When adding an avant-garde musician and producer (Jim O'Rourke) to a quartet of lower east side bohemians (Sonic Youth), one hardly would think the forthcoming release would be a hybrid of commercial pop (or "classic rock" to quote the band) and minimal experimentation.

Named for the street outside their recording studio near Ground Zero, "Murray Street" (DGC) is the second in a trilogy celebrating the band's home base, New York City, and the first to feature O'Rourke as a full-time member.

"Rain On Tin" showcases the band's trademark feverish, angular guitar passages along with drummer Steve Shelley's thunderous tom-tom rolls, which climactically build like a thunderstorm, eventually yielding to a light drizzle before halting in the dark of night.

The album's zenith of experimentation can be found on "Radical Adults Lick Godhead Style," a song of expansive soundscapes, stream-of-conscious lyrics and a brief, explosive cameo from the sax duo Don Dietrich and Jim Sauter, a.k.a. Borbetomagus, that echoes the free jazz stylings of Ornette Coleman's work in the mid-1960s.

The rough-around-the-edges and concise "Plastic Sun" is bassist and guitarist Kim Gordon's first vocal on the album and, musically, the song recalls the ax -annihilation indicative of the early '80s New Wave scene (from which the band was born). Gordon's moody, gritty vocal ("I hate you and your bitchy friends") takes aim at the narcissistic, midriff-baring young ladies of today.

Initially intended as a solo acoustic offering from Moore, the songs collectively display a cohesiveness that past Sonic Youth albums have lacked. In truth, "Murray Street" is the band's best and most accessible, upbeat release since 1988's dissonant landmark "Daydream Nation."

Now in their third decade performing together, the "radical adults" of Sonic Youth prove it is possible to age gracefully in music and continue to stay a step ahead of the pack.HHH1/2

The pure sounds of opera music will be emanating from the music building tonight for a special benefit concert.

At 8 p.m. today at the Music Building Recital Hall, alum Amanda Halgrimson will perform opera pieces by Mozart, Gounad, Bellini and Catalani along with former NIU faculty member Stephen Squires accompanying her on piano.

The concert is free and open to all with a following reception in the foyer of the concert hall. Donations will be accepted to help support the NIU Opera Workshop, of which Halgrimson is a former member.

James Tucker, director of the Opera Workshop, expects the concert to be very good and should attract a lot of students and alumni.

"We have benefit concerts around Valentine’s Day with the theme of love every year," said Tucker. "This is a special event because Amanda is an alumna who graciously agreed to perform for the concert while in town visiting relatives."

Halgrimson graduated from NIU in the 1980s, with a bachelor degree in music, said Tucker. She went on to win many vocal competitions and has continued with a successful international stage career, primarily in Europe.

"If I could describe Amanda as a person in one word, it would be ‘genuine,’" said Tucker. "She is a very down to earth person, very accessible, considering all the praise she has received. If I had to describe her as the musician, I would say ‘impressive.’ She has terrific vocal technique and is a very assured singer. I think the vocal students will really benefit seeing her perform."

Junior psychology major Jorie Von Hohlen transferred from Waubonsee Community College this year and plans to attend the concert.

"My major is psychology and I really want to get into music therapy," said Von Hohlen. "I think it’s always a good thing to support music in the community and this concert is perfect for that. I think that it’s also a way for me to see what the music department is like here."

NIU’s Opera Workshop holds performances in both the fall and spring and are raising money for their spring production, which gets rather expensive. The workshop ranges in membership each year, but usually falls somewhere between 15 to 20, said Tucker.

"The main goal for the concert is to welcome Amanda back to NIU," said Tucker. "I want to share her music ability with everyone."