WEDS WEDS. 4/16 What a busy record mogul Danny Goldberg’s ...

What a busy record mogul Danny Goldberg's been lately. The activist CEO of Artemis Records has just written an autobiographical liberal clarion call called Dispatches from the Culture Wars, and now comes along an edited collection of his essays, It's a Free Country: Personal Freedom in America After September 11, which examines the government's contentious assault on civil liberties. The diverse list of contributors includes Michael Moore, Michael Isikoff, Matt Groening and David Rees. Goldberg and friends will read from and discuss the book tonight at the Brecht Forum. 122 W. 27th St., 10th fl. (betw. 6th & 7th Aves), 212-242-4201, 7:30, $6-$10.

THURS. 4/17

Various dates can be counted upon to bring us various marathon readings of various Great Books by various unemployed local celebrities. Every June 16, for instance, you'll find several Bloomsday marathon readings of Ulysses. And on Maundy Thursday you'll find The Cathedral of St. John the Divine's marathon celebrity reading of the only work by Dante Alighieri that anyone cares about (some would say with good reason), L'Inferno. Part one of the Divine Comedy remains pretty damned remarkable to this day. Even if you don't know who's buried upside down or flayed alive or devoured by worms, Dante's roadtrip with Virgil is still fun. And on this 10th anniversary of the reading, you'll get to hear Frank McCourt and a host of others describe the worst things imaginable. 1047 Amsterdam Ave. (112th St.), 212-662-2133, 9 p.m.-midnight.

Egotistical and playfully pretentious, Rene Risque and his band flit from lounge to lounge around the world with their unique brand of mod cabaret-they're beautiful people playing music for the beautiful people. The act is self-conscious, self-referential and hugely entertaining, with just the right mix of sincere music and gleeful debauchery. (See Music, p. 44, for an interview with Rene Risque's alter ego, Andy Boose.) Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette St. (betw. E. 4th St. & Astor Pl.), 212-539-8778, 9:30, $15.

Feign enthusiasm for supposedly important rock acts, but remember that the local jazz movement is still making history-primarily because of these two guys. Shipp & Parker's latest recorded output is on Shipp's new Equilibrium, where the pianist takes the redundant concept of ambient jazz and expands the boundaries of jazz and ambience. Parker contributes heavily as part of Shipp's band, and it's typically brilliant that the bassist can run rampant and still hold everything together. Tonic, 107 Norfolk St. (betw. Delancey & Rivington Sts.), 212-358-7501, 8, $10.

New York Press alumnus and friend to the stars, J.T. LeRoy holds court tonight at the Public Theater. Expect readings by Maggie Gyllenhaal, Liz Phair, Tatum O'Neal, Bijou Phillips and others, and a performance by Thistle, the crackly girlypunk band that boasts LeRoy as lyricist and tambourine player. 425 Lafayette St. (Astor Pl.), 212-539-8500, 7, $30-$60, indexmagazine.com/jttickets.shtml.

FRI. 4/18

Death Cab for Cutie's Ben Gibbard is sort of like the Pharrell Williams of indie pop, with his fingers in so many pies it's hard to keep track. He comes to town this time around as the singer for the fine Postal Service, a pop/dance music hybrid that also features Dntel's Jimmy Tamborello and Rilo Kiley's Jenny Lewis. Gibbard's lyrics remain both personal and vague enough to seem pretty much universal, and his hetero fey-boy crooning is balanced well by Tamborello's new-wave peppiness. It's a combination that's killing on college radio right now, so expect to see a lot of cute coeds at Northsix tonight reveling in the sad music that makes them so happy. 66 North 6th St. (between Kent and Wythe Aves.), 718-599-5103, 8 p.m., $12.

SAT. 4/19

You might know Ryan Kidwell as Cex or from the San Francisco-based IDM record label, Tigerbeat6. Next month he's pulling a Kool Keith (actually Dr. Octagon) by releasing Being Ridden and Being Ridden Instrumentals. The first album is a melange of spatial ambience and appeasing experimental sounds, much like music created by Autechre and Boards of Canada, while the other cleverly blends hiphop influences, catchy rhymes and samples. Think the Streets and Fresh Prince. See if the kid has the skills to pay the bills. Note that an early show was recently added to sate the thirsty fans. Bowery Ballroom. 6 Delancey St. (betw. Bowery & Chrystie St.), 212-533-2111, doors 5 p.m., $12.

With her latest album, Mint, the indie-pop chanteuse Rachel Loshak has been making a stir. Combining a folk sensibility with some far-out ambient sounds, her voice sounds like a siren luring you into the other room. Impressed by her recent stint singing back-up for Norah Jones at the Grammys, we're looking forward to seeing her with Jason Crigler on guitar and Dan Reiser on the drums tonight at Arlene Grocery. 95 Stanton St. (betw. Ludlow & Orchard Sts.), 212-358-1633, 9.

SUN. 4/20

Take your pick: the radical Lower East Side or Manhattan under surveillance. First, Bruce Kayton leads interested parties on a four-hour-long tour of sites of the L.E.S. that you never even knew were subversive. Meet at 175 E. Broadway (between Jefferson and Rutgers Sts.) at 1 p.m. The cost is $10. More info: 718-492-0069. Or, if you don't have the time or the ten spot, meet up with the Surveillance Camera Players (those jokers who protest CCTV by way of performances held in front of the all-seeing eyes) for a one-hour SCOWT, or Surveillance Camera Outdoor Walking Tour. Today, meet at 2 p.m. sharp at the southeast corner of Warren St. (at Broadway). It's free and open to the public. More info: 212-561-0106.

Sixty years ago today, approximately 750 Jewish fighters began a last-ditch resistance against the occupying Nazis in the Warsaw ghetto. The uprising was eventually quelled, and the remaining Jews were deported to death camps. Their memories survived, and continue to inspire both Jews and gentiles worldwide. Today, writers, musicians and three generations of survivors and their descendants will honor them at a ceremony featuring the New Yiddish Chorale. CUNY Grad Center, 365 5th Ave. (34th St.), 212-817-8215, 2:00, free.

MON. 4/21

Do you have an encyclopedic recall of Run-DMC lyrics, presidential arcana and Batman guest villains? Ah, you'd be surprised at what you remember when you're drunk. Teams compete for cookies and cash prizes at the Big Quiz Thing, the hottest useless-info competition south of Houston. Host Noah Tarnow holds it down with a demeanor somewhere between Alex Trebek and the ringmaster from Mad Max 3: Beyond Thunderdome. Highlights include wasted wingnuts shouting witless remarks and Mr. Tarnow's bemused readings of stupid answers to smart questions. Slipper Room, 167 Orchard St. (Stanton St.), 212-592-0965; 8, $5, $200 grand prize.

TUES. 4/22

Stewardess as flight attendant. Janitor as waste-disposal facilitator. Stay-at-home mom as homemaker. Whore as carnal entertainment supervisor. It's an old riff, but somehow the gag still works, at least when you learn that Secretary's Day has been renamed Administrative Professionals' Day. Didn't notice? Of course you didn't. Just like you would never have noticed that tomorrow is Administrative Professionals' Day or that this entire week is Administrative Professionals' Week. If you think that your administrative assistant is going to be expecting flowers or a teddy bear or a bottle of scotch or even a giant fucking cookie on his or her desk tomorrow morning, be sure to pencil that into your Palm Pilot right now. Shame you can't just have your secretary take care of it, eh?

Contributors: Adam Bulger, Art Janik, Mallory Jensen, Jim Knipfel, Jeff Koyen, Lisa LeeKing, J.R. Taylor, Dennis Tyhacz, Andy Wang, Alexander Zaitchik.