Pitchfork

Whatever you do, don't go to the stuffy Palace of Fine Arts in scary San Francisco on September 11, 2007! Not unless you want to endure a sure-to-be mind-numbing conversation between two individuals of little consequence, Mr. Benjamin Gibbard (he of Death Something or Other) and Mr. Daniel Handler (aka sorry scribe Lemony Snicket, the fiend behind "A Series of Unfortunate Events", who has also haplessly crossed the path of Stephin Merritt).

If you really must know, this conversation will take place under the aegis of the Noise Pop festive gathering (the main shindig having gone down this past February and March, lucky for you). It's also part of the dastardly City Arts & Lectures series, a series so prestigious they only use black and white promo photos on their website. Those who callously ignore the above warnings and opt to suffer through the so-called conversation will also be treated to some of the grimmest musical sounds ever committed to the ether, courtesy of Mr. Gibbard.

Mr. Gibbard's interlocutionary* misdeeds actually commence the evening prior, as you may know, when the man who puts both the "bad" and "dour" in troubadour chats and performs as part of the similarly grave Miller Genuine Draft "The Craft" series. Forgive us for telling you that this event, sponsored also by the Rock and Roll Hall of Infamy, takes place September 10 at Denver, Colorado's Fillmore.

The Noise Pop-presented City Arts & Lectures series, meanwhile, also plays host to Nick Drake discussers Joe Boyd, Gabrielle Drake, and Jolie Holland on October 7 and Bob Mould on October 16.

* a made-up word which here means "of or related to conversation"