MONDAY SHORTS

- I opted to pass on Friday's Kid 606/Pixeltan show at Rothko, scared off by the $15 ticket when an equally tempting $5 alternative was just a block away. Look for details on Sammy Dee's appearance at the Tonic later on - for now, check out Amy's review of the Rothko show at More in the Monitor. She missed Kid 606 but was unimpressed with Pixeltan. Aside from the free DFA schwag, I think I made the right call. (I didn't realize, BTW, that Hisham from Black Dice is Pixeltan's drummer.)

- Jason at PSNYC was pretty disappointed with Ian Brown's Saturday night show at Webster Hall - check out his video clip of Brown doing the Stone Roses classic "I Wanna Be Adored" to decide for yourself. Brown played a few other Roses tunes along with his solo material.

- PSNYC also mentions rumors of an NYC New Order show in early May. They'll already be over here for Coachella, and they're playing Oakland on April 29 at a 5,000 capacity venue. Maybe we'll get something at the Hammerstein?

- I've never been to Germany, but Geeta's descriptions and pictures of Berlin - all the graffiti, the insane club Berghain/Panoramabar, and more - have me curious to make a visit. I'd be sure to check out Cologne as well, even though I'm not quite sure if Kompakt's Total Konfusion club is still going strong. All in due time - in the short term, it'll be easier to seek out the Franz & Shape + LCD Soundsystem mash-up that Geeta mentions. I am definitely intrigued.

- Autechre's new album Untilted is due out on Warp on April 18, and they'll be making a rare live appearance at Webster Hall on May 8. This might be the one time I actually don't mind a show being at Webster Hall. I'd love to see the club's regular clientele wander into the wrong room and freak out to "Rpeg."

- NYC locals The National have a new album called Alligator due out on April 11 on Beggars. They're touring the Midwest and South in March, with more US dates to follow in the summer. I hear they're good live, and I definitely enjoyed their last album. Matt Berninger's voice always reminds me of Stuart Staples from the Tindersticks, but the music's a bit noisier.

- Tiny Mix Tapes tells us that - for now, at least - the only place to get Deerhoof's new Japanese EP (entirely in Japanese) will be at one of their upcoming spring shows. I'm psyched to be going on May 22, which I didn't realize will also be the tour finale.