March 26, 2008 – Estelle Swaray just can't understand the pickup techniques of American men. But the recently transplanted Londoner is learning fast. "They talk so much. By the time they get your number, you forgot what their name was," groans the chic 28-year-old, complaining about the "negging" tricks picked up in Neil Strauss' seduction primer, The Game. "I've seen guys do that: ignore the girl and then insult her! It's wack! It shows a lack of character if you can't be original. If you irritate my soul like that, I just switch you off." Wise guys get their comeuppance with Estelle, who creates swinging girl-power soul, marked by virtuosic vocal chops -- she's a deft rapper and singer. (Think Lauryn Hill.

December 27, 2007 – It takes a peculiar person to enjoy being interrogated by U.S. immigration agents. Someone, in fact, like Jens Lekman. "I said I was a musician, then one agent told the other one, 'Check him out on Wikipedia,'" the 26-year-old Swede recounts gleefully at a Manhattan café. "So they started reading about me, and they got really into it. They started grilling me: 'You're a pop singer/songwriter? You put out three records? In the beginning, you were mistakenly known as Rocky Dennis?'" Expect a full report on his next album, since these sort of random occurrences inspire many of Lekman's droll compositions, which have tackled such topics as working in a bingo hall and nearly cutting off a fingertip.

December 8, 2006 – Though their sold-out crowd braved an arctic evening and staggering drink prices, the Junior Boys were the real troopers at Studio B. "I thought I could deal with it, but this microphone is smelling increasingly strange," complained singer/guitarist Jeremy Greenspan. "This is what I put up with for you." And diligently, he and his electronica-pop mates soldiered on for an enthusiastic, hour-long set largely culled from 2004's Last Exit. Their atmospheric synths and progressive samples kept the audience invigorated late into the night, especially on the show-stopping "Like a Child," from the new So This Is Goodbye.