This here thing is called 'Insound Clips.' It's a bi-weekly blog-type email collecting semi-personal ideas and awesome and odd information that will make you smarter, more interesting and cooler for sure. These will be short and sweet and fun. But you can always unsubscribe at the bottom if you don't want to be smarter or more interesting or cooler.

The N.W.A. Quiz: You better answer these questions correctly or Ice Cube will blast you as a “punk muthaf**ka!” Yikes! What the heck is a Keytar? Scroll down to March 11th and the rock 'n' roll woman in the super short skirt (if you dare.) Death From Above 1979 becomes the electro-White Stripes? Listen to this insane DFA1979 remix. Modest Mouse sung by a bunch of eerily spunky kids: Wait, does this mean they aren't indie anymore?

What's Larry "The French Lick Legend" Bird up to these days? Why, he's digging holes of course. Got problems meeting girls? No problem, try "The Puppet Method." It'll work every time. Practice the late-night drunken walk home. Because if you're intoxicated, always remember, walking is for heroes but driving is for zeroes. Plas-tic Sur-ger-y: It's easy as 1, 2, 3. Ever wanted to dropkick The Faint? Go ahead! They're totally cool with it.

Top Ten Records of 2005 (So Far) Based mostly on what I believe in my heart to be true but also based on what I've overheard on the 'L' train to Brooklyn amongst people with record bags, arm sleeve tattoos and art school degrees. I'd say it's 90% me and 10% them. Maybe 70-30. Mind you, the Williamsburg kids can be very convincing. 1. Black Mountain "Black Mountain" (Jagjaguwar) 2. Bloc Party "Silent Alarm" (Vice) 3. LCD Soundsystem "LCD Soundsystem" (Capitol/DFA) 4. The Go!Team "Thunder, Lightning, Strike" (Memphis Industries) 5. Death From Above 1979 "You're a Woman, I'm a Machine" (Vice) 6. Bright Eyes "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" (Saddle Creek) 7. Cass McCombs "PREfection" (Monitor) 8. The Decemberists "Picaresque" (Kill Rock Stars) 9. Matt Sweeney and Bonnie Prince Billy "Superwolf" (Drag City) 10. Stars "Set Yourself On Fire" (Arts & Crafts)

Dear Patrick and Nicki, I'm Chelsea and I'm from Maine... Why is it that every restaurant feels the need to put something nasty, like beef or mushrooms, in every dish that would be otherwise attractive? Patrick: Chelsea, don't you know that Shakespeare mentions pasties (MEAT and, oftentimes, MUSHROOM turnovers) in two of his plays, "All's Well That Ends Well" and "The Merry Wives of Windsor." Basically if you don't like meat and mushrooms then you're saying the greatest playwright of all time is a moron. Nicki: Hahaha, "Hi, my name's Patrick and I majored in theater, how do I work that into my answer." Look, Chelsea, the answer is just don't eat. Smoke a cigarette for lunch, vodka for dinner. Because last I checked, there's no such thing as meat vodka. Patrick: An excellent (and healthy) point, co-worker. But what should Chelsea do for breakfast? It IS the most important meal of the day. I guess there's no meat or mushrooms in the good ol' wake-and-bake, right? So my sources say... Nicki: Too true, Patrick. Another safe breakfast option: coffee. Speeds up your metabolism, squashes your appetite, and gets you primed for all that delicious midday smoking. Patrick: Perfect. Don't like meat and mushrooms? Have coffee, a cigarette, and a couple shots of vodka. You know what this sounds like, Nicki? Nicki: What's that, Patrick? Patrick: It sounds like a problem solved. Nicki: Problem solved indeed. Ask Patrick and Nicki

Check out what the amazing Mary Timony is listening to these days: 1. Medications "All of Your Friends In One Place" (Dischord, June '05) 2. Casual Dots "Casual Dots" (Kill Rock Stars) 3. Azita "Life on the Fly" (Drag City) 4. Various Artists "Burn to Shine DVD" (Trixie) 5. Aloha "Here Comes Everyone" (Polyvinyl)

4/05: Magnolia Electric Co. "What Comes After the Blues." (Secretly Canadian) 4/05: The Books "Lost and Safe" (Tomlab) 4/12: Adult. "D.U.M.E." (Thrill Jockey) 4/25: Mars Volta "Frances the Mute" LP (GSL) 4/26: Mountain Goats "Sunset Tree" (4AD) 4/26: Love as Laughter "Laughter's Fifth" (Sub Pop) 5/03: The Hold Steady "Separation Sunday" (Frenchkiss)

New York, NY: Saturday, April 16th. FIXED w/ Warp's Home Video. Plus DJs JDH & Dave P. @ Tribeca Grand. RSVP to weare138nyc@yahoo.com. 10pm. FREE. Toronto, ON: Saturday, April 2nd. Bloc Party and The Ponys play at Lee's Palace. $TBA. Philadelphia, PA: Friday, April 29th. Death From Above 1979 w/ Controller.Controller, No Things (ex-Liars), & Uncut @ First Unitarian Church. 7pm. $10. San Francisco, CA: Thursday, May 12th. Popscene w/ Touch and Go's Supersystem. Plus DJ James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem) @ 330 Ritch Street. 9pm, $TBA. Boston, MA: Monday, April 4th. Lightning Bolt play at Great Scott. 9pm. $8. Indio, CA Saturday, April 30th & Sunday, May 1st. New Order, Bright Eyes, Weezer, Gang Of Four, Bauhaus, The Faint, Bloc Party, Arcade Fire at Coachella. $80 for 1-day tickets, $150 for a 2-day pass.