We attempted to make this happen back when MILEY CYRUS's backing band was half of Letters to Cleo, but Kay Hanley wouldn't take the bait. Better late than never. And now that Miley's band is 3/4 of American Hi-Fi, we've got STACY JONES -- Cyrus's current musical director, former Letters to Cleo and Veruca Salt drummer, and American Hi-Fi frontdude -- covering Miley's megahit "The Climb," in the green room at WFNX this morning.

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.

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.

Never did I think Wooderson from Dazed and Confused would be relevant to my life. “That's what I love about these college girls, man. I get older, they stay the same age,” the Matthew McConaughey character says while trolling the sidewalk outside the local pool hall, which could easily be the one outside the Middle East tonight.

Tomorrow, the debut album from the young, supercute Toronto electropop singer-songriter LIGHTS gets an American release; last night, she was at the Middle East. Mike Awesome was on hand to get some snaps and a couple video clips, including her single "Ice" and a cover of the ol' Phil Collins standard "In The Air Tonight."

1. Motherboar, "Grillin' and Killin' "
Yeah, I fucking came to party!

2. Slayer, "Angel of Death"
Specifically the line, "The way that I want you to DIE!"

3. Sam Black Church, "New God Science"
I dare you to show me a better-crafted metal/hardcore tune. It's all there: the sick intro, the super-stompy verse riff, the sing-along-and-simultaneously-point-your-finger chorus, the ripping good metal breakdown in the bridge.

Andy Milk of local power-trio extraordinaire the Vital Might has been scoping out Buddhism lately, and it’s leaking into his lyrics. According to Milk, “Saturday” — a song off their brand new Red Planet — is all about leaving bad habits behind (“staying up all night doing bad things, chasing after money/success, etc.