One of the most memorable moments of U2's lengthy career was--by the band's own account--their participation in the celebration of the inauguration of new US president Barack Obama.

Playing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, this band--this Irish band--was inescapably awestruck.

"We were invited to this moment in American history, and it was an incredible moment in time," says the Edge. "And I had this experience where we're walking out and looking towards the Washington Monument. I had this unbelievable sense of déjà vu, because we had used the footage of Martin Luther King making the speech that he made--the Mountaintop Speech--from the same spot in the '60s on our screens for a couple of tours. So I knew that image so well. But now, seeing it live..."

Adds Bono: "To find yourself on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial--where he gave his 'I Have A Dream' speech, and to be asked to be there by this president, who in many ways was squaring the circle, and part of realizing Dr. King's

Oklahoma's Stardeath & White Dwarfs landed probably one of THE most awesome gigs at South By Southwest this year: warming up the Austin Music Hall stage for new wave legends Devo. Devo were at the festival to generate buzz for their first studio album of new material in 19 years, and Stardeath were there to generate buzz for their first studio album ever, The Birth. Both bands were very successful in their missions Friday night.

It would be easy to dismissively assume that Stardeath & White Dwarfs landed this prime opening slot because of band leader Dennis Coyne's family connections: He's one of the Oklahoma City Coynes--that is, he's the nephew and sometimes collaborator of Flaming Lips genius Wayne Coyne. But Dennis has genuinely inherited his uncle's immense talent and oddball aesthetic: The Lips' psychedelic influence is readily apparent in Stardeath's swirly, soundscapey, experimental rock (as well as in Dennis's raspy, dreamy falsetto and the band's stage show, which Friday

A few weeks ago my friend sent me a link to a video by this L.A. band I'd never heard of, Fitz & The Tantrums. And immediately, I wanted to hear more. A supercool Motown-style combo in the Mark Ronson/Sharon Jones/mid-period-ABC vein (imagine if Amy Winehouse was blonde, male, and sane, and that's Fitz), it was impossible to comprehend that the Tantrums weren't already signed. And already huge.

Well, fast-forward to South By Southwest this past week in Austin. There I was, sitting backstage at Perez Hilton's Saturday night bash, waiting to use one of the handy laptops in the Dell Lounge so I could blog about the party's goings-on. But I ended up blogging about Fitz & The Tantrums instead, when I realized that the familiar-looking silvery-blonde, mod-suited gentleman on the laptop next to me was none other than Fitz, the crooner I'd seen in that video.

He was at SXSW attending some mover-and-shaker meetings, one of which will surely lead to his much-deserved record deal. So I figured

Say what you will about Perez Hilton--he certainly has his haters out there--but the guy has great taste in music.

His "One Night In Austin" closing party at last year's South By Southwest featured an amazing lineup (Katy Perry, N.E.R.D., Robyn, Chester French), and his 2009 SXSW Saturday bash was another event to see and be scene, this time with an absolutely fabulous "divas" theme.

On the bill this year were all of Perez's favorite fierce ladies, including the undeniably awesome Solange, New Zealand new-waver Ladyhawke, English electro goddess Little Boots, creatively named coed party band Natalie Portman's Shaved Head, French pop chanteuse Yelle, and even potty-mouthed comedienne Margaret Cho. (Lady Sovereign was supposed to show but cancelled at the last minute, inciting an angry, unprintable onstage cursing spree from Perez.)

There was also a "surprise guest," which was rumored to be everyone from Lady GaGa to Tori Amos to Madonna but turned out to be, um, the Indigo Girls. Oh