Ecological awareness, sustainability education and, oh yeah, an awesome lineup of music. That's what Music on the Mountaintop continues to offer in its second installment.

If you're a fan of pretty lights, thumping beats and grinding up on strangers, then Greene Street Club is the place to be this Friday. The man born as Eddie Pappa and later came to be known as DJ Icey (www.myspace.com/djicey) has been killing the club scene all over the country since the mid-90s.

The list of notables to be afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is pretty staggering; Stephen Hawking, Huddie William "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, Charles Mingus and, most famously, baseball legend Lou Gehrig, just to name a few.

Next time you see the king of country Western Troubadours (and I'm not talking about marty stuart) crank out any of his chart-toppin' hits onstage, it will be without those awesome mutton chops. It appears that Unknown Hinson (www.myspace.

It's mind-boggling to reflect on the impact that two guys from Winston-Salem have had on the world of pop music and beyond, but Chris stamey and Peter Holsapple have done the Camel City proud over the past three decades.

I got an e-mail promoting the Jamie Foxx tour that's coming through the Greensboro Coliseum on July 19 and among a staggering number of clich%u9920superlatives attributed to Foxx, the headline was also quite fascinating.

If the acute devastation of summit flora and fauna that accompanies the mountaintop removal method of coal mining isnt enough to turn people against it, how about the resultant sludge ponds that have historically shown to be even more damaging to the surroundings? What if one of those sludge ponds, which is permitted to hold 2.

What goes better with a juicy rack of slow-cooked ribs slathered in Sweet Baby Rays than hits from a washed-up early 90s rapper? I cant think of anything, which is why it makes perfect sense that Vanilla Ice (www.myspace.com/vanillaice1031) is part of the entertainment at the 5 th Annual Twin City Ribfest.

Were headed into another week of rather yawnstipating music in the Triad, but fortunately WUAG has a show lined up at Square One that should provide the hump day bump. Its happening next Wednesday, June 10 and features three rather loud, abrasive punk bands from all over.

Back in October, Woody Pines (www.myspace.com/woodypines) was supposed to fill a double bill at the Garage with esteemed bluegrass/ country singer David Via, but that never fully matriculated due to an inopportune stomach bug that Pines suffered.