by SHANE SINNOTT

The Suoni per il Popolo festival is in full swing, bringing all manner of musical delights. On Friday or Saturday, be sure to get a load of Akron/Family at la Sala Rossa—they’re an experimental rock band that relies heavily on improvisation, four-part harmonies and the like. There’s a good chance these fellows will put on a great three-hour show. You can download “Blessing Force,” the epic first track from their 2006 record Meek Warrior, here, to get an idea: www.tinyurl.com/3xqudq.

Then on Tuesday, June 12, Tim Hecker will be playing at Casa del Popolo. Montreal-based Hecker creates abstract sound collages filled with static and bass, which have been called “tectonic colour plates” and “cathedral electronic music”—though with descriptions like that, it might be best to listen for yourself. “Pluie 1 (for Sylvain Émard Danse)” is at www.tinyurl.com/29f53x.

On Saturday, if you’re not at Akron/Family, you could do worse than checking out Dinosaur Jr. at Club Soda. Original members

J. Mascis, Lou Barlow and Emmett Murphy had a much-ballyhooed reunion tour in 2005, and have recorded their first new material together since 1988. The result is Beyond, released last month. It’s pure, nostalgic indie rock, written as if the last 15 years never happened. The real reminder that they have is the band’s management’s zeal in tracking down MP3s posted on blogs. Here’s a couple, hoping they last: www.tinyurl.com/35oyan, www.tinyurl.com/3d3cqb.

A good site I came across recently is www.gabba.cc, which describes itself as a home for hip hop, minimal techno, psychtronica, surf and all sorts of other weird stuff. The idea is for members to post MP3s and get talking about music. When you join, you have 0 points, and you gain points by commenting on tracks, uploading MP3s and having people like the MP3s you upload. You have to amass a certain amount of points to upload, and more to download. By Internet standards, it’s pretty unique, and it is hard not to like a site where your upload privileges can be suspended if everyone hates your track.