Rock Band

It has often been said that Wilco is the American Radiohead — an edgy, 21st-century rock band whose audience only seems to grow the more they challenge it. Less remarked on is the more obvious fact that they are also the new Grateful Dead — populist guarantors of the heartland verities of cosmic Americana. So it makes perfect sense that Wilco should headline the second night of the XPoNential Music Festival, curated by WXPN, a radio station that has astutely bridged the divide between edgy and crunchy and, like Wilco and Radiohead, commands a mass audience that is more a community than a crowd.

On "Disparate Youth," the single from Santigold's new album, Master Of My Make-Believe, that she sang Tuesday at the Trocadero while flanked by a pair of dancers and wearing a floral-print romper, the avant-pop singer led the crowd in the mantra-like chorus: "We know now that we want more?/?Oh-ah, Oh-ah?/?A life worth fighting for. " And what, for Santi White — the Mount Airy-raised, Brooklyn-based, genre-mashing songwriter who began her U.S. tour for her keenly anticipated sophomore album with a sold-out show at the Chinatown club — what, exactly, constitutes "a life worth fighting for"?

The cheesy sex novel has long been a staple of literature, and it's always a problem when staples are taken away. But public libraries in several states are pulling the racy romance trilogy Fifty Shades of Grey from shelves or deciding not to order the best-seller at all, saying it's too steamy or too poorly written. Like there are no poorly written books in libraries. "When a book is removed from the shelf, folks who can't afford a Nook or a Kindle, the book is no longer available to them," said Deborah Caldwell Stone, of the American Library Association's office for intellectual freedom.

MOSCOW - Tens of thousands prayed outside Moscow's main cathedral on Sunday to show their support for the Russian Orthodox Church in a controversy over a punk rock protest that has added to political tensions in Russia. Christ the Savior Cathedral was the scene of a brief surprise performance in February by a female punk rock group protesting Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency. Three members of the band Pussy Riot remain in police custody and face up to seven years in prison on charges of hooliganism.

THAT DRUMMER sure looked familiar. "Malcolm in the Middle" star Frankie Muniz played his third show with central Pennsylvania indie rock band Kingsfoil Sunday night at World Cafe Live (3025 Walnut). Muniz and Co. opened for D&M at their CD-release party for "Wait for Me. " D&M are Drexel students Danny Fornasa and Matt Klahre, the latter of whom is interning at Matthew Vlahos PR and working on the Philadelphia Science Festival and the Dead Sea Scrolls exhibit at the Franklin Institute.

"THIS IS HUGE," says porn star-turned-actress Gina Lynn . (And get your minds out of the gutter.) The Berks County resident is referring to her April Penthouse cover, which hits newsstands Tuesday. "This is one of the biggest magazine honors in the adult industry," Lynn says. "I'm really proud of how I look right now. " Lynn gave up hardcore porn several years ago but still is a featured dancer at strip clubs nationwide including the Penthouse Club (3001 Castor)

Davy Jones, former singer for the Monkees, has died in Florida, according to a medical examiner's office there. The singer was 66, and is survived by his wife, Jessica, and four daughters. He died in Florida, but also lived recently in Pennsylvania, and was a Daily News Sexy Single several years ago. The medical examiner's office for Martin County, Fla., confirmed it had been notified that Jones had died, but had no further details. The Monkees, in reality a rock band formed for a TV show, had a string of hits in the 1960s.

Last week's opening of an exhibit on Bruce Springsteen at the National Constitution Center raises a question: What in Asbury Park does Bruce Springsteen have to do with the Constitution? True, both were born in the same country (the U.S.A.) and, in fact, within about 50 miles of Trenton. And both were born to run (in the Constitution's case, a nation). And, of course, both continue to enjoy rock-star adulation despite advanced age and significant imperfections. Springsteen is not the most incongruous figure the Independence Mall museum has featured.

CNN has suspended Roland Martin for tweeting "offensive" remarks demeaning gays on Sunday. Shocking: The cable news network finally decided to do something after taking a demure three-day time-out. "Roland Martin's tweets were regrettable and offensive," CNN says in a statement. "Language that demeans is inconsistent with the values and culture of our organization, and is not tolerated. We have been giving careful consideration to this matter, and Roland will not be appearing on our air for the time being.

Portlandia , the frequently hilarious sketch comedy show whose second season began last week, creates a dilemma for its audience: How to react to a TV show that mocks you, and yet - by its status as a buzzed-and-blogged-about cult hit - reaffirms you at the same time? The show, which airs at 10 p.m. Friday on IFC, stars creators Fred Armisen of Saturday Night Live and Carrie Brownstein of the rock band Wild Flag. And its principal intention is to satirize the preciousness of the hipster lifestyle that has reached its drizzly apotheosis in Portland, the mad-about-coffee, indie-rock and cycling (and recycling)