Tonight could have been the night that changed your life. The (International) Noise Conspiracy, "one of the wildest and most uncompromising live acts out there" flying in from Sweden, were to take total charge over the Yuyintang stage, but thanks to certain National Day-flavored machinations, it was cancelled. more ›

The word this weekend is "Covers." First on Friday, The Rovers will be doing covers of seminal rock legends Led Zeppelin and then on Saturday, Live Bar will be hosting a couple hours of J-Rock reinterpretations. We're not sure why there's so much mimicry going on - but we guess it's a way to make sure you'll like exactly what you're listening to. more ›

While we aren't able to provide you with any spoilers like we did for the opening ceremony, executive vice president of NBC Olympics David Neal made his way to a college campus 90 minutes west of Beijing where secret rehearsals were being conducted and exclaimed, "It's just unlike any other closing ceremony I've ever seen." While Olympic closing ceremonies in the past are usually "a simple vehicle for extinguishing the Olympic flame and setting the stage for the next games", China under the charge of creative director Zhang Yimou has pulled out all the stops to "dazzle" the world with glittery shows and a "great deal of entertainment". more ›

That's what we get for buying tickets right in front of the speakers. But the hearing loss was worth it — The Legendary Roots Crew, the hip hop band from Philly, put on a damn good show. And yes, they even did a brief Led Zeppelin cover (and A Tribe Called Quest and Biz Markie and many others). But for the most part, Black Thought, ?uestlove, Hub, Kamal Gray, F. Knuckles and Captain Kirk Douglas rocked their originals, and the seemingly capacity crowd at Yunfeng Theater (packed predominately with expats) loved it. The musician solos were intense — the boys can play. Also a highlight was Black Thought's uncanny ability to work the word "Shanghai" into just about every song they performed. After their two-plus-hour show, The Roots hung around on stage, shook hands, signed autographs, posed for photos and hurled autographed drumsticks into the crowd. No injuries were reported. more ›

GigShanghai: Sockhop, soy and naked woman x 2 more ›

Shanghaiist asked its contributors (and a few "music people" in town) to list their five favorite albums released (or yet-to-be released) somewhere in the world in 2006. Got a list of your own? Submit your favorite 2006 music as a comment to this post. Enjoy! more ›

Tim Kao, musician more ›

Rolling Stone is set to be published in China, with a mix of local content and translations from the US edition. more ›