Moore, Ranaldo, Chatham Head Experimental Fest
Also: Tony Conrad, Christina Carter, Sir Richard Bishop, Loren Connors, Zeena Parkins

New York I love you, but you're bringing me down. And that's mostly on account of the enormous distance between your culture-paved streets and the geometric avenues of the Second City-- and the fact that you're constantly getting kick-ass-to-the-max festivals like this one.

The Independents festival kicks off January 4 in Brooklyn and runs through the end of the month, bringing together pretty much anyone who's anyone in boundary-pushing music these days, and tossing in some film and poetry for kicks. All experiments in sound and vision go down at the Issue Project Room, which will host showcases all month long from a number of respectable labels, including Thurston Moore's Ecstatic Peace, Locust, Table of the Elements, Tompkins Square, XI, Pogus, and Family Vineyard.

Among the performers: Bark Haze (featuring Moore and Andrew MacGregor, aka Gown), fellow Sonic Youther Lee Ranaldo, guitar composer Rhys Chatham (performing with his "Guitar Trio All-Stars"), drone violinist Tony Conrad, Charmalambides' Christina Carter, Sunburned Hand of the Man (scoring some films), Ira Cohen (reading poems), mad drummer Jonathan Kane's February, crazed harpist Zeena Parkins, Sun City Girl Sir Richard Bishop, Loren Connors/David Daniell/Greg Kelley, No Neck Blues Band, MV+EE, Lau Nau, Function, Lichens, Ethan Rose, and Badgerlore. Scope the complete lineup and schedule here.

You're also highly encouraged to check out Leif Inge's SXSW smash "9 Beet Stretch", which elongates Beethoven's 9th Symphony out into a 24-hour drone mindfuck.