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DRAG CITYSinger-songwriter David Grubbs performs with his trio Oct. 7 at Le Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St. in Manhattan.

"An Optimist Notes the Dusk," David Grubbs (Drag City)

For more than 25 years, David Grubbs has been a pied piper of sorts, leading an impressive musical journey and serving as an influential backbone of indie rock.

Trunkface Records

It doesn't seem like it looking at the guy's muscles, but Scott James barely survived his birth. "Born Dead," the local rapper's new album hitting the streets this week, is a reference to it.

"I was actually a stillborn -- born with no heart beat -- and I needed a blood transfusion," says James, 25, of Annadale. "That's where all that comes from."

By "all that" James means not only the name of the album, but perhaps also the 13 tracks of underground material put out by his independent label Trunkface Records (it's a DIY reference: From the trunk of the car, straight to your face). On Oct. 4, James will release "Born Dead" at Martini Red to kick off a tour of the Northeast that will take him to New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.

Photos courtesy of Virginia KamenitzerBELT members, from top, Paul Munoz, Mike Bell, Terrence Brennan and Jeff Haffro.

Clifton's BELT goes from 'slacker' to 'pro' with Manhattan penthouse gig

A lot of bands say they're "doing it for the kids." Most of them are lying.

The jury is still out on who Staten Island's BELT band is doing it for, but they're the right guys for the job. At least that's what producer Patrick Shaw thought after bringing the quirky crew into his state-of-the-art penthouse recording studio in Midtown two years ago, for an audition to play the music on his "Kidz Album."

"They were the only ones who had talent, intelligence and personality," says Shaw, 29, of Brooklyn, a musician and engineer who co-owns Tainted Blue studio with Andrew Koss. "A lot of people had two of those things, but these guys were the only group who had all three. I needed somebody who could sing harmonies well and get the jokes."

The good, the bad & the ugly of new music

"Black Forest (tra la la)"
Pale Young Gentlemen
Science of Sound
Pale Young Gentlemen is one of those orchestral bands not quite pop enough to join the ranks of its better-known musical peers (The Shins, Midlake). But the Madison, Wis., band's sophomore release -- as mysterious and detailed as the record's cover, a cropped piece of institutionalized artist Richard Dadd's "The Fairy Feller's Master-Stroke" -- is a journey worth taking. Cello, viola and violin and string arrangements from singer Michael Reisenauer -- who vacillates between a halting baritone and a falsetto, scoring him Chris Martin comparisons -- make chamber-worthy tracks like "Coal/Ivory," "Our History" and "Wedding Guest" strange and awesome.

SI AdvanceFrank Lucas

Remember our cover boy Frank Lucas Jr.? He's still around, making and releasing music and claiming to be the direct descendant of the real American Gangster as head of the American Gangster Commission.

Harp MagazineBarack Obama with alt. country-ish band Wilco at FarmAid concert in Feb. 2008

Lots of Obama fundraisers or just big-up concerts with rock musicians are cropping up. There's the expensive Springsteen/Joel thing here at Hammerstein on OCT 16, the free Springsteen rally in Philly and the two Jay-Z concerts in battleground state Michigan this Weekend and more obscure egg-head-ish stuff like the Bach Brahms stuff going on over at our own Wordless Music OCT. 10.

My challenge to you, dear readers: find me a big name, fund-raising or rally concert for McCain.

Provided by Justin HarperJustin Harper. Yes, he is in a bar.

I got a visit the other day from Justin Harper, a local guy who just launched his urban music blog Harpito.com. Like harper's day-job situation (he does music-related flyer printing as well as custom tailoring at 648 Bay St. Suite 303), his blog is billed as a house divided. "The Best of Both Worlds," as he dubs it, means Harper covers the real street stuff like Rick Ross freestyles, as well as your average tabloid stuff like Chris Brown taking Rihanna to dinner at KFC. Rihanna, wherever you are, I would treat you MUCH BETTER, for the record. Check out Harpito, and keep an eye on Harper--he seems to be up to mo' good.

Mike ShaneWahoo Skiffle Crazies

Staten Island music starts coming out of the woodwork every fall, and making inroads into the rest of the city. Thursday's gig? Local jug band Wahoo Skiffle Crazies heads to Brooklyn's Southpaw, to put its protest songs alongside Outernational, a politically-charged rock band produced by Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello. This is the perfect gig for the Skiffle Crazies, in my opinion. And like we always say, it's a great look for SI to see our artists getting un-Marooned.

Guys like Chris Oliveri are putting it all out there.

Booty call brags; fire and brimstone sermons; leaks from the new "Harry Potter" flick; and, not least of all, new music.

Name it and you can download it to an MP3 player.

"People are inherently voyeuristic. Some people are living voyeuristically," says the 25-year-old Web producer from New Springville, whose "Degocast" spotlights three 20-something Island dudes debating everything from global warming to how to pass gas in front of a new love.