$tay ¢old

You know what would be nicer than seeing Gogol in July amongst slavo-gypsypunk-philes in New York? Seeing Gogol amongst gypsypunkphile slavs. Yes I would sit through an hour of techno for that. There has to be vodka around that place. Maybe marinated herring.

Says them who are the linkiest of ho links:

Over the next two months, a half-dozen big concerts will bring international stars to countries that were once locked behind the Iron Curtain, a place where rocking out was a near impossibility, if not outright forbidden. In large part these festivals are considerably cheaper than their Western European equivalents, despite often being much larger: a ticket for the seven-day Sziget Festival in Hungary, for instance, is 37,500 forint ($193 at 195 forint to the dollar), while the Reading festival in England clocks in at three days for £145 ($290 at $2 to the pound). Each show gets you Razorlight, Nine Inch Nails, Gogol Bordello and Unkle, among other groups. But Sziget also includes hundreds of additional performances from the likes of Madness, the Chemical Brothers, Tinariwen, Laurent Garnier and the Good, the Bad and the Queen, as well as lots of local talent.

And there’s an easy-to-overlook bonus: crowds here have loads of enthusiasm and precious little snark.

Snarkless. I dig. But beggars can’t be choosers when your long awaited Russia trip looks like it’s going to be a Brooklyn trip.

In other music-in-summer is nice news from yesterday, M.I.A. (her scribble patterns pwn the dull new Kanye vid, even if they’re a bit Galang) added a second show for July 25, this one at Studio B, conveniently right in the middle of the week.

All I know is per-gallon prices of gas better stay the f out the projected milk price range. $5? Really, Susan Lisovicz? Is this coming from the golden calf? Can calves produce milk? No.