It’s a star studded evening, if by “star”, you mean punk rockers who never accepted any interviews with any major magazines and perform in musty basements a lot.  New York City’s IFC Theater is kicking off a series of music movie nights curated by Jem Cohen, best known for his Fugazi documentary, Instrument:

Among the films shown as part of the evening are John Cohen’s 1963 music documentary That High Lonesome Sound; Jem Cohen’s Nice Evening, Transmission Down, a portrait of Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous; a short film of Patti Smith’s cover of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit”; never-before-seen outtakes from Jem’s Fugazi film Instrument; and other surprises.

Will that other surprise be Ian MacKaye taking off his knit wool hat for the first time in 15 years?

Today would be Joey Ramone’s 58th birthday, and tonight Joey’s brother, Mickey Leigh, will be hosting the official birthday bash at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza in NYC. Among the guests will be special appearances by the likes of Handsome Dick Manitoba and Tommy Ramone. But if you don’t have a ticket to the show, you won’t have to wait long to see Handsome Dick and Tommy — along with Lenny Kaye and Chris Stein — again. Ladies and gentlemen, may we present the Loud Fast Jews!

Four Jewish punk rock fathers — Ramones founder and original drummer Tommy Ramone (born Tamas Erdelyi), Dictators singer and radio personality Handsome Dick Manitoba (Richard Blum), Patti Smith guitarist and journalist Lenny Kaye, and Blondie co-founder and guitarist Chris Stein — will convene at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research on Thursday, June 11, to discuss the glorious heyday of New York punk, the arc of their individual careers, and the impact their Jewish experience has had on their music.

Like Sandy Koufax to baseball, these fine men will give you a better appreciation of the impact they had on their craft. And just think, if they can still be considered “chosen ones,” then there’s hope for all of us.

For more information on the panel or to purchase tickets, go here.

Meg White is getting hitched. The White Stripes drummer will be tying the knot with Patti and Fred Smith’s son, Jackson (you guessed it) Smith of Back in Spades, later this month in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to the Detroit Free Press, the couple have been engaged since early this year, but they are planning on keeping the wedding small, so it can be just about the two of them. White and Smith have set the date for May 22
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White’s marriage to Smith will be her second, since she was previously married to her band mate, Jack White, for four years, up until 2000. White also ran into some controversy two years back, after she allegedly appeared in sex tape that was spread around the internet. The video was later proven to be an undeniable fake.

Right now the White Stripes are on a hiatus, while Jack and Meg focus on their own separate projects, but it is worth noting that according to the Detroit Free Press article, Jack will be attending the wedding.