If you want to destroy your sweater .

Stacy Jones spent the first 15 years of his rock life, much of it in Boston, grinding out power-pop in the years before emo made it a staple of Top 40 radio. He got his start as the drummer in Letters to Cleo, left that band to join grunge-era stars Veruca Salt, then pulled a Dave Grohl and traded his kit for a guitar as the frontman of his own band, AMERICAN HI-FI, scoring a debut hit with their pop-metal homage “Flavor of the Weak.

^{'arry and the 'otters (from the original British)}

Grant Hart + The Lights Out | Wednesday, December 16 at the Middle East downstairs, Cambridge | $9 | On sale Thursday at 10 am | http://www.ticketmaster.com

Molina & Johnson + Drew O'Doherty | Saturday, January 31 at the Middle East downstairs, Cambridge | $10 | On sale Thursday at 10 am | http://www.

Photo: David Brusie

On her new Kill Rock Stars release, Know Better Learn Faster, Thao Nguyen starts the song "Easy" with this line, spoken matter-of-factly: "Sad people dance too." That sentiment is also fitting for Nguyen's work in general. Her songs both deal with heartbreak and longing, but often to the strains of her catchy choruses and choppy, funky, and melodic guitar playing.

^{Click here for the full Say Anything slideshow (photo by Jerome Eno)}

Before leaving my apartment last evening - following a weekend of Halloween hysteria and anticipating what’s sure to be a debauchery-packed Election Day - I was hardly psyched about reviewing Redman, Method Man, and Snoop Dogg at the House of Blues. But like several other Sunday night survivors, I successfully summoned the correct mood with a Red Bull and some chronic.

^{Shammstein, at P.A.'s on Friday}

Halloween weekend is the only time of year during which you can choose between two -- yes, two -- Poison cover shows. Check out the local rock fare this weekend as Boston bands strap on their best imitation gear and pay homage to the greats in venues across the city, from The Talking Heads to Black Sabbath to Rammstein and back again.

^{The nerdy, boy-next-door types who have enough money to purchace and immolate everything you've ever loved, just for the sheer bleeding hell of it.}

Weezer + Jack's Mannequin + Motion City Soundtrack | Monday, December 7 at the Agganis Arena, Boston | $45.50 | On sale Friday, October 30 at 10 am | http://www.

No secret here: Google and YouTube, arguably the two most powerful entities on the web, are way, way behind in the live-streaming video space. While they've lagged, UStream and Livestream -- to name just two companies in a rapidly-evolving niche industry -- have made live broadcasting an everyday part of most bands' digital arsenal.

We were surprised to learn that JULIANA HATFIELD has completed a new album called Peace and Love, which she produced, performed and recorded entirely on her own on an eight-track in her Cambridge apartment.

We were even more surprised, however, to learn that the liner notes to Peace and Love were written by "Boston Phoenix music editor James Parker."

Lake Street Dive

It's hard to say what in particular cast such a giddy glow over New England Conservatory's "Generations of Jazz" show at Scullers on Wednesday night. Maybe it was semi-matching cardigans worn by openers Lake Street Dive (green, pink, and GoodFellas canary yellow). Or the stories the former students told about writing some of their smart, funny songs as NEC assignments.