Manchester is a city of industry, art, and, if you ask certain diehard ManU fans, football. However, it's the juxtaposition between the first two that most vividly colors its landscape. This is the city that birthed both a significant textile boom and Joy Division, each playing a significant role in the development of its social fabric.

Last weekend marked the final days of the Manchester International Festival, a nearly month-long celebration of performing, visual, and pop culture arts set against the city's hardened urban environs. Jaunted took a train northward from London to take in the last of MIF's programming, the highlight being Icelandic songstress Bjork's much-lauded Biophilia show on Saturday evening.]]> Heidi Atwal 2011-07-19T14:25:01-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/29/164723/247

Last September, DJ AM and former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker barely escaped with their lives when the Learjet in which they were traveling crashed while taking off from the Columbia, South Carolina airport. Four others in the airplane were killed. Sadly, DJ AM (real name Adam Goldstein) won't be around to mark the one-year anniversary of his miraculous survival, as the 36-year-old celebrity disk jockey was found dead in a Manhattan apartment Friday night. According to an AP story, officials suspect a drug overdose killed Goldstein, though no determination has yet been made. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-08-29T16:47:23-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/25/112233/245

Travel we know, but time travel? The lineup of this weekend's Outside Lands Music & Arts Festival looks like it could have been lifted from the grunge rock and jam band days of yesteryear. If you're nostalgic for the early '90s, buffalo plaid prints and all, then the festival is your musical dream come true—and you don't even have to rev up your DeLorean.

From August 28-30, Outside Lands returns to San Francisco's Golden Gate Park for the second year running, following 2008's Radiohead-headlined extravaganza. This year is ruled by some of Generation X's sonic heroes—namely Pearl Jam (Friday) and Dave Matthews Band (Saturday)—but there are also plenty of other of-the-moment artists on the bill that we're excited about: The National, TV on the Radio, The Duke Spirit, and Jack White's newest super-band, The Dead Weather. ]]> Heidi Atwal 2009-08-25T14:54:41-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/8/143145/4530

For Juice Lee, inspiration can happen just about anywhere, and when it does, he likes to capture it for posterity. YouTube is filled with clips of the rapper freestyling on the street, or while sitting on a flight of stairs, or even while driving a car (I believe he was using a hands-free recording device, in accordance with traffic laws). Now he's taking it to a whole new level and giving the rapping Southwest Airlines flight attendant a run for his money with an extemporaneous two-minute rhyme performed inside an airplane lavatory. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-08-08T14:31:45-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/30/105052/673

If there’s one NYC tourist trap that’s hard for even sensible tourists to pass up, it’s the glorious cheesiness of saying hi to your friends from the set of The Today Show, and actually, getting on the set is surprisingly doable. Unlike late-night shows such as SNL and Letterman, you don’t have to send away in advance for tickets or queue up all night for standbys.

For Today, you can just show up and be on TV, provided you beat the crowds of course. Most days, you’ll want to be outside the Rockefeller Center studios by 7am for any hopes of getting near the cameras.

And what about the Today Show Summer Concert Series, which brings the music out on to the Rock Center plaza starting tomorrow? That’s a little more difficult, but also not so bad. You can email NBC for a chance to get randomly selected “fan passes” for a specific show, which put you right up front and center. If you don’t luck out with those, you can also just show up at the plaza, but you’ll usually need to be there by at least 6 a.m.

The concert series kicks off this Friday with Kings of Leon, then continues every Friday in August with live sets from Jason Mraz, Flo Rida, Natasha Beningfield and Mariah Carey.

Related Stories:
· TODAY concert series schedule [Official Site]
· Want fan passes for the TODAY concerts? [NBC]
· Is Peter Greenberg Through With 'The Today Show'? [Jaunted]

[Photo: Today Show] ]]> BS 2009-07-30T12:14:26-05:00 40.7643960 -73.974327 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/3/14/154354/160

Man, ever since I discovered Kutiman last Thursday, I can not stop watching his amazing collection of videos. Normally I try to curb my enthusiasm when the latest meme catches afire, but this guy is simply amazing and deserves all the viral fame he's getting. Kutiman is the pen name for Ophir Kutiel, a Tel Aviv-based musician and producer who recently spent three months deconstructing YouTube clips in his bedroom and creating a series of music videos that literally tap the best talent that can be found on the web. The resulting mash-up is nothing short of astounding, and I wouldn't be surprised if some of the featured artists - and Kutiman himself - soon found themselves on the top of the musical game. ]]> Victor Ozols 2009-03-14T15:43:54-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/9/14/135233/777

Blues fans from across the country found themselves deep in the Mississippi Delta this weekend to celebrate the opening of the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center. The humble guitar legend was on hand to christen the $15 million facility dedicated to preserving not only King's legacy, but the story of the Delta Blues itself. King turns 83 on Tuesday, and was moved to see his name on the front of the museum. As he told the Clarion-Ledger:

"I didn't go to school long enough to be able to tell you how I feel. But I have heard that heaven is beautiful. If heaven is more beautiful than the way I feel today, I'm ready to go tomorrow."

B.B. King is one of the good ones in our book (listen to this NPR interview and tell me you don't agree), and though 83 is a ripe old age, here's hoping he and Lucille (his guitar) hang around a few years longer. Sure, he's enjoyed tremendous success, but anybody who has picked and chopped as much cotton as this man did as a youth deserves some measure of comfort and joy in his golden years.

[Photo: B.B. King Museum]

Related Stories:
· B.B. King Museum [Official Site]
· Blues' King Likes Castle [Clarion-Ledger]
· Music Travel Coverage [Jaunted]]]> Victor Ozols 2008-09-14T13:52:33-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/