With a chilly November almost upon us, here are a few things worth considering this weekend:

Art from the other city: Five Salford venues – including Islington Mill, Hot Bed Press and the Kings Arms – show work (paintings, installations, sculpture, prints, video, performances, glass, fashion, theatre, video etc) from dozens of the city’s artist. Friday 2-8pm, Saturday and Sunday 11am-4pm. Free (no central source but check out the Islington Mill site)

Dogs, Thieves and Dead Girls: Opening night of a new exhibition of work by Guy McKinley, RichT and China Mike at ‘Manchester’s only designated street art gallery’, Upper Space in Marlsboro House on Newton Street. It’s an invite-only affair but contact them if you’re interested. Exhibition runs until 28 November. Free (Upper Space)

Jon Savage at Piccadilly Records: The author will be DJing in the Oldham Street shop to promote his forthcoming compilation, Dreams Come True, on Domino Records. Saturday 2pm. Free (Piccadilly Records)

Stockhausen festival: The RNCM hosts a day devoted to the late avant-garde composer. If you’re not up for a full eight hours of German minimalism, Vaganza, a recital by Manchester University’s New Music Group, (5pm, £5) provides the best taster with three pieces and a new composition by Stephen Pycroft. Sunday 2-10pm. Free to £10 (RNCM)

[Photo taken in Whitworth Park by i.rashid007]

Returning to one of the better things in life: music. The Guardian Guide – and none of the local press (apart from community news site SalfordOnline) as yet – picked up on a new exhibition that opens on Friday in Salford:

Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs: The story of popular music in Salford from 1950 to today

This exhibition explores and celebrates the history of popular music in Salford over the past fifty years right up to the present day. A huge number of musicians hail from Salford or have connections with the city. This has not always been recognised and many famous bands, musicians and ’sounds’ have often been attributed to Manchester.

Now Salford musicians, bands, managers, producers, fans and music people recount their personal stories for this exhibition, and show the unique musical character of this city and its influence on the local, national and international music scene.

The exhibition, at the Salford Museum and Art and Gallery, Peel Park Crescent, Little Hulton, includes new research, plus unpublished audio and film footage to ‘follow the story to the Beat scene of the 60s, and the contrast between disco and punk bands in the 70s’. A Music Timeline comes right up to the present day with the likes of the Ting Tings and Sugababes (who played at St Philip’s Church last year).

Some other names to feature include John Cooper Clarke, Nico, the Fall, the Sex Pistols, the Hollies, Happy Mondays and Joy Division. They’ve even got one of Hooky’s basses on display to get the Factory fans salivating.

The exhibition also contains a 3D version of the Salford Music Map, a new fold-out map that the MEN wrote about last month. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on a free copy and taking a long bike ride to check out the main points of interest.

Quiffs, Riffs and Tiffs will launch with a guided tour by author, TV producer and Salford University lecturer David Nolan on Friday afternoon (3.30-4.30pm for the map; 5-6pm for interviews with the research team; 6-9pm for refreshments and live music, including from the Suzuki Method).

We’re less than a month away from this year’s In The City, the first without Tony Wilson, who launched the music conference with partner Yvette Livesey in 1992. And general manager Jon-Paul Waddington has been in touch with details of the live side of the event, which has helped the likes of Mercury Prize-winners Elbow, Coldplay and, er, the Darkness get a record deal.

As well as dozens of fringe shows, the official ITC Unsigned this year features 49 bands you’ve never heard of. Jon-Paul suggests that you check out Jesse Rose, Barn Owl, I Am Austin, Baddies, Flashguns, The Fire And I, Telegram From The Queen, General Fiasco and Oscar Charlie – and I’d recommend The Travelling Band, who I’ve mentioned before. The only other two names I recognise are Nomad Jones and The Paris Riots – but that’s the whole point: hearing something completely new.

Perhaps more importantly for non-industry types, however, are the Live showcases, which invite 22 ITC-related organisations to put on the bands they think are the best in the world right now. Here are some of the most impressive showcases:

Heavenly Recordings: Cherry Ghost, Edwyn Collins, Loose Salute, Romeo Stodart (The Magic Numbers), John Head (Shack), Pete Greenwood

Piccadilly Records: Woodcraft Folk, Beach Fuzz, DA Jaycock Quartet, Magic Arm, Colorama, The Real Dolls, Sophie’s Pigeons, Down The Tiny Steps, Sara Lowes

The Warehouse Project/Eat Your Own Ears (opening party): Reverend & The Makers, Tricky, The Whip, Late Of The Pier, Midnight Juggernauts, Simian Mobile Disco, Four Tet

Fierce Panda: The Spinto Band, Dutch Uncles, Laymar, Airship, Acres Of Lions, Capital

Plus there are plenty of other showcases by the likes of Alan McGee, Drowned in Sound, Twisted Nerve, XFM, Channel M, BBC Introducing and the NME. This information isn’t published online yet, but expect full details to be here soon.

In The City 2008 takes places on October 5-7 and is based at the Midland Hotel.

Mancubist is pretty music-centric at the moment, which I’ll aim to address in the coming weeks, but in the meantime here are a couple more events that I’d recommend this weekend:

Saturday night welcomes this month’s instalment of Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Dancing – or HOTDCD, to shave off a couple of milliseconds. Named after this poem by feminist writer Margaret Atwood, the clubnight features a suitably female-heavy playlist, ‘from Patti Smith and Janis Joplin to PJ Harvey, The Ting Tings and M.I.A’.

The night, which teamed up with the like-minded Girls on Film network in April, runs from 10pm until late at Charlie’s Nightclub on Harter Street and returns on the second Saturday of each month. Join them on Facebook and follow their new blog, Helen Of Troy Does Countertop Writings, which they aim to update twice weekly.

Then on Sunday Islington Mill in Salford hosts an eight-hour music marathon culminating in a set by psychedelic Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple and The Cosmic Inferno (it’s obviously The Weekend For Things With Long Names…). This ‘psyche-fi all-dayer’ also features Vienna’s Primordial Undermind and a bunch of well-fitting local bands, with tickets priced at just £8.

The Guardian seems to love mentioning ‘The’ Islington Mill, by the way – they’ve recently referred to it as an ‘alt.lifestyle commune’ and ‘Andy Warhol’s Factory meets Coronation Street’.