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Tuesday, July 01, 2008
DOWNLOAD: Clouds, "Motion of the Ocean" (mp3) This ain’t your ordinary stoner metal. Yeah, the guitars on We Are Above You (Hydra Head) — the new second album from Cave In guitarist Adam McGrath’s Clouds — mostly exist in sludgy Sunn-amp ear-rumbling down-tuned depths, but seven of the album’s 11 songs whiz by in under three minutes, fast enough to blow the bong resin off your brain. In “Motion of the Ocean,” the band cram a couple of Motörhead-style up-tempo anvil-heavy-riff verses next to blink-and-they’re-gone shuffle-beat anti-choruses, two separate whacked-out guitar solos, a balls-out half-time breakdown, and a feedback outro in a mere two minutes and 21 seconds. We got tired just typing that. You can grab the track above and catch the band live when they wrap up a big cross-country tour with Boris and Torche July 11 downstairs at the Middle East.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
DOWNLOAD: Aloud, "Fan the Fury" (mp3)It might not seem that much has changed between Aloud’s debut full-length, Leave Your Light On, and their sophomore album, Fan the Fury. The band still traffic in bluesy power pop, which still centers on the guy-girl lead vocals of childhood chums/collaborators Henry Beguiristain and Jen de la Osa. But now the hooks are bigger, the lyrics smarter, and the arrangements tighter. The title track starts with de la Osa bellowing over a dirty toms-and-tambo groove before it folds in on itself, giving way to an airy, ride-cymbal-driven bridge and de la Osa’s vocals turning uncharacteristically gentle. Then, just as things start getting comfy, the band slide back into the hot grease of the song’s first half. They celebrate the album's release at Great Scott March 20.
3/12/2008 6:33:36 PM by Will | |
Thursday, March 06, 2008
 Good news for the under-21 crowd (or anyone tiring of the Middle East - if that's even possible). Before Lyons and co. open up Boston's House of Blues, Berklee's beating them to the punch with a shiny new all-ages "200-person capacity concert venue, featuring high-end PA and lighting systems,
video and DVD capabilities" on Boylston Street. The cafe's actually been there since December, but the live music aspect will be a new addition. From the inbox: "Berklee College of Music presents Cafe 939, a state-of-the-art, all-ages, student-run music venue and coffee house. Located at 939 Boylston Street, adjacent to the Cactus Club, Cafe 939 will showcase Berklee?s emerging student talent, local artists, as well as national acts seeking a more intimate, personal space in which to perform and connect with their fans. Cafe 939 is open to the general public and hopes to attract musicians and music fans from all walks of life. While most rooms in Boston have a specific musical niche, Cafe 939 will embrace nearly any style, from rock, jazz, folk, and world, to bluegrass, hip-hop, electronica, avant-garde, and beyond. 'We don't care if you play the saw, accordion, or electric sitar, as long as you're good, this could be the room for you,' says Jacqueline Indrisano, Cafe 939 event manager. 'We want this to be a place where all are welcome and anything can happen.'" The Cafe's opening event will be a performance by Puerto Rican sax player Miguel Zenón, on April 2.
Wednesday, March 05, 2008
 DOWNLOAD: Township, "Sandy" (mp3)It’s been just less than a year since Township cemented their place in Boston rock history, joining the ranks of the Neighborhoods, the Dresden Dolls, and, uh, Slaughter Shack with a victory in the 29th Rock ’n’ Roll Rumble. And now, as local message- boarders squabble over this year’s just-announced Rumble line-up, Township have finally quenched the thirst of the so-called “Townies” — the band’s fans, who have been patiently snacking on the band’s Ladywood EP in anticipation of a full-length — with the release of Coming Home. “Sandy,” like most Township songs, looks back to the ’70s, and what it finds is the jaunty shuffle and the guitarmonies of “ The Boys Are Back in Town,” over which frontman Marc Pinansky waxes optimistic about a troubled relationship.
3/5/2008 7:07:52 PM by Will | |
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
 DOWNLOAD: State Radio, "Gang of Thieves" (mp3)The big news in the land of the kinda, sorta broken-up New England jam band Dispatch is the release of Dispatch: Zimbabwe — Live at Madison Square Garden (Concert Hot Spot), a DVD document of the three sold-out benefit shows the trio reunited to play last summer in NYC. But right on the heels of that, singer/guitarist Chad Urmston has dropped the sophomore disc by his post-Dispatch band State Radio, Year of the Crow (Nettwerk). The philosophical differences that broke up Dispatch are on full display on the disc’s first single, "Gang of Thieves," a tightly wound punkish salvo with little in the way of jamming or of the reggae-tinged grooves that pepper Year of the Crow. Catch the band at Newbury Comics on Newbury Street in Boston at 7 pm on February 15, at Newbury Comics in North Attleboro at 3 pm on the 16th, and for the kickoff of a world tour on February 22 at Pearl Street in Northampton. — Matt Ashare
2/6/2008 3:41:42 PM by Will | |
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
1/22/2008 8:11:09 PM by Will | |
Thursday, January 17, 2008
The first time you hear the OUTBURST's "New York Surprise," you'll wonder if this is it, the one: the absolute worst song you've ever heard. By the 20th time, you'll be singing the out-of-tune chorus -- "You fucking did it/I know you did it!" -- to everyone you meet. In just over a month, the Outburst, a trio of teenage Dropkick Murphys fans from Quincy, have gone from anonymous MySpace geeks to 2008's first big worldwide web meme. Someone posted "New York Surprise" on the Tony and Pals forum; a week and several message board threads later, the song was getting a thousand plays per day on MySpace, had been covered a dozen times (in styles ranging from polished pop-punk to screaming noise, trip-hop to hip-hop, blues to folk), and inspired its own fan-made YouTube video (see above). Is it Boston's answer to "Chocolate Rain"? Maybe, but it's also a 21st-century heir to the ourve of the Germs, the Shaggs, and Crypt Records obscurities the Rats: these kids can't play to save their lives, but their sloppy, vindictive, unvarnished abandon is one of the most unbelivable music for your ears beautiful noises you'll hear all year.
LISTEN: The Outburst, "New York Surprise" (MySpace)
DOWNLOAD: Ryan McGinty "New York Surprise" (mp3) [Pop-punk]
DOWNLOAD: Countess of Persia, "New York Surprise" (mp3) [Nick Drake-y folk]
DOWNLOAD: Dropkick Skully Rich, "New York Surprise" (mp3) [Oi!]
DOWNLOAD: Unfuckwithable, "New York Surprise (80s Rap Version)" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Lusty Ghost, "New York Surprise" (mp3) [talkboxy videogame dub]
DOWNLOAD: Daniel Wholey, "New York Surprise (Downtempo Disco Dub)" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Evan Parker & the Sex Hallways, "New York Surprise" (mp3) [Indie-folk]
DOWNLOAD: Lucas Lewis, "New York Surprise" (mp3) [trip-hop]
DOWNLOAD: Jon Howard, "New York Surprise" (mp3) [screamo]
DOWNLOAD: The Rog, "New York Surprise (Acoustic)" (mp3) [Folk]
DOWNLOAD: N.U.N.N., "New York Surprise" (mp3) [Piano glee-clubbery]
If you know a better one, plz post in comments. Also: Someone plz make a better t-shirt than this one.
UPDATE: In the Bridge9 board thread devoted to "New York Surprise," it appears someone has finally solved the "sex hallway"/"six hallway" riddle. A member of the Outburst is quoted thusly: "Sixth hallway. its a hallway at north quincy high school that was closed off because there was no real need for it but kids go down it and smoke and have sex and shit during school."
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
1/16/2008 1:09:57 PM by Will | |
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
DOWNLOAD: The Big Big Bucks, "Arsenal Complements Wardrobe" (mp3)Fresh-faced Allston foursome THE BIG BIG BUCKS blend the anvil-heavy blues rock of early Zeppelin with the melodicism of classic pop in a sod-off punk-rock sorta way that would make Kurt Cobain proud. They’ve been passing around CD-R copies of their debut EP, Rabbit Rabbit (which they recorded with Jack Younger at his Allston analog wonderland Basement 247 Studios, where they’re holed up now working on their first full-length), since last summer, but we’re told an official release is on its way. Rabbit’s manic centerpiece, “Arsenal Complements Wardrobe,” starts out as a double-time rave-up before devolving into a feedback-and-organ sludge-blues orgy. Snag a disc from the band when they play Great Scott January 17.
1/9/2008 5:29:46 PM by Will | |
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Come, "Hurricane" (Live at the Middle East, 11/10/2007)
Sure, it was only two songs. (Turns out they had a third ready to go, but decided against it. What, the applause wasn't loud enough? "Exactly," said Chris Brokaw.) But since this was the first time Come have performed since their 2 1/2-hour farewell gig at the MidEast's downstairs room back in -- what, 1998? -- well, this was pretty fucking rad. Brokaw, on loan from Thurston Moore's band and a zillion other projects, hopped up after Thalia Zedek's band played a more-blistering-than-usual set, providing the pentultimate thrill on the occasion of the Middle East's 20th anniversary as a rock club, which is not coincidentally Billy Ruane's birthday, and is also coincidentally ME booker Kevin Hoskins's B-day. Whew. Yes, Hallelujah the Hills and Helms and IV Diffusion and Drug Rug were great, but dude: Come played a fucking reunion show. And since you weren't there, we brought back this clip. We've got the other song in a holding cell, waiting for an encore, along with some awesome footage of Hallelujah the Hills covering the Beatles, which we haven't asked them for permission to post yet. More anon, then. Many thanks to Leslie McCleave for additional footage.
Monday, November 19, 2007
Tiger Saw + Cathy Cathodic, "Words Not Used In Books" (Live at PA's Lounge, November 8, 2007)
Tiger Saw, "Tigers on Fire" (Live at PA's Lounge, November 8, 2007)
Our old pals (and former PHX tourbloggers) Tigersaw are off again, this time to Europe (dates below for our Continental peoples), but they threw down at PA's Lounge before embarking, and trotted out a new song, "Words Not Used In Books," that'll be on their next album. It's in the heart-funk vein of Tigers On Fire, with one next-level twist: a verse from indie rapper (and new Tiger Saw member) Cathy Cathodic, who's been cutting up DIY shows in these parts for many years. "Hearts become like little drums/They beat in time/Bum-bum, bum-bum." Two thumbs up.
TIGER SAW EURPEAN TOUR DATES
NOVEMBER
Mon 19 -Karlsruhe, Germany w/ Alps of New South Wales
Wed 21 Cork, Ireland - Fred Zeppelin's
Sat 24 Dublin, Ireland - The Boom Boom Room w/ SingSong, Carly
Sun 25 Dublin, Ireland - Anseo w/ Chequerboard, SingSong
Mon 26 Galway, Ireland - Roisin Dubh
Wed 28 Brighton, England @TBA w/ Picastro, Viking Moses
Thu 29 Nottingham, England @TBA w/ Picastro, Viking Moses
Fri 30 Newcastle, England @ TBA w/ Picastro, Viking Moses, Golden Ghost
DECEMBER
Sat 1 Edinburgh, Scotland @ TBA w/ Viking Moses, eagle owl, Golden Ghost
Sun 2 Manchester, England @ King's Arms w/ Viking Moses, Golden Ghost
Mon 3 London, England @ Luminaire w/ Viking Moses, Little Wings, Golden Ghost
Tue 4 Leiden, Netherlands - SUB071 w/ Pfaff
Wed 5 Utrecht, Netherlands - dB's w/ Pfaff
Sun 9 Munich, Germany - Kafe Kult (Kunst Fest)
Sat 15 Gotenburg, Sweden - Atalante Festival w/ Cake on Cake
Thu 20 Berlin, Germany - Schokoladen
Fri 21 Rotterdam, Netherlands - Living Room show
Thursday, November 15, 2007
The Rat's Last Stand: November 15, 1997
Any good scenester can tell you that November 15, 1997 was the date of the final gig ever played at Boston's legendary, notorious punk club, the Rat. The final band onstage was, appropriately enough, Gang Green, who probably drank (and sold!) more beers at that joint than anyone. Yes, the bathroom was as bad as everyone says it was. Yes, every ridiculous show was as ridiculously good as everyone says it was. Discuss.
But here's a bit of trivia for our punk-rock friends. Had the club stayed open for another two weekends, can you name the bands that were scheduled to appear during a hardcore-kid's dream weekend? OK, here's the ad that ran in the Phoenix the week the club closed:
Monday, November 12, 2007
 We never knew Noah was so flexible.Every time a Boston band moves away (one of the good ones, anyway) one of the Pixies drops dead. Or something like that. From the Dead Trees’ MySpace: "Although we've had some good times here, The Dead Trees will be moving to Portland, OR, sometime in the coming months. Come out and party at the Middlesex Nov. 12th, as our friends Drug Rug, Tulsa, Age Rings, Mittens, Kelsey Bennett, and Viva Viva will be playing! That's right, party on a Monday. It would be great to see all of our friends before we leave. Also, The Cribs have cancelled their US tour due to 'scheduling conflicts.' I mean, they knew they were going to be touring, what else could they possibly have to do? So, if you were going to come to The Paradise, come out to The Middlesex instead." Well, there you have it. We’ll call Frank Black and make sure he’s okay. Bummer that we're losing another one, but at least the trade-off is a show bursting with Boston band awesomeness. We saw a similar line-up at a packed PA’s a few Fridays ago, and the show was incendiary enough to make the Black Lips’ gig at the Middle East that same night seem positively tepid. Get there early, kids, we think this one’s gonna sell out. In case you missed it: The Dead Trees did a Daytrotter session.Listen:Drug RugTulsaAge RingsMittensKelsey BennettViva Viva
11/12/2007 3:37:09 PM by Caitlin | |
Friday, October 26, 2007
Damon & Naomi are calling their current tour “The Roaring Silence Revue,” a reference to the combination of their own subdued-but-steely folk sound and the deep-bass noise-rock of their tourmates, Japanese trio Boris. D&N are working their new Within These Walls (20/20/20), and even though their first CD after the breakup of Galaxie 500 was called More Sad Hits, this might be the saddest yet, inspired, they say, by a year of digging into Frank Sinatra and the weepiest albums of his that they could find — Only the Lonely and No One Cares. Combine Ol’ Blue Eyes’ long, slow breath control and unsparing emotional delivery with D&N’s abiding passion for ’60s Brit folk-rock and you’ve got the picture: by the time you get to Naomi’s album closer, the goth mother-daughter psychodrama dialogue “Cruel Queen,” you’ll be crying in your chai latte. Along for the tour are longtime D&N aides-de-camp saxophonist Bhob Rainey, trumpeter Greg Kelley, guitarist Michio Kurihara, plus cellist Helena Espvall from the band Espers on cello. (All are on the new disc.) And Kurihara — the Neil Young of Japan — will do double-duty in both bands | Middle East downstairs, 480 Mass Ave, Cambridge | October 29 | 617.864.EAST.
— Jon Garelick
10/26/2007 10:53:56 AM by Will | |
Thursday, October 25, 2007
DOWNLOAD: Club D'Elf, "Halloween" (mp3)
Not the Misfits song, but instead a setting of the Harry Behn kids' poem, in a musical setting that comes from an odd source: Club D'elf drummer Erik Kerr's mom, who used to sing this tune to him in his romper-room days. With Kerr providing a rare vocal, Mike Rivard's postjazz supergroup vamps it up into a shmooove R&B tune, then assaults the melody with spook-city organ, ominous electronic noise, and a DJ scratching in B-movie horror dialogue. You wake up with this in your crate, you're more stoked than a Stormtrooper-masked seven year old with a bag full of the big candy bars. Happy haunting.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
10/23/2007 12:54:55 PM by Will | |
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Bodega's Oliver Mak: "Top 5 Reasons To Love the Boston Music
Scene"
Edited by Will Spitz
1_Viva Viva
2_Drug Rug
3_DJ Kon
4_Hearthrob
5_Our heritage: Morphine, the Noise, the Pixies, Buffalo Tom, Lemonheads, This Is Boston Not L.A.,
Juliana Hatfield, the Modern Lovers, Monoman, the Rat, the Middle East, Newbury
Comics, WMBR, all-ages hardcore shows at the Elks Lodge, the weird mid-'90s ska
explosion, and all the past scenes that have brought danger and magic to this
wonderful city
10/16/2007 1:17:46 PM by Will | |
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
10/9/2007 12:14:44 PM by Will | |
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
9/18/2007 2:09:14 PM by Will | |
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
 We assumed that the atmosphere at the Kings of Leon/ Cassavettes show at the Paradise last night would be relaxed, in a “Hey, we won free tickets!” kinda way - mingling, PBR flowing freely to counteract mid-summer concert sweatiness, perhaps a shot or two, because Southern roots-rock warrants that kind of thing - but it was not so. The Kings, who backed out of their Best Music Poll gig and signed on for last night’s show to make up for it, riled up the crowd with an incendiary slew of old and new tunes - “Taper Jean Girl,” our personal fav, included - for all of 45 minutes, before everything fell apart. It was unclear exactly what went down from our spot near the bar on the right side of the Dise, but apparently the KOL dudes were offended by group of people near the front of the stage, and consequently threw down their instruments, and stormed offstage in true diva-like fashion (not unlike that whole Nickelback in Portugal thing, luckily no one threw rocks). The confused crowd stuck around, in hopes of an encore, then moved outside to figure out what the fuck just happened. So what the fuck did happen? The message boards are abuzz! According to a poster on the official KOL board, happyalone: “It was these collar popping ‘yeah’ guys who fucked us over. They were right behind me and made a circle at the end of the set and started doing some dumb frat dance. They were pretty much raping the girls next to me as well and would not stop shouting ‘Arizona’ or ‘Tony’ at Caleb.” Over at lemmingtrail, the official word from KOL’s publicist is that the band was having “gear problems.” Definitely sounds like a combination of annoying factors, but aren’t these things that rock bands have to, ya know, DEAL with? These types of dramatic, pretentious antics would be expected from, say, Fall Out Boy, but not from a group of classic rock-loving brothers (plus one cousin) from Tennessee. With time to spare after KOL’s short-lived show, we hopped over to Great Scott in time to see Shout Out Out Out Out’s vocoderific electro-fied set. It was a stark contrast to the scene at the Dise: six Canadian dudes crammed onto a stage with two drum sets, and tons of electronic musical equipment we don't know the names for, eagerly dancing and dedicating songs to procrastination and the art of being broke, spurring the modest crowd (of broke procrastinators) to form a frenetic dance party. There were a few annoying shouts from the crowd, and the occasional gear issue, but the show went on - refreshingly, and non-pretentiously. UPDATE: Glenn Yoder, from the opening band Cassavettes, weighs in via his blog. A few highlights: "The word coming from their techs was that they had lost a bunch of
equipment on a plane in Japan. As a result, the were forced to spend
what we were told was $9,500 on new equipment from Guitar Center the
day of the show -- guitars and pedals, mostly. Each member of KOL's
front line uses a veritable closet-full of effects and pedals (I got a
good look at them up close and on stage), so obviously, they weren't
too pumped at sound check that they couldn't get their normal tones. I
understand this: A different pedal would make a total different sound,
and it would piss anyone off. What I've heard from people up close ranges from a) the band was spit
at, b) someone threw something, or c) people were just getting on their
nerves. Others have said they didn't look like they wanted to be there
from the moment they stepped on stage, but hey, I say that might just
be the careless rocker look many musicians try so hard to obtain.
Anyhow, after having enough, the band apparently threw down their
instruments and stormed off stage (one person says Caleb gave the crowd
the finger). Either way, as they streamed out, people were very nice to us and gave
us the 'at least you're nice to fans' thing and signed the mailing
list/bought merch, which was cool (hey man, we could use to profit from
such a minor disaster in the grand scheme of things, I suppose)." Read the full report here.
Thursday, July 26, 2007
 DOWNLOAD: Cassavettes, "Debts" (mp3)With Jabe Beyer relocating to Nashville and Frank Smith ensconced in Austin, Boston’s alt-country contingent has withered away over the past few months. Luckily, Cassavettes, who are three-fourths native Texan, are sticking around. Phoenix readers named them last year’s “Best Local Band,” and that was before the release of their debut album, It’s Gonna Change, in December. IGC is countryfied low-fi indie rock — a dust-coated coming-of-age tale with rootsy twang and the occasional barroom romp. “Debts” bemoans and celebrates change — a feeling any recent college grad can relate to — shifting from piano-driven balladry to a guitar-driven rock about “getting fired from a new job each week.” Catch them Tuesday opening for Kings of Leon at the Paradise (rescheduled from their cancelled BMP gig, but we don't hold grudges) if you can - we hear from our friends at WFNX that all of the tickets have been given away, but don't worry - Craigslist has your back. The 'vettes are also playing T.T. the Bear's on August 24, and a whole slew of other Boston venues this fall. VIDEO: Cassavettes play live on Fox 25 (and here's the secret behind-the-scenes footage) FRIEND: Cassavettes on MySpace
7/26/2007 12:16:37 PM by Caitlin | |
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
DOWNLOAD: Ketman, "Chapter Four" (mp3)
WATCH: Ketman at YouTube
VISIT: www.ketman.com
FRIEND: http://myspace.com/ketman
About this time last year, we brought you a track from Ketman’s EP Esperanto. They’ve since recorded a full-length (finally), but then they wrote so many new songs that they’ve whipped out a new EP and are releasing it in advance of the album. Who cares if it’s ass-backwards when it rocks like a tropical storm? In this "chapter," guitarist Eric Penna and bassist Joe Marrett (also of Hallelujah the Hills, and Silver Jew David Berman’s brother-in-law) tag-team on a shoutfest that sounds something like a couple of David Yows goading Slayer into a cover of the original MTV theme. And at that, they’re only about half as tufff as their rad girl drummer, Mora Precarious. Our bad for not posting this before their record-release party on Thursday, but we hear it was a ridiculously good time without us. They're now on their way along a cross-country tour, but they'll be back August 6 at the Middle East for an absurdly ridonculous show with They Shoot Horses Don't They? and the almighty Big Bear. You've been warned.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Modest Mouse cares for lovelorn robots.
In case you missed Spoon's April MFA date, they've just announced a show at the Roxy on October 17. Tickets go on sale July 21.
Interactivity is quickly replacing plot-driven, film short concepts as the hot new trend in the world of music videos (sorry Justin and Scarlett, we're the YouTube generation, we don't have time for your lengthy love affairs). First the Decemberists, now Modest Mouse, who recently put out an open call to all film-savvy fans (who know how to use Final Cut Pro), asking for video submissions for their next single, "Missed the Boat." They’ve picked their favorite eleven, now they’re asking fans to vote and make the, er, final cut. These aren't your average shaky home movies - here's an idea of what made the cut: the complicated love life of a cooking-challenged robot, a bittersweet high school graduation party ("Missed the Boat" as the new graduation anthem? Take that, Vitamin C!), colorized 3-D trippy-ness (where did we put our paper 3-D glasses?), travel funtime with a ViewMaster (including a supermarket shopping cart derby), and two guys trying to think of ideas for a Modest Mouse video (paging Captain Obvious). Watch 'em, weigh in, and slowly memorize "Missed the Boat" after listening to it eleven times here.
NPR, often known for good news, not often known for good music (though they feature a lot of it), hits us with a triple whammy today - Ryan Adams live on World Café, Blonde Redhead's "Dr. Strangeluv" as Song of the Day, and southern soul dude Marc Broussard on Morning Edition.
The final word: uh-oh, looks like Avril's going to court.
--Caitlin E. Curran
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Well, it's nice to see that even when blessed with an excess of talent, the Rumble still finds a way to suck yak balls. Some things never change. And yet . . . and yet it could've been so different. Looking at the semis lineup last week, it seemed so promising. Or maybe the judges just got wind that if Protokoll, Eli Reed, and Age Rings had made it to the finals, they were going to perform a single 90-minute collaborative set. Which would've been the coolest and most memorable Rumblefuck of all time. Alas. (Disclosure: Age Rings guitarist Will Spitz is a friend/contributor/etc.)
Here's three or four reasons why they picked the wrong bands.
WATCH: Protokoll, "DNR"
DOWNLOAD: Eli "Paperboy" Reed, "Am I Just Fooling Myself" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Eli "Paperboy" Reed, "Take My Love With You" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Age Rings, Live at SXSW (mp3)
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
 They're not bored. They're just waiting for you to click this link. What's the difference between the Main Drag and a Giant Drag? Hope Adam's got a good answer.Generally speaking, Battles of the Bands are varsity sports for Made victims, Slashdot (ne)turds, and Boston-rock-loogie-spitters. And while we wholeheartedly support the democratic fan-polling process, we're annoyed by those shameless jerks who repeatedly spam us about stuffing the ballot box for them in Spare Change's
best-avant-coin-jiggle category. But when there's substantial cash involved for local favorites, we're ready rally the troops. So we bid you to hit Salon.com's Audiofile blog, which is presently holding a "Song Search" contest in its final week. The winner gets five-thousand smackers, with one-thousand a piece for two runners-up. The probability of Boston getting some cash-money love is high, since two of the five national finalists are from Boston: Hallelujah the Hills and The Main Drag. Hallelujah the Hills are the happy-feeling Moog-cello-guitar indie-poppy six-piece remnants of the Stairs. They've made it into the finals on the horn-y bouyance of their homonymous fight song, "Hallelujah the Hills." "It’s sort of this weird little
dorky indie-rock circus," head Hallelujah Ryan Walsh says about the Salon poll. And while he confirms they're "excited" about getting this far, he admits that soliciting votes is strange. "The whole process of
becoming musician-politicians has been unsettling for us. But thankfully, we won that first
round without shilling too much." Amusingly, the Hills not only had to overcome the "celebrity guest judge" bias of Death Cab's Chris Walla to advance, but beat another Boston dude, that Delta-blues I-tongued-Holly-Golightly kid Eli Reed. Could this be the makings of a Boston-messageboard beatdown? Two other finalists have Boston ties: Bishop Allen, an ex-Boston band whose lead singer Justin Allen stars in Mutual Appreciation, the most recent release of JP director Andrew Bujalski; and Adam Arrigo (a/k/a the Main Drag's main drag), a '06 Tufts grad who by day scribbles at the Northeast Performer and by night is "sorta in Blanks." The success of his song "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter" -- a three-minute-plus track that's kind of like Caribou's "Yeti" with e-horns instead of e-strings -- has been something of a lark: he doesn't play out much, says his MySpace profile doesn't get much traffic, and "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter" doesn't sound much like his other stuff. "This is the only happy
song I’ve ever written," Arrigo says. "The rest of my music is much
darker, more experimental, much more production-based." If Arrigo wins any money, he plans to
get his new record pressed. If Hallelujah the Hills wins, Walsh says, "We’re gonna get a tour van. It’ll double as my car because my truck’s about to shit the bed." The Hills better be careful. Arrigo's got a secret weapon. "I’ve been calling everyone to
vote," he confesses. "Even, like, my grandfather, whom I haven’t talked to in years. I patched
things up with him. I'm like, 'You have a computer right? You can go on and vote?'" VOTE: Salon.com's Audiofile blog "Song Search" contestDOWNLOAD: Hallelujah the Hills, "Hallelujah the Hills"DOWNLOAD: The Main Drag, "A Jagged Gorgeous Winter"DOWNLOAD: | |