hear that you and your band have sold your guitars and bought turntables/I hear that you and your band have sold your turntables and bought guitars" (from LCD Soundsystem's "Losing My Edge").

After three writhing days of build-up, the Winter Music Conference (WMC) will again explode all over Bicentennial Park for its ad hoc finale: Ultra Music Festival. Though WMC spotlights spinsters (of the laptop and vinyl variety, not the wheel ilk), Ultra's lineup isn't tethered to a purely electronic paradigm.

The line between traditional dance music and indie rock has blurred.

Ever since James Murphy first played Daft Punk for the rock kids at CBGB's, the line between traditional dance music and indie rock has blurred. These days, headphone kids often stock their bedrooms with both Midi controllers and guitars. Ultra's bill represents this new zeitgeist.

In the past, Ultra has brazenly mixed genuses, with DJ heroes sharing flyer space with bands, and this year is no different. Typifying the event's latter-day tenor, Brit upstarts The Ting Tings, Brooklyn neo-legend Santogold, and DFA genre traipsers, Hercules and Love Affair bring dance-ready sets to the celebration.

Headlining the festival, former highlights like Carl Cox and Tiesto return to man the decks for the throngs. Perhaps even more fitting, Cut Copy and Bloc Party share the top of the marquee's header. Australian combo, Cut Copy, has spent the year destroying stages the world over and their infectious brand of dance pop should set the Ultra crowd afrenzy.

On the other hand, former-post-post-punk dynamo, Bloc Party, has lately eschewed their roots in favor of electronic experimentation. Regardless of their latest disc's -- Intimacy -- generally lukewarm reception, their appearance here is apropos of their new direction and could garner them a new legion of fans. Nonetheless, thanks to profuse front-stage charisma and the greatest rhythm section in Brit Rock the four-piece still puts on a riveting live show.

Winter Music Conference runs from March 24th until March 28th, while Ultra Music Festival takes over Bicentennial Park for two days beginning on the 27th. -S.T.



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