Lollapalooza organizers might be holding back, but the folks behind Pitchfork announced their first acts today. The list includes:

Last week, Greg Kot reported that Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails will be headlining this year's Lollapalooza. Mum's the word around Lolla-HQ, but fans don't seem to care: the first round of tickets--at only $60 a pop--sold out in twenty minutes. They'll be another chance to spend your dough on the 25th, but officials won't be giving away the lineup until next month.

It seems like just yesterday that video killed the radio star, but it didn't take long before The Real World, My Super Sweet 16 and Laguna Beach killed the video. Although this perversion did bring us The State, My So-Called Life and Beavis and Butthead--we never meant to sell our souls! For a music television fix these days, we have little choice but to dust off those old VHS recordings of the original Headbanger's Ball.

Not for long.

This Wednesday will be the first showing in Metro's Rock Against Recession series. The weekly showcase is designed to nourish local musicians, provide free music to poverty-stricken hipsters and to act as a catalyst for some heavy-duty boozing. Airiel, Slings and Arrows, Yourself and the Air, and Empires play the commencement show, which boasts free admission until 9pm ($5 after 9pm). Drink specials abound, as does the post-show rock 'n' roll, courtesy a Smartbar DJ set featuring Jessica from OFFICE. Drinking your cares away never sounded so good.

Today, Jim DeRogatis posted his dollars-to-doughnuts line up of Chicago's next big bands. While the list isn't exactly prescient (a certain "Duh" factor underscores several of DeRo's selections), it does happen to be a healthy round-up of some of the best local bands around. On his list: The Adornments, Airiel, The Cool Kids, Ezra Furman, Head of Femur, Kid Sister, Matthew Santos, Tom Schrader, The Sapiens, Team Band.