The Mitchells : Spring Is (Sorta) Here

Oooooh, I like this. The Mitchells can SOMEWHAT be placed into a local slot, being from Northampton, though they don't live there anymore. Somewhere between Minus The Bear and Smoking Popes, The Mitchells reminisce the sounds of Critera/The White Octave days while pulling off a really nice sound. With enough angular, late 90s post-hardcore chords thrown in, the music isn't made for pop ears, but the songs are just infectious. Check out "R.I." in particular.

Makes me so glad to know that spring is here...sort of.

Audible: The Mitchells - "R.I."
Audible: The Mitchells - "Still Might Happen"
Audible: The Mitchells - "Lit Doorbells"
Website: http://www.themitchellsrock.com

65 Days Of Static : Back On Tour!

Alright, this time around, I'm going to go for it regardless of how much the ICC Church really, really sucks. I've known of this band since Chris Clark sung their praises several years ago, but have been sleeping on it until the day that a trusty source of musical opinion (yoink!) said something along the lines of "WTF is WRONG with you? This is one of the best records of the year. Pssh...no wonder you fucking slept on it."

So, with my tail between my legs, I went back to the listening decks. Immediate reaction: "DAMNIT! He's RIGHT...AGAIN"

So, if that says anything...

07/18 Allston, MA ICC Performance Hall
07/19 Washington, DC The Rock and Roll Hotel
07/20 Brooklyn, NY Europa Club
07/21 Richmond, VA Alley Katz
07/22 Greensboro, NC Greene Street
07/23 Atlanta, GA The Masquerade
07/24 Orlando, FL The Social
07/26 Houston, TX Meridian Red Room
07/27 Corpus Christi, TX House of Rock
07/28 San Antonio, TX White Rabbit
07/29 Dallas, TX The Door
07/31 Tempe, AZ The Clubhouse Music Venue
08/01 West Hollywood, CA The Troubadour
08/02 San Diego, CA Soma
08/03 Fresno, CA The Exit
08/04 San Francisco, CA Bottom of the Hill
08/05 Portland, OR Satyricon
08/06 Seattle, WA El Corazon
08/07 Boise, ID The Venue
08/08 Salt Lake City, UT Avalon Theater
08/10 Denver, CO Marquis Theatre


Audible: 65daysofstatic - The Destruction Of Small Ideas (stream)
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/65daysofstatic

Cursor Miner

No matter how deep I dig, I cannot seem to find the real name of British producer Cursor Minor. But, like Detroit's Plus Device, it really doesn't even matter. He's got a decent amount of vinyl under his belt, with the one solid LP of Explosive Piece Of Mind. There are several tracks that I love of his, but my particular favorite is "Foxfux," which catches that throbbing bass that I've sung Drop The Lime's praises for in the last year. Ultimately, I could listen to this track on repeat for hours, and never notice the bells tolling.

Impressive places CM has spun include, but are not limited to: a Soviet nuclear bunker, a French biscuit factory, a Czech castle, a French monastery, a Norfolk windmill, prison common room, a tube station, a Belgian multi-story car park, an art gallery, a pub...also Germany and Hungary.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/cursorminer

Back 2 School With Lil Mama

This post is more or less a repost, but who cares. Going through the Boston Phoenix's On The Download blog this morning, I came across this gem.



From OTD: Teenage bubblegum summerschool rap song of 2007: sixteen-year-old hypes every cosmetics boutique in the mall, discovers magic product that brings the boys to the yard, has teachers asking her for beauty tips.

This completely puts Britney Spears' plea to hit her one more time to absolute shame. Check the video:



Yesssssss. This will be awesome. She's gorgeous, witty, and is rapping about lip gloss. So down.

Audible: Lil Mama - "Lip Gloss"
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/lilmamaonline

Airbourne : Have You Heard?

First, I saw the classic airborne shot; and then another. I snickered, judging the tight pants, crazy hair, and skinny frame of a loud-mouthed rock singer posting shots of him either throwing up metal or flying through the air with a flying-v gitar.

But then I realized...



...this is really fucking cool! (Ok, well, but...not the fans pictured above.) Of all of the rip-offs that have come and gone in the last five or so years, this may be the first one to make me go, "Well hey..." - by far the most reminiscent of AC/DC and other hard rock gods of the last few decades.

Give it a go. They just may be on to something.

Who: Airbourne
What: Rock. And. Roll.
Where: Australia
Why: Because we forgot what it really sounds like
How: http://www.myspace.com/airbournerock

Oh, and this picture is just hilarious. Seriously, just go give it a listen. "Stand Up For Rock 'N Roll" is the kind of song that I couldn't play even if you gave me the talent and pumped me full of crystal meth.


woooooooooooooooooo

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club : Baby81

With Howl, fans of Black Rebel Motorcycle Club were a bit turned off by the slower-paced songs that filled the tracks. It took a bit of time and effort to get into the record if you loved their self-titled debut that exploded them out to Jesus & Mary Chain devotees and mellow rockabilly fans everywhere. Immediately accepted into the indie realm while being on a major label, BRMC delivered.



I'm going to take a moment and say this: BRMC's wave of popularity reminds me of Bush, in a way, because of the misunderstood sophomore effort. Take Them On, On Your Own is very much a Razorblade Suitcase in that some records may take days, weeks, months to understand - this is one that the beauty may take a few years. Fans of the genres history are more likely to latch on earlier.

Nevertheless, Black Rebel has returned with Baby81. After a stunning performance at the Avalon last year, they'll be at Avalon in late May with The Horrors, and chances of them one-upping themselves are high. Years ago, my first BRMC live experience was religious, and with no pun intended it was the encore of "Salvation," in its entirety, that nearly brought me to my knees in devotion for a band whose debut record solidified its place in my all-time Top 10 records. They were opening for Spiritualized at Manhattan's Beacon Theater, but due to complications they took the stage later than planned and were only allowed four songs. Virgin honored all tickets, and booked an encore performance for BRMC in Brooklyn's Warsaw weeks later without an opener. With only one album and a handful of B-Sides out, BRMC played with everything they had, having no props, lighting, or distractions to add to their performance.

Baby81 is a strong return to that confident songwriting, but with the noted maturity of a band that has been through three albums, countless tours, and internal conflicts that come with being in a band - a relationship often tighter and tougher than romantic one-on-ones or, hell, even blood family.

Years ago, BRMC couldn't have written a song like "Need Some Air," which sounds perfected to surpass any sort of classification of pop, rock, and art/dance-rock. The single, "Weapon Of Choice" proves their ability to write lyrics and melodies that implant themselves in your memory, getting stuck like a skipping record as you go through your day humming, "I won't waste my! I won't waste my! I won't waste my loooove on a nation!" If there could be any apex, though, my current thoughts are "All You Do Is Talk," which reminisces the beauty of "Red Eyes And Tears" from B.R.M.C..



Audible: BRMC - "Weapon Of Choice" (yoinked!)
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/blackrebelmotorcycleclub
Website: http://www.blackrebelmotorcycleclub.com

A little break.

Totally not music related, but if you're a living, breathing biped with at least a brief understanding of the English language, chances are you love Will Ferrell. He apparently spends his spare time making shorts such as this:



Enjoy.

Love,
OC

Justice Will Be Served Hot.

If you'll be at Coachella next weekend, you'll have an opportunity to catch French duo Justice. More well-known for their remixes, their full-length debut is about to drop on Vice Records in July. I've been blessed with the accessibility of hearing it in its entirety on a watermarked record (Vice is craaazy about that shit) with a good pair of headphones here on my iMac.



Title of the album =

(Yeah, I know, right?)

Nevertheless, I can assure you that with the last 18 months of Justice hype mixed with the sentiments revolving around their Waters Of Nazareth EP, there have been a lot of doubts as to whether or not the LP will meet our expectations.

Upon second listen, I have to say they surpassed mine. The opening track, "Genesis,", is laid heavy with funk to where the cautious finger-plucking on the thick bass arouse the question of how much organic recording went into this record. By the first track's transition into the second, it hits you. You're locked in by the time "D.A.N.C.E." picks up where "Let There Be Light" left off, and Uffie's delicious request to get this party started right on "The Party" are met with occassional blips of 36Mafia's "Stay Fly." Got to love it <3

My favorite, though, has to be the closer, "One Minute To Midnight." The first thing that turned me off when I heard the new Justice tracks was that the pace had been slowed down considerably. I feared the new Justice record would be boring, and put an end to the maintained level of popularity Justice had been riding.

Ultimately, that's the beauty of - there's so much thought and effort put into this record, and I dare compare it to that of a sculptor who can make something really goddamn beautiful out of a hunk of marble.

Everything's going to change. Get ready.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/etjusticepourtous

Are We Not Men? We are DEVO!

And now, you too can be DEVO.



That's right, kids. In an effort to avoid doing any actual thinking for this post, I will simply copy + paste:

"This is the official Devo wet suit, the one issued in 1978 by Warner Brothers records to promote the band and its first release, Q: Are We Not Men? A: We are Devo! The same as the uniforms the band wore in concert and in videos, this actual wetsuit is made out a plastic/paper combination, is sized XL and remains in near perfect condition (of course, it's a little wrinkly, but hasn't been worn or used for anything) after 29 years! This suit is fire repellant and very pliable, yet unusually strong. A bonus is that the inside tag reads, "For wet, chemical and messy job protection." Awesome! Quite a fantastic and rare item that's perfect for any bigtime Devo fan."

This just went up, and it's currently still at $.99



You know this shit ain't gonna last...

Audible: Devo - "Disco Dancer" (thanks smooth)
eBay Link: Bid on the wetsuit, if you dare.
Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devo

New Tori Amos Video for "Big Wheel"

Let's hear it for Tori Amos - my all-time favorite musician - for making one of THE worst music videos in history.

Thanks a lot, T.



I seriously need to hear this record, and give it a GOOD thorough listen before I denounce her ass 4EVA.

*sigh*

###

*EDIT: timecheck - 9:13pm, Apr 19...I've since acquired the entirety of American Doll Posse plus 3 live tracks, and...

I. EAT. MY. WORDS. THIS. RECORD. IS. BRILLIANTOMFGGG!

Monica Henk.

On a very serious note...



I first heard of this around the time of Monica's initial hospitalization. I met her back in 2001 through a friend and co-worker of hers. She ended up doing several works on me including my first tattoo and some piercings. It was not only my first tattoo, but one that bears a special meaning to me, and I'd wanted her to do it specifically.

I know that there's the "halo effect" of kind words that often occur when someone is killed or dies tragically, but without adding any exaggeration I say that Monica Henk was, by far, one of the most stand-out people I've ever met. The small collection of times I've spent with her, whether it was at a tattoo studio, her apartment, or bumping into her at a show, she's always seemed to nail down the formula of having the smile, laugh, and attitude of a big kid while projecting some sort of ahead-of-everyone's-time maturity. She was a woman, despite the fact that she was obscenely short when she stood next to me. She was as adorable as she was tough as nails, and definitely is the first and last person I'll ever let shove a 12g needle through my cartilage! Nonetheless, Monica remained a solid acquaintance after I left New York. She never hesitated to give me hugs when she saw me, and the last I'd heard was her move from a Manhattan studio to a Brooklyn one, where we briefly discussed designing another piece for me. I can still remember her laugh, and how goddamn hard she punched for such a tiny little lady.

With all of that said, there's much more information about the funeral service's on her husband's website, but it's also good to hear that the reward for this hit-and-run driver has gone up to $20,000, has 5 detectives on the case, and has become a high-profile investigation. Hopefully, justice will be served.

My regards to Dan Henk and all of Monica's family.

Website: http://www.danhenk.com

Ghostland, Obv.

Major industry hipsters down in the NYC are all "OMG Ghostland Observatory is playing Bowery and I totally slept on TIX, SRSLY!"



Well, the good news is that the Great Scott show tomorrow is not sold out so you're in luck if you either (a) love GO enough take the trip or (b) live in the Boston vicinity.

For those of you in the latter, Ghostland Observatory will be the rock-dance-rock right to your Allstonian neighborhood around 9pm as part of the ever-pleasing Fenway Recording Sessions. Made up of producer/drummer Thomas Turner and singer Aaron Behrens (kind of DFA1979, eh?), the duo craves rock 'n' roll, blending new-wave danceable electro with disco guitars. Comparison have been made to Daft Punk or The Clash, but truth be told, Behrens got pipes.

If I am still not feeling like absolute shite, I just may bring my little dance-party ass out.

GHOSTLAND OBSERVATORY
Great Scott
9pm
$10

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/ghostlandobservatory

The New Teaches Of Peaches *sigh*

This is total crap, but I feel it's my "doodie" to post it. After the crazy frenzy over Alanis' questionably clever take on Fergie's "My Humps" got tossed in the Old News Pile (but you can still view it here), the not-so-awesome-anymore Peaches offers up THIS.

Ladies and gentlemen, "My Dumps"



This one gets a big ol' UGH

/rant

Boston Pizza Party

Holy fricking god, this is hilarious. If you haven't heard about it, just WATCH!

It's right around the 2-minute mark that I just LOSE it.

Jesus christ...this city is crazy.

Herald piece = Pizza Party

The Autobiography Of Marilyn Manson

Little known fact: I was/am/probably always will be a big, big fan of Marilyn Manson. His biography, his music, his persona in interviews, and his live shows. Back in high school I was a typical suburban goth kid who wore lots of black in the middle of summer, had a small collection of his band shirts. Also, Anti-Christ Superstar holds a place in my top10 alltime records (it's at #7 between Bjork's Post and Converge's Jane Doe, if anyone gives a poop).

Ok, so that was more than one LKF, but here goes some information on the June 5th release of his 6th studio album, Eat Me, Drink Me. According to Manson, this is "the record he was always supposed to make," despite his 4 year black-out period in the music industry. "I feel like after Columbine, I went over the hill" of what he could tolerate. Following the shootings at Virginia Tech yesterday, the infamous 1999 school-shooting has been brought up more often than usual. Recorded with Tim Skold (KMFDM, MDFMK), who joined the band upon the departure of Twiggy Ramirez, the biggest hype about the record has been Manson's proclamation that "If I Was Your Vampire," a six-minute track on the record which he's described as an updated "Bela Lugosi's Dead."

I may love Manson, but damn...nothing's going to replace that song.
Video: Bauhaus - "Bela Lugosi's Dead"

First single will be "Heart Shaped Glasses (When The Heart Guides The Hand)"...hollerrr.

MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/marilynmanson

Sidenote: I think Peaches really sucks on guitar. Sry...that's what happens when you rock at not trying to be a musician, honey <3

Dumbass Moments In Music Journalism History

------ Forwarded Message
From: xxx
Date: Mon, 16 Apr 2007 17:18
To: Mish
Subject: [mishpucha] retro consumer guide hilarity

Looking over old clips for another artist, and I came across this gem that has to be shared...

Dud of the Month
RADIOHEAD: OK Computer (Capitol)
[review circa 1997]

My favorite Floyd album has always been Wish You Were Here, and you know why? It has soul, that's why--it's Roger Waters' lament for Syd, not my idea of a tragic hero but as long as he's Roger's that doesn't matter. Radiohead wouldn't know a tragic hero if they were cramming for their A levels, and their idea of soul is Bono, who they imitate further at the risk of looking even more ridiculous than they already do. So instead they pickle Thom E. Yorke's vocals in enough electronic marginal distinction to feed a coal town for a month. Their art-rock has much better sound effects than the Floyd snoozefest Dark Side of the Moon, but it's less sweeping and just as arid. I guarantee that it will not occupy the charts for 10 years. In fact, only because the Brits seized EMI does it have a chance to last through Christmas. B MINUS [Later]

------ End of Forwarded Message

I guess, dear readers, all I can say is...HAHA, you TOTALLY missed that mark, whoever you are.
:-P

*Edit: Holy shit...it was Robert Christgau from the Village Voice. OMG....

Wiki: Radiohead's OK Computer

Magic Bullets .::. New Video

San Francisco's Magic Bullets just made a new video for their single, "Yesterday's Seen Better Days" from their debut LP, a CHILD but in life yet a DOCTOR in love. This album is charming to the max, lyrically cryptic as hell, and expanding on the sounds made famous by The Walkmen or French Kicks - two bands I'd only liked. Magic Bullets, though?



I love.

Website: http://www.mbullets.com
MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/magicbullets

Because we STILL love The State...

This past Saturday was the kick-off of New York magazine's series of events called New York by New York. An Of Montreal performance was followed by a lengthy karaoke sesh hosted by Michael Showalter as a hilarious and awkward amalgam of Alan Shemper (the endearing, 78 year old Catskills comedian, played by Showalter, in Wet Hot American Summer) and, well, Michael Showalter. "Don't Stop Believin'" was highly anticipated, but Craig Wedren singing "Suffragete City" while downing $3 POM TeaTini's leading into Showalter doing karaoke as Shemper...classic. (If I could have picked any song for him, it would have been Rod Stewart's "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy.")


Paul Rudd + David Wain (brilliantly/terribly) singing "More Than A Feeling"

My ears will never be the same.

Check out the full schedule for NYxNY events here: http://nymag.com/nyxny
Buy a ticket to any event and you also get: a one-year subscription to New York mag (nice!)

What else?

Oh yeah, it's Patriot's Day in New England. That means everyone is off from work...except for music industry people. Awesome.


*Edit: Oh oh oh, and I found this:

Grow Up.

ADULT. will be playing at Great Scott tonight. Do you know who they are? No?



ADULT. - Why Bother .::. Boston Phoenix CD Review

MP31. ADULT. I FEEL WORSE WHEN I'M WITH YOU. WHY BOTHER? 2007.



/msg

***

Also...the boom in the Boston-based party scene (Hello, Nicky Digital) is still thriving, focusing around locations such as Middlesex Lounge, Shine, and Axis.

Wait...what?

Yeah. AXIS.

Start here:



We're taking over Landsdowne.