Kevin Bronson on November 22nd, 2010

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[Birthday wishes go out today to Karen O …]

Top 3 shows/events for your divergent musical interests:

‣ New Zealand quintet the Naked and Famous (taken from a Tricky lyric and not the Presidents of the United States of America song) seem to have taken MGMT’s ball and run with it. Well, the part of MGMT that made the radio darlings, that is. TNAF’s debut “Passive Me, Aggressive You” [stream it here] is packed with day-glo synth-pop that’ll stick in your head. The band makes its Los Angeles debut tonight at the RSVP-only It’s a School Night (where L.A. quartet Hands also performs), and they play again Tuesday at the Echoplex. As the Guardian quipped about TNAF: “Now all they’ve got to do is find some models for wives.”
‣ Long-running and highly respected singer-songwriter Dar Williams plays the second of two nights at the Hotel Cafe. Her recent hits compilation “Many Great Companions” features an acoustic disc and a plugged-in one, along with guests such as Gary Louis of the Jayhawks, Sean and Sara Watkins of Nickel Creek and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
‣ Stewart Copeland appears at the Grammy Museum for a Q&A, a reading from his autobiography and to share some rare film clips from his Police days.

• ||| Download: The Naked and the Famous: “Crazy? Yes! Dumb? No!” (Mint Chicks cover, e-mail required)

• ||| Download: Dar Williams, “If I Wrote You” (acoustic)

Elsewhere: Chasing Kings’ residency at the Silverlake Lounge (with the Smiles and All Wrong and the Plans Change); My Chemical Romance at the sold-out House of Blues; Lord Huron at the Tar Pit (609 N. La Brea); Black Apples’ residency at the Echo (with Young Hunting); Dirt Dress’ residency at Spaceland (with Them Hills); This Motel Life at the Roxy; and Halloween Swim Team at Pehrspace.