Age 25

C.V Interned for ABC.com, sonicnet.com, ivillage.com, SPIN.com and inside.com; editor at SPIN Magazine, managed the bands My Chemical Romance and stellastarr*. Author of The Pocket DJ: Ultragrrrl’s guide to building the best music library (due out on Simon & Schuster this fall), currently runs Stolen Transmission Records and works as a producer for VH1.

There’s been a ton of nasty shit said about Sarah Lewitinn, a.k.a. Ultragrrrl. You need only to check the New York Press (where she was ranked number 20 in their list of the city’s most loathsome citizens) and any trash-talking blog around to hear them rattle off variations of “privileged, dumb and shallow”. So if she sucks as much as the haters say, then why has she and the bands she’s championed (Interpol, The Killers to name a couple) made it this far?

The secret of her success might lie in any of the following areas. Sarah confessed to rarely sleeping, in order to juggle all her varied projects — writing a book, running a label, DJing and developing television shows. But maybe its her consistently upbeat and positive attitude, which any casual reader of her blog sees — whether she’s talking about her favorite band or what her friends are up to. Or perhaps it’s her tireless attempts to re-establish the connection between rock bands and their fans through every facet of her work, a bond that’s needed now more than ever in the age of digital division. Whatever it is, it seems to be working.

What are your thoughts on the relationship between blogging and music?
I think that blogging has really helped young bands gain a fanbase that normally wouldn’t have access to them. It makes the fan important again.

Tell me about your label, Stolen Transmission.
Stolen Transmission started out as a singles label through my blog. I’ve released singles from Louis XIV and the Oohlas, and upcoming singles include: The Spinto Band, Saints + Lovers, Nightmare of You, The Five O’Clock Heroes, and Ley Royal Scam. I’m in the process of turning it into a full scale label. I’m really looking forward to working with bands I believe in and helping them as much as I can.

With the advent of downloading, how will you entice people to check out the bands?
I am a criminal and a hypocrite cause I want my label to do well. I love downloading free mp3s . I am just going to hope that people will buy music from bands because they want to support them, because they like the packaging, and it’s easier to download an album on iTunes than Limewire.

How did you get involved with writing “The Pocket DJ”?
I had been approached by a bunch of agents and editors trying to get me to write a novel or something about my life — like a book version of my blog. But that didn’t interest me. I didn’t feel a little twerp like me had anything interesting to say, not to mention, I’m one of the worst story tellers of my generation. Simon & Schuster approached my agent about doing a book called “The Pocket DJ.” He thought I’d be the perfect writer for this and suggested me. It was assigned and I have to say I’m so happy that it was. I’m so proud of it and really hope to get it in the hands of aspiring music fans more than anything else.

You are involved in different facets of the music industry. How do you balance these things out? How do they work with / against each other?
They never really work against each other except for when I was at SPIN and wanted to write about bands I really believed in and thought would one day be huge — but was faced with the problem of the fact that they weren’t signed bands. That’s when I started my singles label, as a hope of bringing unsigned bands more attention and hopefully a lucrative record deal. My profile at SPIN brought the bands attention. It worked out for everyone, it seems. I made a lot of people a lot of money in 2004, except for me. I struggled to make ends meet.

What are your feelings on being voted one of “The Most Loathsome New Yorkers” by the New York Press?
Well, I will start off by saying that it’s been hard enough getting laid, that just made it a bit harder. I was actually totally surprised I was on it because I didn’t think I was famous enough to be acknowledged. When I told my parents about it they were shocked cause they didn’t know that anyone, outside of them, actually knew or cared I existed. I picked up five copies and was really stoked to be recognized, but then people started saying mean shit and that got me down. The whole thing just seemed pretty mean spirited, which is the anti-me.

Aside from the obvious common denominator of music, what do you think links all the things you are involved with?
Cute boys.

After living in the shadow of sister band Dr. Dog’s New York Times induced fame, forebears the Teeth finally get a moment in the sun with their second full-length album. Whereas their first record and split EP with Raccoon were exercises in deafening distortion and boundless energy (think Pavement and the Kinks penning sea shanties), Carry the Wood trades in the band’s jagged and bizarre edges for a more subdued sound that perfectly accompanies their tales of twentysomething drama. The band offers up gorgeous harmonies and horn arrangements, filling in the void where the guitars might have been at their most mighty before. With these old layers shed, the Teeth continue to sound quite awe-inspiring. (Rockpile Magazine #117)

Somebody must have laced the water supply with the same drugs used in _Batman Begins_, because there is no other way to explain the loopy antics that have been occurring all summer. M.I.A. breaking up with Diplo on the final night of her tour in Philly. That whole Nike / Dischord thing. Live 8. I could go on, but this ain’t a high school yearbook. All I know is this: when I need things to feel normal, I hole up with some records. Just a few notes, and it all falls away. For the most part, it’s the sound of Philadelphia making the sweetest music.

Even though the driving force behind Yah Mos Def’s music are nonstop in-jokes about Philly punk history, the group manages to keep things interesting on their self-titled debut EP with awesome beats unexpectedly crafted from screamo records. The result is a loose, fun vibe where hip hop and D.I.Y. music and culture exist in the same breath, just like Check Your Head-era Beastie Boys. I never realized all the stuff which used to make me bang my head as a teenager, would make me dance my adult ass off years later in a completely different format.

When finished overdosing on Y.M.D.’s circa-1994 partytrain anthems, Plastic Little’s _Thug Paradise_ EP is the perfect antidote. “I’m Not A Thug”, as far as I know, contains the only hip hop skit which references the Cremaster cycle. When not skewering the audiences they’re designed to attract (Fischerspooner fans, Brooklyn, indie rockers, Philly’s singles scene, graff thugs, parents, you) or trying to make us dance with their glitchy beats, Plastic Little have a thing or two to say without having to be all soapboxy.

Another local group making my eardrums buzz are Hail Social. They have an album coming out soon on Polyvinyl Records but in the meantime, their new 7” will hold you over. Hail Social are dancy enough to win over the eyeliner and white belt fashion crowds they encountered during their tour with Interpol this past year. With incisor-sharp guitars, start-stop rhythms and introspective lyrics the group sounds like an updated Versus crossed with Wire – reminiscent of indie rock’s early days, when dressing to impress wasn’t a required part of the success equation. If this sounds like your bag, check out Kiss Me Deadly’s _Cosmic Lovers_ EP. The Montreal quartet adds breathy Blonde Redhead theatrics into the mix, among other things.

Lilys mastermind Kurt Heasley shows up on Nobody’s new 7”, available from Mush Records. The two collaborate on the Kink’s classic track “Fancy”. Heasley’s known for relentlessly seeking the holy grail of the Davies brothers; it’s interesting to hear his Anglophile vocals over this spacy, eastern-tinged track. In some ways, its slurred nature recalls early Lilys masterpiece _In The Presence Of Nothing_, which may be the greatest album My Bloody Valentine never made.

Speaking of unheard music, the Fellini / As Mercenarias 7” reissue on Soul Jazz might be the best thing to come out of South America since Os Mutantes. Both bands were part of Brazils post-punk scene in the 1980’s. As Mercenarias steals the show here, combining the best parts of Rough Trade compilation _Wanna Buy A Bridge?_ in under three minutes.

Also worth checking out is ! ! !’s new single. Side A is rendition of the Magnetic Fields “Take Ecstasy With Me”. As it’s penned by Stephin Merrit, the group unnecessarily applies another layer of gay disco gloss. Luckily, the cover of Nate Dogg’s“Get Up” saves this from the cutout bin purgatory. Starting as a smooth R&B inflected tune, it culminates in a hysterical frenzy of layered feedback and screaming. Kind of unexpected, just like this summer.