What's the frequency, Prince?

It sure was generous of Prince to release two albums in one day, but he sure was chintzy with his dabblings in 21st-century Internet promotion Tuesday. He hosted a webcast on Yahoo's Live Nation channel at his Paisley Park complex in Chanhassen to promote his new records, "Art Official Age" and "PlectrumElectrum." The live stream lasted two hours — with lots of time-filler glimpses of various, non-private corners of Prince's headquarters — but in the end, he performed only three songs, and only one was from the new discs. To be fair, it was never officially advertised that he would perform. Prince's other big online to-do Tuesday was a Q&A with fans via his new Facebook page. More than 24 hours after the 4,000-plus questions started pouring in, however, he had answered only one of them — and it wasn't really an answer, either, just a link to an article about 432Hz sound frequencies. At least the three numbers he played with his band 3rdEyeGirl at the Yahoo party were interesting. First and foremost, he brought out red-hot Los Angeles hip-hop star Kendrick Lamar to rap several fierce verses in the "Crystal Ball" deep cut "What's My Name." However, Prince did not introduce him, and the gabby Yahoo host Shameless Maya never seemed to recognize him. Yahoo did give good introductory screen time to Prince protégé Liv Warfield, who helped him deliver the Sly & the Family Stone's "Thankful 'n' Thoughtful" to end the webcast. The performance started with a deep-grind version of the "PlectrumElectrum" track "PretzelBodyLogic." Maybe Reddit is more Prince's thing.

Chris Riemenschneider

The fantastic duo

They completed each other's sentences and told stories just like longtime friends. Which they are. Holly Black and Cassandra Clare, each a bestselling YA/fantasy author in solo mode, appeared together at a Talking Volumes event at the Fitzgerald in St. Paul Wednesday night to promote their co-written novel "The Iron Trial." Black's interest in fantasy dates to her early childhood, growing up in a creaky Victorian house that was said to be haunted. "My mom had to sit on my bed every night and tell me I would not be eaten by goblins or zombies," Black said. "I was scared all the time." Dressed alike in black, Clare sported flame-red hair, while Black's was blue. They collaborate during "intense" laptop-passing sessions when "Cassie expands what I write and I contract what she writes," Black explained. Clare waxed serious on such topics as racism and homophobia, but displayed her comic chops, too, as when asked what things frightened her. "I don't like to write scenes that inflict pain on old people, or animals," she said. "But I have no problem with children. I've killed reams of children."

Claude Peck

The topless cellist

Forget Pablo Casals and Yo-Yo Ma. Sure they are brilliant cellists, but those guys kept their clothes on. For sheer spectacle, madcap antics, exhibitionism and a generous dollop of cello skills, you want Juilliard-trained, Little Rock-bred Charlotte Moorman, who grabbed the avant garde by the scruff of its self-absorbed neck and — in the 1960s and '70s — dragged it onto the public glare of television (Mike Douglas, Johnny Carson, Merv Griffin), shopping malls and prisons, as well as New York City's Central Park and Grand Central Station. In former Walker Art Center curator Joan Rothfuss, the late Moorman has found her perfect biographer. Rothfuss' "Topless Cellist: The Improbable Life of Charlotte Moorman" is fast-paced, thoroughly researched, amusing, witty, compassionate, deeply informed and filled with jaw-dropping stories. Rothfuss will talk about Moorman at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Walker.

Mary Abbe

Cassandra Clare and Holly Black’s hair, and personalities, complement each other.

Taken for Grant

It had been a couple years since he last played there, but Grant Hart's return to 7th Street Entry last weekend to open for a band he heavily influenced, Sebadoh, wasn't nearly as rare an occasion as his former Hüsker Dü bandmate Bob Mould's nationally touted show there in August. And that's exactly what Hart was getting at when he responded to an audience member's odd comment that he had "been waiting 25 years" to hear Hart deliver one of his Hüsker standards, "Back From Somewhere," hardly a rarity in his sets. "Well, what have you been waiting for?" Hart cracked.

C.R.

Run, run to Mankato

In October 1964, four Mankato teenagers known as the Gestures hit it semi-big with their original tune "Run, Run, Run." Released on the Minneapolis-based Soma label, it landed at No. 1 in the Twin Cities and, according to Sundazed Records, went Top 10 in New York, Los Angeles and Oklahoma City. On Oct. 17, the Gestures — featuring lead singer Dale Menten, who went on to be a jingle king — will reunite at the Kato Ballroom in Mankato to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their record. "Run, Run, Run" has appeared on several compilations, including "Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era 1965-1968." Also appearing at the Mankato show will be City Mouse, the Dan Duffy Orchestra, the Murphy Brothers Band, and Paul Durenberger.

Jon Bream