At the beginning of each month we will round up a couple of BYT contributors to let us know what they’re jazzersized about it the upcoming month. Movies Music Shows Books Life Items. Consider this a conversation starter and a cheat sheet of sorts. And, of course, let us know what has you all hot around the collar for in the comments:

(p.s. if you like playing catch up, check out our February choices here, and our March choices here)

ALAN

The Eclipse . Last January I was lucky enough to accompany the lovely Christina to Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer, and I’ve been a fan of the playwright ever since. When I found out he wrote/directed a supernatural romance starring Ciarán Hinds (aka Julius Caesar aka the New Dumbledore), I knew I’d be in for something special. Look for my interview with Hinds and McPherson next week.

Start of baseball season. I went halfsies on a ten game ticket package this year. My first game will be on April 7, when the Nats take on the Phillies. While I’m not a passionate Nationals fan, I can’t go wrong with outdoor beer and hot dogs, especially if the weather stays warm.

Liars @ the Hotel. Sisterworld is an early contender for one of my favorite records this year, so it’ll be great to see this LA band at the Hotel. And after a truly chilling video, I’m curious to see whether they’re capable of provoking disquiet on stage, too.

The Secret in Their Eyes. Much to my surprise, this Argentinean thriller won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film this year. Writer/director Juan José Campanella mixed a number of genres to make a certifiable crowd-pleaser, one that’ll fill seats at E Street for weeks on end. With strong performances and a chase sequence that must be seen to be believed, the Oscar is richly deserved. Look for my interview with Capanella later this month.

Kick-Ass. If you believe the hype, the long-awaited adaptation of the beloved graphic novel will reinvent the comic book movie. I wouldn’t go that far, though I’m sure it’ll be fun to watch a foul-mouthed prepubescent girl annihilate bad guys with twin pistols. Anyone else curious whether McLovin is capable of genuine badassery?

Hamlet. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a Shakespeare tragedy, so perhaps it’s best to start with the playwright’s most famous one. And with accompaniment from a Tony-award winning musician, I’m confident the Folger Theater knows how to bring rottenness to the state of Denmark.

LIBBY

April 2nd- OUTDOOR BARE CHESTED MEN PLAYING TENNIS NEXT TO/AGAINST ME/WITH ME EVERY DAY.

April 10th- Nerd Nite @ DC9- topics include Buckminster Fuller, macroinvertebrates, and molars!

April 10th- Done & Done Festival

April 10th- Sakura Matsuri Japanese Street Party @ 12th and Penn
Get drunk on Japanese Beer and Sake while watching hot teenagers dressed up like cartoon characters. Totally surreal.

April 15th- Trans Am @ Rock & Roll Hotel.
It's Trans Am.

April 15th- 25th Film Fest DC
Weird cinema from all over the globe from the comfort of your own city aka close to your weed dealer and favorite ice cream shops.

April 18th- The Generationals @ Rock & Roll Hotel

April 21st- The Coathangers @ Black Cat
This super awesome girl band has a song called Tanya Harding. Its like shut up and let me join your band already.

April 25th- Municipal Waste @ Rock & Roll Hotel
Thrash metal from Richmond- need I say more.

SVETLANA

I will keep this short because, you know the weather is nice and you'd rather be outside than reading online.

• Cherry Blossom events this weekend that are NOT for tourists: Cherry Blast and Boombox Walk, I'm looking at you
• Florence and the Machine finally making it to DC. I hope you have your tickets.
• MORE, MORE, MORE of my favorite TV shows right now: "Parenthood", "How to Make it in America", and THE NEW SEASON OF TOP CHEF MASTERS ON BRAVO! AAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

• The first issue of WORN Magazine, the only print fashion publication independently produced in this city. Check out outtakes in their blog here
• While everyone is stoked on Liars, I am stoked on FOL CHEN being in DC (they're opening for Liars, so come early). After Yacht, RNR Hotel is basically fulfilling all my cutesy art-dance-pop-live-show-dreams. Next up-SoKo, please?

• Finally getting around to seeing Chloe and Hot Tub Time Machine even though they came out in March

ALFONSO

RECORDS:

• April 6 – Future Islands “In the Fall”: One of my absolute favorite Baltimore bands releases this four-song EP on Thrill Jockey this April (physically, it’s already available digitally). Full length due out in May. Dancey enough to make you move, soulful enough to be moving. So, so good.
• April 20 - Plants & Animals “La La Land”: Bradley got me into these guys, and the record is definitely worth checking out. I'm going to go ahead and call it a more chillwave Surfer Blood, not necessarily because it's accurate as much as because it's something to write.
• April 20 – Trans Am “Thing”: What happens when DC legends Trans Am score a sci-fi soundtrack but then turn it into a full-length record? I have no idea, but I can’t wait to find out.

SHOWS:

• April 3 – Yeasayer/Javelin @ 9:30 Club: I’ve raved enough about the new Yeasayer record so I’m going to shut up and just say I can’t fucking wait for this Saturday.
• April 7 – Sarena Maneesh: The downside is that if anyone asks you what you’re doing next Wednesday, you have to say their awful band name. The good news is that they sound like Broken Social Scene covering My Bloody Valentine remixed by Amon Tobin. These guys are awesome and you should check them out.
• April 14 – Liars @ RnR Hotel: We all know how I feel about Liars, and I am going to flip the fuck out during this show.
• April 15 – Trans Am @ RnR Hotel: I’ve seen Trans Am more times than I can count and they never, ever, ever stop blowing me away. Sebastian Thomson may be the best drummer I’ve ever seen live. I’m so damn excited they’re back.

ANDY

March you were kind of a bitch with your indecisive weather habits. Just sayin'. With last month out of the way you should kick off the first month of really warm weather by going to the Smith Westerns, So Cow and The Cheniers show tonight. You should also wear shorts because it's going to be in the high 70s, low 80s (!!!) for the rest of the week and into the weekend.
Anyway, here are the reasons why I'm glad it's April.

1.) Record Store Day 2010 -- Having moved from the South, we didn't get our fair share of participating record stores for this holiday. So needless to say I'm very anxious. There are so many great re-issues and special releases that are coming out on April 17 that I can't keep track of them all. But the good people behind MBV Music have been slowly curating this list of RSD '10 releases. You can find out which stores in the District are participating here.
2.) Shows -- Now that touring season has officially begun, we'll have a lot of great bands stopping by the District during the month of April. But the month is bookended with two huge bands: Vampire Weekend and Phoenix. Both will be playing DAR Constitution Hall. I will be at neither since I don't ball that hard. But don't let Ticketmaster fees bum you out. There are plenty of other shows to get you through the month. Here are a few shows I'm planning on attending:

Thursday, April 1 -- Smith Westerns/So Cow/The Cheniers @ Black Cat Backstage
Wednesday, April 14 -- Xiu Xiu/Tune-Yards @ DC 9
Friday, April 16 -- Titus Andronicus/Sleeper Agent/Amateur Party @ St. Stephen's
Monday, April 19 -- Harlem/Foul Swoops @ DC 9
Friday, April 23 -- The Tallest Man On Earth/Nurses @ Black Cat Mainstage
Sunday, April 25 -- Dosh/White Hinterland @ DC 9
Tuesday, April 27 -- Frightened Rabbit/Maps & Atlases @ Black Cat Mainstage

3.) Album Releases -- Here's a list of notable releases that everyone should pick up (on vinyl of course): Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings I Learned the Hard Way (4/6), Harlem Hippies (4/6), The Tallest Man On Earth The Wild Hunt (4/16), Roky Erickson with Okkervil River True Love Cast Out All Evil (4/20), Javelin No Mas (4/20), Caribou Swim (4/20) and The Mynabirds S/T (4/20).

PHELPS

- warmth
- finally seeing a show at U St. Music Hall
- Hot Chip/xx
- that it's right before May which includes Caribou on my birthday and The Besnard Lakes at the Cat backstage
- Yeasayer
- The Bronx
- Ted Leo
- High on Fire
- Red Sparrowes record
- bike rides
- sleep

PETER

Treme
HBO/4.11/TV
I just can't watch the Wire again. I've seen the whole series 4 times now, barring that episode when Randy gets sent to a foster home which I cannot handle ever seeing again. So whether or not the new show from David Simon, my lord and personal savior, will be as good or not, I'm going to watch all of it like it got the insulin in it. It's about New Orleans, and the Bunk's in it. GIVE IT TO ME NOW PLEASE.

Red Sparrowes - The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer
Sargent House/4.06/CD-LP-.mp3
Look, I understand, I hate the very idea of post-metal. From Isis to Don Cabellero and all the way back to Neurosis: it's all the pretentious parts of math-rock and ambient minus all the fun pompous theater of metal. But Red Sparrowes is different because...well I don't know why. It's just really really beautiful and heavy at the same time. Like Sigur Rós stripped of cutesy, adorned with Spaghetti Western sixguns, scoring a German-language sexploitation flick about Norse lesbian hearth goddesses directed by Kenneth Anger.

Party Down - Season 1
Starz/4.06/DVD-Blueray-

Previously in Misc/Awesome:

• 4/19: HAPPY National High Five Day!
• 4/17: Hangin' Tough with The D.C. Rollergirls
• 2/24: BYT Archives: Geek It Out
• 12/28: Terrible Boyfriend/ Girlfriend Generator.
• 12/1: The John Waters Advent Calendar-it starts today
• 11/28: It Chooses You: All I Want for Christmas is Everything from Miranda July's Pop-Up Shop
• 11/3: Things I'd Move to Minnesota For
• 9/6: PHOTOS: Maloof $$ Money Cup
• 9/2: PHOTOS: Chantilly Model Train Show
• 9/1: Libby's List: 5 Things I Want Right Now...