’s post on the Pitchfork/Lollapalooza effect: how the Twin Cities benefit by being in the region,…

Ahead of tUnE-yArDs' sold out show at First Avenue, frontwoman Merrill Garbus and the gang stopped by The Current studio to perform tracks off the new record, Nikki Nack. Between songs, Garbus chatted with host Mary Lucia about their recent stormy Glastonbury set, studying Haitian drumming and how the Nikki Nack writing process differed from past records.