Monday: In their MySpace profile, Brooklyn's MGMT describes its sound as "Surf/Jungle/Country." Oh, those cheeky so-and-sos. In truth, Ben Goldwasser and Andrew VanWyngarden make a noise that's kin to the psychedelic dance-pop that the Flaming Lips have been cranking out in recent years. (In fact, the Lips' preferred co-producer Dave Fridmann worked on MGMT's debut album, "Oracular Spectacular.")

Usually I try not to use meaningless music-critic jargon like "heavy bounce" to describe a band's music, but MGMT has got precisely that. They can play heavy, and they can play bouncy. They'll lay that heavy sound on you tonight at Chop Suey, and they won't let up until you can't bounce no more.

Also: When he's not cranking out maximum rhythm and blues with his not-sister in the White Stripes, Jack White plays sprightly garage rock with the Raconteurs -- and there're a few songs in the Raconteurs' repertoire that have got me convinced that White could quit his day job if he so desired. The band plays Neumos this evening.

Tuesday: James Howard Kunstler wants you to feel guilty about your wasteful car. He wants you to feel badly about living in a 10th-floor apartment and that ecologically disastrous trip to Disney World that you're planning to take. Come to think of it, James Howard Kunstler -- a gloomy prophet of the inevitable doom that will befall us when the world's oil wells run dry -- would probably condemn every single event on this list as a needless waste of resources, including his own University Book Store appearance.

Wednesday: Did you save those ridiculous clothes you used to wear to raves, Baggy McPantingson? After an evening of didacticism and doomsaying, you'll probably be in bad need of some good, wasteful disco -- and trance/deep-house DJs Sasha (born Alexander Coe) and John Digweed are just the guys to provide it. Sasha & Digweed have been spinning records together for 15 years, and even though they peaked long before the rave trend died out, they still know how to make a room move like nobody's business. They spin at the Showbox SoDo tonight.

Thursday: Don't be fooled by the name: Dining Out for Life is not a contest prize, but an imperative. When you dine out in one of 150 Seattle restaurants, 30 percent of your bill will benefit Lifelong AIDS Alliance and help to carry on the fight against HIV and AIDS in the Puget Sound region. Particpating restaurants include Ristorante Machiavelli, Mama's Mexican Kitchen, Etta's, Bleu Bistro, Hattie's Hat, 35th Street Bistro and far too many more to name here. You almost have to go out of your way not to do some good this evening, so why fight it? Eat a good meal and help save lives.

Also: If you've long desired to see one of Cirque du Soleil's half-dozen Las Vegas shows but couldn't see your way to exchanging your first-born for orchestra seats, then good news is coming to Marymoor Park in the form of the traveling Cirque production "Corteo." Adult tickets run as low as $55 and children's tickets as low as $39, so it's not inconceivable that you could hold on to your offspring and enjoy the whimsical and dazzling acrobatics for which Cirque is internationally renowned.

Friday: A pair of solid-gold jazz legends, Dave Brubeck (best known for "Take Five") and Ramsey Lewis ("The In Crowd"), play the Paramount this evening. Either one of these men is a must-see on his own. Jazz is arguably America's only completely native musical medium, and Brubeck and Lewis have done much to ensure that it will always be a part of this country's cultural makeup. Plus, these old men can still play great. Even better than you, kid, so keep practicing.

Saturday: Load up on appetizers, beer and the eccentricities of Fremont during this evening's CF Troll Stroll. A benefit for the local chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, this pub crawl will take you to the Triangle, the Nickerson Street Saloon, Dad Watson's, Norm's, the Red Door, the Ballroom and finally to Nectar Lounge, where The Senate will lay down a set of its trademark "face-melting acoustic riffage."

Also: I've never seen his stand-up routine, but Charlie Murphy is pretty freaking funny on "Chappelle's Show" and "Boondocks," so I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. He's at the Moore.

Sunday: Sometimes utter stupidity is the sanest response to a world gone mad -- and so help me, I'm going to go twice as sane today with screenings of "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantánamo Bay" and "Zombie Strippers." One is a sequel to the surprisingly issue-minded stoner comedy "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle," and the other is, um, a stripper zombie flick. I'm going to pay money to see both of these socially irresponsible films, Mr. Kunstler, because I've had a difficult week.

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