Interesting Things Not Written by Me

• Where restaurants once just had a five-disc changer on an iPod on shuffle, The New York Times reports on the sophistication of music at fine dining destinations (aka pricey music consultants being brought in). How do I get this job? Attention restaurants. I'll offer this service for trade. First thing I'd do? Ban that nondescript, faux Kruder & Dorfmeister crap played at every Thai restaurant (and Morimoto) in the city. The article mentions Babbo, and how it remains at the whim of Molto's taste. Last time I ate there, they were blaring UB40's Rat in the Kitchen, which seems more like a Mesa Grill album to me.


• Former Creation Records honcho now Guardian blogger Alan Mcgee -- the man who gave us the Jesus and Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream and Oasis -- picks his top new bands for 2007, including The Horrors, Glasvegas and Viking Moses. Take these with a ramekin of salt, though -- he also gave us Heavy Stereo, 3 Colors Red, and the Ping Pong Bitches. He's still cooler than Tony Wilson, though.


• Noting that Nightmare of You nicked their name from The Cure's "Kyoto Song," Chris Ott offers up 50 other good names copped from Robert Smith lyrics. This post is nearly a year old, but it popped up in my RSS reader for some reason and I enjoyed the post, so I'm including it here anyway. That said, band names taken from Pulp songs are much better.