There are times where I love using my phone and others where it’s painfully irritating, but checking concert listings on the free Bandsintown iPhone app has been great. A few things to love about this one? Pretty exhaustive listings of all local gigs on any night in your city, recommended shows based on your favorite bands and good-looking, clean design. There are those complaining about needing a Facebook account to join the fun and while it’s a valid point, this is an early version and I have no doubt it’s going to improve. Thanks Todd, Phil, Alexis and crew! You just made it much easier for me to never miss a band I’m into.

Over a year ago, we introduced you to the magic that is One Hello World. Since then, the man behind the voicemail machine has been working diligently to produce an album called “The Listener,” a compilation of voicemails from strangers around the world brought together by the uniting force of music. To realize this dream, One Hello World needs our help. If you’re interested in contributing to a social media experiment turned musical memoir, head to Kickstarter and help fund the album (part of your donation goes toward getting live artists to record over voicemails – how cool would that be?). Oh, and if you’re stuck in the holiday doldrums, call (316) 247-0421 and spill your thoughts. It might be just the kind of catharsis you need before starting a new year.

There’s no doubt Miles put cool on the map but it was Sam Cooke who unmistakably got the party going. So when the invitation came in for Amber and I to attend Maneesh & Andrew’s 5th Annual Salad Toss-Off, we knew just where to turn for inspiration.

Sam Cooke’s Twistin’ Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

• Spiral Pasta
• Ball of Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
• Fresh Basil
• Fresh Sweet Grape Tomatoes
• Spicy Italian Sausage (for our pasta salad, we used local Brooklyn Cured Hot Italian)
• Pine Nuts

For Dressing:

• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Italian Seasoning
• Fresh Black Pepper
• Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning
• Fresh Lemon Juice (if desired)

Preheat oven to 350. Spread out a handful of pine nuts on a cookie sheet and set aside. Once oven is hot, bake the pine nuts until they are lightly toasted (about 5 min). While your oven is heating up, fill a large pot with water and begin to boil. If desired, add a dash of salt and tablespoon of olive oil to the water for taste. Add pasta to boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain and rinse pasta with cold water and set aside.

While the pasta is cooking, cook your italian sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook it in the same way you would brown ground meat. Cut open the sausage skin before you place it in the pan. Depending on your sausage you may need to add a bit of oil to the pan so it doesn’t stick. Use a wooden spoon to break up the meat and stir while cooking. Make sure all of the sausage turns a nice brown and there are no pink spots in the meat. This should take about 5-10 min then set aside to cool completely.

Wash your fresh vegetables. Cut the tomatoes in half and set aside. Break basil into medium size pieces and set aside. Cut the mozzarella into small 1/2 inch cubes and set aside. While your pasta and meat are cooling, gather your ingredients for the dressing. In a small bowl, combine 3 parts olive oil to 1 part vinegar. Sprinkle in some italian seasoning, Tony Chachere’s and fresh black pepper to your desired taste. You may also add some fresh lemon juice if desired. Whisk all ingredients together until they are mixed well.

Once all ingredients are cool, combine pasta, sausage, tomatoes, basil, and cheese in a bowl and stir with a large spoon. Cover and place pasta in refrigerator until ready to serve. Keep dressing at room temperature. When you’re ready to serve, toss your salad in the dressing mixture until you’ve lightly coated the salad. Finally, sprinkle your toasted pine nuts on top and enjoy! This pasta salad also tastes just as great with no meat. Try adding some crushed red pepper flakes for some extra spice if you’re going meat-free.

I was a little concerned about Childish Gambino’s CAMP after hearing the Bonfire single, and while I certainly wasn’t going to write Donald off just because he made one album I didn’t love, I’m glad to say there’s some tracks on there (“Fire Fly” and “Sunrise”) I’m totally digging. The dude has officially now rapped about two of my favorite video games ever (Road Rash / Toejam & Earl) and I’m pretty sure he’s one of the few artists who’s going to throw down “Sufjan” in a rhyme. Yeah, I realize some people get tired about his repeat themes, but as another person who carries a chip on his shoulder about his past, it speaks to me. CAMP is out today on Glassnote, but I would actually recommend picking up the physical version in select stores so you can score a sweet CAMP merit badge too.

Childish Gambino – Fire Fly

I’ve only been living in San Francisco a month, but I can’t pass up the chance to head home to San Diego this weekend for Sezio’s Four Day Weekend. If you missed last year’s radness, #1 – make sure you go, but it’s the 2nd installment of as I like to think of it, a mini music festival. This year’s headliners – Peter Wolf Crier, Dirty Gold, Lord Huron and Real Estate are all worth your time and accompanied by a choice selection of opening acts. It’s only $30 for a 4-day pass (or $10/night) and shows are all ages, but that isn’t to say that’s the only thing going on. Each evening is filled with happy hours, DJs and after-parties. If you need any further convincing you can listen to this sweet mixtape of all the acts, but would I really be so intent on visiting this weekend if I didn’t know it was going to be awesome? Check out the cuties going and get your tickets here before they vamoose.

Remember our DJ Sosupersam interview a couple months back? Her Cruel Summer mix was an absolute jam and I went gaga for it. Well, Sam came back with her latest creation last week called This Way Up and was rad enough to give us a sneak peek before she started promoting it. I’ll admit it took me a few listens for it to grow on me, but now I’m insisting your ears need to make a reservation for this (c’mon it has Kanye, Lykke Li, Poolside and Little Dragon on it). The first 10 minutes are gold and here’s the full track list if something in particular has you buzzing.

A couple weeks ago, Kiran and I danced our pants off in a sea of bubbles and bright lights. There were no Mayan Temple Guards or Pendants of Life, but blue spandex, ripped fishnets, animal masks, glow sticks and exposed chest hair? It was all there. We were attending the last night of the San Diego Music Thing at the Sunset Temple, and caught some wild performances from Jamuel Saxon, Rafter, Cuckoo Chaos and Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr. Good times included Rafter’s rendition of No Fucking Around and a Whitney Houston cover from the DEJJ boys that had the entire room shaking their rumps while singing at full lung capacity. If you have the chance to see any of these bands in the future, do it! Promise you won’t be disappointed.

Drool over the rest of our disposable camera photos here.