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Sunday, July 31, 2005
7/31/2005 10:54:00 PM by onthedownload | |
Friday, July 29, 2005
 Matt Hooker rocks the Danzig tee (photo from returntothepit.com)
When Matt Hooker isn't busy playing the crotch shaker (check out the video) or singing songs about mustache rides with his crew of redneck-rock jokesters Foam 'n' Mesh, you can find him melting faces with local thrash masters Random Acts of Violence. RAOV boast some of the best guitar-monies this side of Maiden and a double-bass-drum, double-picking attack that'll grow hair on your balls. (Where'd they learn how to do that anyway? From the "Shred-Lord"?) Word on the street is that they've got a new drummer who (a) looks like a young Sebastian Bach ( this one not this one) and (b) beats the skins like Dave Lombardo. Inman Square's Pino Bros. Ink is set to release three new RAOV songs as a mini-EP with a ten-minute computer-compatible bonus video; you'll hear it first right here. On Sunday night, they'll be broing down with Rucker for FNX's New England Product and here's a little something to whet your whistle. LISTEN: Random Acts of Violence, " Transfiguration" (mp3)
7/29/2005 3:22:00 PM by Will | |
 STRYPER at the Paradise, 10/27 (tickets available here)
7/29/2005 11:44:00 AM by cami | |
 1. So yeah, Sasha Frere-Jones was an early adopter on the M.I.A. tip. But how'd he get one of his colleagues to dig deep into Maya's daddy's terrorist group? Philip Gourevitch talks Tamil Tigers in a story that's not online. Thumbnail, however, appears here. In the same issue, Sasha waxes on and off about her ex-boyfriend Diplo and his new buddy DJ Marlboro and the song they all made together called "Bucky Done Gone." The really important thing, though, is that M.I.A., sans Diplo, returns to Boston for her own headlining gig 9/23 at the Paradise. (On-sale dates TBA) [This is where Cami enters and adds to a post OTD started while he shoulda been drinking margaritas on the beach. No sleep for the wicked!]2. Speaking of fall shows at the Paradise, the Perceptionists will be there on October 6 (tickets on sale here) and the Go! Team hits Boston on November 1 (on-sale dates TBA). 3. Not at all speaking of Lightning Bolt, 'parently those noise-boys have a new album called Scribblemania 2 coming out October 18. Trust us, it's going to be huge. So huge, even the Globies have caught on. We know this because one of their interns, a Brown student in Boston for the summer, tried to interview us at this show. It was later suggested to us that we shoulda given her a fake name and some bogus quotes, but that would've been totally unethical, y'know? Even worse then getting mad freebies. Anyways, we fessed up and told her that we worked for another publication and smiled and then pointed her in the wrong direction of the bathroom. (Just kidding.)  4. Harry and the Potters have been getting high-profile props: U.S. News and World Report and Forbes.net. Joe and Paul, remember who loved you way back when... LISTEN: Harry and the Potters, " Stick it to Dolores" (song via their MySpace page)
7/29/2005 11:17:00 AM by onthedownload | |
Thursday, July 28, 2005
 We've been anxiously awaiting some music from the Hound for a good long while. We sent our boy Will Spitz to scope them out first, as a precaution. He came back with his spine in knots and it took us a week to pry his jaw out of his bootstraps. Call the chiropractor 'cuz the Hound will be twisting backbones and dislodging platelets tonight at PA's Lounge (with Tristan de Cunha and Piles) and tomorrow at O'Brien's. LISTEN: The Hound, " Big Sky Country" (mp3, via Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records)
7/28/2005 4:58:00 PM by onthedownload | |
7/28/2005 12:01:00 PM by cami | |
Wednesday, July 27, 2005
Not this one.  This one.  Not this one.  This one.  Together at last: "DANIEL LANOIS and TORTOISE TO COLLABORATE ON HISTORIC TOUR Two of the most singular and note-worthy artists in the music world today, Daniel Lanois and Tortoise will be touring together this fall, both as co headliners and as collaborators. On this tour Tortoise, in addition to playing their own set, will back up Lanois during his set for a one-of-a-kind night of musical alchemy. Tortoise and Daniel Lanois are both giants in there respective niche's, and while their music can be perceived as very different, this tour will explore that space where two distinct sensibilities come together. Daniel Lanois, who has been called the most influential producer of his generation due to acclaimed albums with Brian Eno, U2, Dylan, Peter Gabriel and others, has also built a venerated body of work in his own right. His new album, Belladonna, is an instrumental record featuring his own stunning work on the pedal steel guitar blended with the organic atmospherics and haunting sonic textures that he is know for. 10/6 Boston - Somerville Theatre. On-sale date TBA."
7/27/2005 5:18:00 PM by onthedownload | |
 Clap your hand say yeah: #6 is Houston's Out of HandersWho should we befriend? Choose no more than two. [Work-friendly warning: headphones, people. These pages all load with music.]1. Human Bone Bicycle Sciences Industries, a grindcore/deathmetal Hartford band that sounds like grizzly bears eating Kim Jong Il alive. 2. John the Baptist of the Sandpeople, a Portland, Oregon MC whose dense bio starts out Kanye-West-style, “After a car accident almost took his life...” 3. My Little Radio, four Boston pop-rockers whom MySpace user “ Eyes for Lisa Only!!” describes as, “You guys sound like a cross between The Who and Ricky Martin.” We’d say more like a cross between Kay Hanley and Kay Hanley, but maybe we weren't listening hard enough. 4. The Karma Parade, a Sound Beach band proving why MySpace users shouldn’t be rock critics: “Awesome sound, rockier then Wilco but tamer then Nirvana with bits of everything inbetween. Good stuff.” Nope, dude, Nirvana ain't the same as Karma. 5. Serge N, a Russian singer-guitarist whose disparate repetoire manages to evoke Gorky Park, the Doors, and a soap-opera theme song. His headline, “From Russia with love!” 6. Out of Handers, Houston hip-hop handymen who misplaced an underline HTML tag on their MySpace page and made every word look like a link. Close that u, kids. 7. Monkey Wrench, simian tools straight outta Long Island who claim to be "America's 1st Foo Fighters tribute!!!" 8. Auditorium. This friend request brought along some minor Pino confusion. First we thought Auditorium was this Pino's side project. Now we realize it's this Pino's side project. We might havta decline, because we can already tell we wouldn't be a good friend. 9. The Apache Line, who sound okay. 10. Zolar Plexus, who don't. Bon Jovi? Enya? Chakra-heated cheese Danish?
7/27/2005 11:39:00 AM by cami | |
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
 CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH September 14, T.T. the Bear’s Place, Cambridge, $10, 617.492.BEAR JOHN MAYER
October 11, Avalon, Boston, $40.50, on sale Friday at 10 am, 617.931.2000 VICTOR WOOTEN
Berklee Performance Center, Boston, October 25, $25 + $30, on sale Friday at 10 am, 617.931.2000 BROOKS & DUNN
September 25, Tweeter Center, Mansfield, $25 + $49.75, on sale Saturday at 10 am, 617.931.2000 PAUL WELLER
September 25, Avalon, Boston, $26, on sale Saturday at 10 am, 617.931.2000 LOS LONELY BOYS
September 30, Orpheum, Boston, $29.50-$35, on sale Saturday at 10 am, 617.931.2000 GWEN STEFANI + BLACK EYED PEAS
October 31, TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, $35.50-$65.50, on sale Saturday at 10 am, 617.931.2000 OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN
October 20, Lowell Memorial Auditorium, $35.50-$55.50, on sale Monday at 10 am, 978.454.2299 LOCOBAZOOKA
Disturbed + Mad Hampster + Reign of Pestilence, September 18, Fitchburg Airport, $39.95, 617.423.NEXT BRUCE COCKBURN
October 20, Somerville Theatre, Somerville, $35.50, 617.931.2000 JOAN BAEZ
October 25-26, Somerville Theatre, Somerville, $41, 617.931.2000
7/26/2005 6:39:00 PM by cami | |
 Donna F.'s junkie alter-ego: Gravy Train!!!!'s ChunxThings we learned from Gravy Train!!!!'s old rap album: underage boys will screw fat chicks when they're drunk on malt liquor; cheeseburgers can get you pregnant; the Ying Yang Twins are polite, upstanding gentlemen and really good rappers, relatively speaking. Things we learned from Gravy Train!!!!'s new glam-rock album: fat chicks lose their cleavage when they diet; fag hags who want to bang gay men should grow out their pubes to look like dudes; the word "beaver" is still funny. Toni Basil cheerleading chants, ghouls-in-the-garage organ whine, and Bay City Rollers licks aside, Are You Wigglin'? (Kill Rock Stars) is another reminder that Hunx, Chunx, Funx, and Junx just wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna wanna get crunk and stick a Psychotic Pineapple cover tune in your trunk, unless you're the jerk who stole Funx's vacuum cleaner, in which case they also want to punch you in the face, punk. At Great Scott tonight, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston 9 pm, 18+ $8 617.734.4502. Download: Gravy Train!!!!, " Darque Tan" (via Kill Rock Stars) Most appropos comment on Gravy Train!!!!'s MySpace page: "hey i saw you guys at the electric daisy carnival...and....ill have to say...it was like a big pool of splooge in my pants."
7/26/2005 12:01:00 PM by cami | |
Monday, July 25, 2005
 It's not every day that you happen across the perfect confluence of pop and product. "Nextel Chirp," by Maceo featuring Fats, has been kicking around since at least April (Maceo's now signed to the same label as Mr. So Icey). Its first stroke of genius is that the beat samples the sound of turning on the walkie-talkie function of the phone in question. Said "chirp" has already entered that little piece of self-reflexivity is relatively obvious: the title of the song is also the sound of the song. Right off the bat you'd guess someone's getting a hefty product-placement check. (And maybe they are, but if so, why is someone from Nextel begging teenagers for the lyrics?) Then again, this may or may not be the kind of publicity you'd want government names to get wind of: the song amounts to a users'-manual-cum-public-service-announcement for drugs dealers, explaining how these phones work and who might be listening in. The chorus warns potential customers not to use the Nextel direct-connect feature when ordering, uh, illicit merchandise. All of this conducted in coded language right out in the daylight, albeit dressed up in the brilliant disguise of a musical sequence -- Dr. Who synth bleeps, steam hiss, cell phones clasping shut -- that's sicker than chemo and impossible to resist. LISTEN: Maceo feat. Fats, " Nextel Chirp" (mp3) LISTEN: Maceo feat. Fats, "Nextel Chirp (Instrumental)" (mp3)
7/25/2005 3:15:00 PM by onthedownload | |
 Dead-rock-icon dick: one night only!
A plaster cast of Jimi Hendrix's cock, transsexual punk Jayne County's painting Penis Trees and Snakes in the Shape of Half-Created Humans, and Ramones art director Arturo Vega's series "Porn Is the New Rock": just a few examples of what to expect at the reception at Club Passim for "Hung," a group show of rock-associated artists curated by Punk magazine photographer John Nikolai. Vega, Punk publisher John Holmstrom, and NYC punk-era photographer Godlis will be taking questions at the reception, which also features a performance by punk granddaddies Unnatural Axe. Jimi's jimmy has been banned by Passim after tonight's event, so head down to 47 Palmer St, Cambridge 5 pm 617.492.7679. - CRINGE: No audio files to pimp this event, but hyping Cynthia Plaster Caster's comic-porn site almost makes up for it. Make sure you click on the left-nav sidebar: it squirts.
- READ: Our man Miliard found out why Passim banned Jimmy's jimmy.
- LOOK: View a slideshow of pieces from HUNG and HANGED (Hung's companion show at the Zeitgeist Gallery) here.
RUPERTSPACE-WEEK BONUS: curator/Punk magazine photog John Nikolai's real MySpace page (careful: under general interests, he says he'd like "to lock you up my home"), his barren MySpace page (dude needs some friends here), and Jimi Hendrix's page. (Didja know one of Jimi's favorite movies was How Stella Got Her Groove Back?)
7/25/2005 9:22:00 AM by cami | |
Saturday, July 23, 2005
 OTD is sneaking off to the Cape for much-needed battery recharge, in the process missing out on the best show ever. Uh, at least this week. Stay tuned, though: Cami and young Spitz have some surprises in store. But before you do anything else, get thee to Lemon-Red IMMEDIATELY. We're all the way over here and we still got sunburn from those tracks.
7/23/2005 1:20:00 AM by onthedownload | |
Friday, July 22, 2005
 Crispin Glover tries out for Tootsie That's alotta gold. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away — okay, it was at Axis sometime in the ’90s — we stumbled on a band who were far, far ahead of their time. They played ridiculous hardcore punk songs with guitars and ’80s synthesizers and had elaborate costumes and monitors blasting weird collages of Atari video games and war footage and occasionally covered Run-DMC. They might have invented electropunk-as-nostalgia-fetish-gone-to-art-school. They called themselves Institute of Technology, and they disappeared long before the rise of Le Tigre, Adult, and Tracy + the Plastics. But lo, their frontman Josh Randall — still calling himself Robotkid — has re-emerged! Tonight is his final night of "Strange Findings: Lost and Found Video Show," a video-collage of bizarro-world clips (rock-and-roll puppets, a cultists’ sing-along instructional video on "Interplanetary Confederation Day"), as compiled by VJ Robo tkid, to a soundtrack of live-mixed mash-ups with Dj RNDM and Peter Ledebur. Check it at midnight at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, but grab some Red Bull first. * WATCH: "Strange Findings" trailer is here. LISTEN: Institute of Technology, " Mary Tyler Moore" LISTEN: You Shriek, " Grim (Robotkid remix)" (via Randall's site Robotkid.com) *Cami did not write this blurb, she just posted it. She did however write this article about Josh Randall's video-game company.
7/22/2005 5:01:00 PM by cami | |
Thursday, July 21, 2005
 We have seen the future of... ...barefoot-lunatic-chick-noise-rock... ... and it’s ... Afrirampo!Holy God, we’re still speechless from the two 20-year-old Japanese chicks who blew our brain to bits last Tuesday night at the MassArt gym: Afrirampo won't just scramble your brain, they’ll make it into a fritatta. They started their set like two Osaka-bred dodo birds trying to warn each other about a prowling cat. “ Doh-doh-doh-doh-doh!” they yelled from the windows behind the MassArt bleachers, confusing everyone who’d cluelessly gathered around the plywood stage down on the gym floor. Then they ran down and crashed the stage barefoot and went Doh-doh-doh-doh AH! and Doh-doh-doh-doh ah-ow! and Fam-fam-fam-fam! and Es-can-ta-ba-ba! Es-can-ta-ba-ba! and Ah-so! and Sabang! and Yeeeeeeeee! and rolled their tongues and howled like demented monkeys for 30-plus-minutes and changed our lives forever. LISTEN: Afrirampo on WFMU (live radio-show stream), from last fall.
7/21/2005 6:08:00 PM by cami | |
1. In honor of this, it’s MySpace week on OTD. Expect your next week to be filled with absurd dispatches from the 22-million-person rabbit hole. First thing up: straight outta MySpace's West Coast HQ, Boston's most popular MySpace bands. Most playsKillswitch EngageTotal Views: 139,597 Total Plays: 251,420 Friends: 32,089 Most downloadsThe Red ChordTotal Views: 34,124 Total Plays: 48,477 Friends: 7,008 Most views (overall)The Dresden DollsTotal Views: 237,508 Total Plays: 175,851 Friends: 33,676 Most views one month ago from todayRe-cognitionTotal Views: 40,965 Total Plays: 4,215 Friends: 322 2. Also in this week's Phoenix, Chris Nelson eats over Missy's house. 3. In " Out," Carly Carioli digs into the dugout during “Hot Stove, Cool Music” and Sox Blog watches Bronson Arroyo get ready to lose. 3a. Speaking of which, have you heard Arroyo’s abysmal version “Dirty Water”? Forget the fact that the Bozo-haired baller sings like Glenn Frey on the can, but it’s got Johnny Damon, Kevin Youkilis, and Lenny Dinardo throwing down moronic banter for the whole song. Damon says that the best thing about Boston is "winning the World Series" (who woulda thunk) and that the best thing about playing the Green Monster is “the girls raising up their shirts for me." (Frustrated women? Huh?) Then Damon and his acolytes get all street by shouting out the local homies, but their list of local homies reads like the bolded type in the Globe's "Names and Faces": Whiskey Park, the Rack, Avalon, Todd English, Capital Grille, Kingfish Hall. Huh? Where's the Baseball Tavern? Where's PJ Kilroy's? Shit, man, where's the Sausage Guy? 3b. Check #61’s #29 seller. [Editor's note, 07/25/05, 11:31 a.m.: Arroyo's record dropped to #81. Thank yr maker.]
4. In " Cellars," Will Spitz checks in with the Lot Six, discovers that Frank Smith isn’t a dude, it’s a band, and wrangles up some Phoenix exclusive MP3s. LISTEN: The Lot Six, " The World is Still a Whore" LISTEN: Frank Smith, " Heads Up"
7/21/2005 1:24:00 PM by cami | |
Wednesday, July 20, 2005
Late summer/early fall alt-rock release schedules are leaking like Karl Rove: 1. That new Death Cab for Cutie song is streaming here. Some people claim to have it as an mp3, not to mention a new Devendra Banhart song, too. 2. You can stream some of that forthcoming Banhart album, Cripple Crow, over at his new label. 3. Also, off the record, there's a new My Morning Jacket song floating around. 4. Nada Surf are doing it again, Dandy Warhols are going down like disco, Pedro the Lion have posted acoustic and electric demos of a new song called "The Devil Is Beating His Wife" at Purevolume, and Franz Ferdinand are offering a live version of the first single from their new album. 5. Don't care what Frank Black tells the NME -- we'll believe in a new Pixies album when they start selling the Postal Service album at the Post Office. Also, if OTD hears that damn Kidz Bop cover of "Float On" one more time, we're gonna . . . what? . . . oh, sorry, that's just Ben Lee. 6. MEDIA BEEF! Sharon Osbourne vs. Boston Herald. (No, she's not mad that the Herald sent an alleged libelous reporter to the ball; instead, it was something about an illicit photo of Ozzy.)
7/20/2005 8:19:00 PM by onthedownload | |
 Just thought you'd want to know: some our favorite blogger/DJs are blowing the fuck up. Certified Bananas ( you remember them, right?) are going on a Canadian tour and whatnot, then sneaking into Zoo Yawk on the way back to . . . an Enormous rematch with Nick Catchdubs! Boston peoples, scratch August 12 off your to-do list, 'cause this shit is on. (We'll be trying to stow ourselves in young Catch's record bag: the night after, he's DJing back in NYC with these dudes.) Banana nutriment also in effect for support on an RSVP-only Airborn Audio show at Redline on August 10. A month ago our man Lemon-Red didn't own tables. (Uh, we're still not sure he owns tables.) But after a quick NYC apprenticeship from last month's CB guests, the manchild who's got the internet going nuts now has New Hampshire by the balls (n.h.!!) on a weekly basis. We will be reminding you about these things on an hourly basis. These boys are gonna be a problem. Just realized there's no mp3 in this post. OK, fine: WEB EXCLUSIVE (NOT OURS! HIS!) Kano & Danger Mouse, " We Have a Problem" (mp3, left-click, registration required)
7/20/2005 5:16:00 PM by onthedownload | |
7/20/2005 2:52:00 PM by onthedownload | |
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
 Bloc Party
With The Kills, Noisettes At Avalon Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 6:30pm Tickets are $22.00 Tickets go on-sale Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 10:00 am LISTEN: Bloc Party "Banquet (Phones Disco Edit)" (mp3) Black Label Society At Avalon Tuesday, October 25, 2005 at 8:00 pm Tickets are $25.00 Tickets go on-sale Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 12:00 Noon The Derek Trucks Band With Mofro At Avalon Saturday, November 19, 2005 at 6:30 pm Tickets are $20.00 Tickets go on-sale Saturday, July 23, 2005 at 10:00 am JOAN BAEZ October 25th and 26th at Somerville Theater Tickets on sale this Friday, July 22 at 10:00AM Reserved seat tickets are $40.00 (plus $1.00 theater restoration fee) on sale this Friday, July 22nd at 10:00AM (617/508) 931-2000 and online at www.ticketmaster.com. For theater information or directions call (617) 625-5700.
7/19/2005 4:40:00 PM by onthedownload | |
  Who wants to go rollerskating with the Dresden Dolls? No, seriously: Amanda and Brian have invited all their pals to the Chez Vous Roller Rink in Dorchester tonight. Ten bucks, all the money to Oxfam. Not a Dresden Dolls show. Just skating. However, tomorrow night Amanda plays semi-secret solo show at the Paradise Lounge. $10, 18-plus, 8 pm. Details on both events here. LISTEN: Dresden Dolls, " Girl Anachronism" (mp3)
7/19/2005 3:54:00 PM by onthedownload | |
  The two 20-year-olds in Afrirampo don't mind advertising themselves like a cheap porn Web site ("2 young Japanese girls rock duo from Osaka! Naked rock! Naked soul! Red red strong red dress!"), and neither do they mind reducing your intestines to sushi with ginsu-like guitar-and-drums improvisational mayhem. Discovered by Acid Mother's Temple and befriended by Boredoms, they've just released Kore Ga Mayaku Da on infamous Jap-bondage fan John Zorn's Tzadik label. With Lightning Bolt + Big Bear Mass College of Art Gymnasium, 621 Huntington Ave, Boston 9 pm, all ages $5 www.eximiousproductions.com. LISTEN: Afrirampo, " Afrirampo" (mp3) LISTEN: Afrirampo, " Hearts" (mp3) LISTEN: Britpop dudes Muse cover Lightning Bolt's " Dracula Mountain" (mp3) LISTEN: Certified Bananas June 2005 mix (mp3), which includes a blend of "Dracula Mountain" and Clipse's "When the Last Time." Bazonkers: check how the snare hits perfectly in the chorus. (via CB site) LISTEN: Big Bear, Track 1 (mp3)
7/19/2005 10:47:00 AM by onthedownload | |
Monday, July 18, 2005
 Twisted Villagers, put us on your Christmas card list: here we have one of two brand-freaking-new songs by the already beloved and soon to be revered psych-metal group Major Stars. Yes, Pitchfork just gave an 8.5 to their last album, and they have shared vinyl sides with Comets on Fire, but that stuff is a couple years old. The track we're bringing you, from the above-pictured single, is hot off the presses -- other than here, you can only get it on vinyl. Harvard Square weirdos know the group's core duo, Wayne and Kate Village, as the proprietors of the most insane noise/freejazz/improv/psych label/record store on the face of the earth. (TwVg is pretty much single handedly the reason Other Music never had a chance in the Square, and had to pack its shit and run back to NYC in the middle of the night. Kate & Wayne's website is worth visiting for album descriptions alone, which make Byron Coley and Thurston Moore's rants scan like the Herald's op-ed page.) But musically speaking, Kate and Wayne have been killing netherworld Terrastock types since the early '80s (s ee: Crystallized Movements, Magic Hour, Vermonster, etc.), most recently with the hate-fuck improv group Heathen Shame. The thing is, Major Stars isn't weird or strange or hard to understand: their record store might be stacked with obscurities, but their brand of psych-rock is comfort food, heavy riff stuff, generally with one genuinely ecstatic Hendrix-type freakout thrown in. The big surprise is that now they've added a female singer, and not just any female singer: Sandra Barrett late of the off-the-charts amazing art-punk band LA Drugs (of " Bathroom Stall" infamy), who put out our favorite CD-r of 2003 (scroll to bottom of link for Phoenix take). Simply put, it sounds a cross between Black Sabbath and Bikini Kill . . . or, if that's too square for you, try Hawkwind meets Phantom Pregnancies. By any measure, it fucking owns. LISTEN: Major Stars, " Pocket" (mp3). [ Go buy the record] [Editor's note: if you downloaded Major Stars earlier and were totally confused when the track info came up as Keiji Haino/Peter Brötzmann's "Evolving Blush or Driving Original Sin" circa 1997, rest assured the song you were hearing was the Major Stars. The file was just mistagged. We've since called the song doctor and everything's all better.]Major Stars celebrate the release of the new single TONIGHT at CHARLIE'S KITCHEN in Harvard Square.
7/18/2005 12:01:00 AM by onthedownload | |
Sunday, July 17, 2005
 An autoharp-plucking, ukulele-cradling lounge singer with an uncanny knack for sounding like a phlegmy David Byrne, Cory McAbee is the frontman for, and the ingenious engine behind, the art-rock threesome the Billy Nayer Show. In the trio’s decade-plus history, McAbee has not only eulogized bunny rabbits, John the Baptist, and glass vaginas with equal reverence, he’s also written, directed, scored, and starred in his own Sundance-approved "space Western musical," The American Astronaut. Simultaneously absurd and romantic enough to turn his apartment inventory into a love song, McAbee brings the Billy Nayer boys to Great Scott this evening for a little Sunday-night storytelling. Apartment-inventory-turned-marriage-proposal here: Billy Nayer Show, " Apartment #5" (via band site)
7/17/2005 3:57:00 PM by cami | |
Saturday, July 16, 2005
 Doom, doom. Grind, grind. Joe Not Common got at us too late for the print edition, but big ups to him for putting together this weekend's two-day (Sat-Sun.) Doom + Grind Fest at the Middle East downstairs. Description? Well, we're pretty sure there's gonna be some doom. And not to go out on a limb, there may also be some grind. Put it this way: a smart entrepreneur could make a few bucks this weekend by printing up "Ozzfest is gay" t-shirts. Since we missed "stroke victim" (cough, cough) Seth Putnam's surprise return in June, we're hoping -- and betting -- that our old pal finds his way onstage with Adolf Satan, or at least into the audience for Grief. With or without a walker. This is one of those fests where cripples won't be at a disadvantage: everyone's gonna be in wheelchairs or worse by the end. The lineup for Doom + Grind Fest: July 16: Phobia + Circle of Dead Children + Kill the Client + Drogheda + Adolf Satan + Biolich + Abhorred + Continued Without a Finding + Sin of Angels + Hirudinea. LISTEN:
1. Phobia, "D.F.F.D." (mp3)
2. Abhorred, "Forever War" (mp3)
3. Adolf Satan, "My Sweet Gourd" (mp3)
4. Circle of Dead Children, "No Tears Fall Through Hollow Eye Sockets" (mp3)
5. Kill the Client, "Commander and Thief" (mp3, left-click to download from myspace)
6. Continued Without a Finding, "Machine of Death" (mp3)
7. Sin of Angels, "Ashes of Sodom" (mp3, left-click to download from myspace) July 17: Grief + Unearthly Trance + Buried Inside + Conifer + Wet Nurse + Magrudergrind + Sylzslak + Kevorkian's Angels + Ocean + ID LISTEN:
8. Grief, "I Hate You" (mp3)
9. Unearthly Trance, "Mass of the Phoenix" (mp3)
10. Buried Inside, "Time As Abjection" (mp3)
11. Kevorkian's Angels, "Forcfed Feces" (mp3)
12. Conifer, "Albuquerque/Reprise" (mp3)
7/16/2005 11:24:00 AM by onthedownload | |
 Yeah, so, our second Andrea Gillis post in one week -- it's because we love you. You, gentle reader, who so very desperately needs a woman like Andrea in your life. The kind of woman who will drink you under the table and kick you out the back door before your crushing hangover's even begun to register. [Note to our death-metal people: she used to be the singer in the Red Chord! But not that Red Chord!] Andrea's got soul to spare, and earlier this week we posted the softest track on the disc last week -- mainly 'cause that's all the Somerville Arts Council had up. But in the meantime Ms. Gillis was kind enough to hand over the goods: "Used Up," on the basis of which we'd put her in the league of pretty much any badass garage-punk Shirelles-on-Red Bull band you'd want to name. LISTEN: Andrea Gillis, " Used Up" (mp3, OTD online exclusive). Check out Andrea today for free, outdoors, in the sun, at around 2 pm in Davis Square. And then you can see her for free for the next two Tuesdays at Toad in Porter Square.
7/16/2005 11:16:00 AM by onthedownload | |
Friday, July 15, 2005
 ALAWALWAD at Smashachusetts; photo from Return to the Pit.  The Hound; photo from Return to the Pit.
 Circle pit action from the laser-tag stage; photo by Mike Johnson Francine @ Smashachusetts; photo by Mike Johnson  Evan Kenney from Read Yellow; photo by Mike JohnsonWe couldn’t make it to Smashachusetts, the sick-sounding punk/DIY/singer-songwriter/metal/screamo all-day festival in Hudson, Massachusetts. Line-up was crazy: Read Yellow, Chinese Stars, the Heuristic, ALAWALWAD, The City On Film (Bob Nanna of Braid/Hey Mercedes), Mary Lou Lord (?), and a million other names. The OTD staff was pecking at their keyboards all yesterday, so we sent a spy, whose post-event round-up was something like, "Idea was good, running of it was done well, but--." The but was the high ticket price (25 smackers), the short-circuiting PA in the laser-tag room, and the low turnout (200-plus in a venue that hold 4,000). Whatevs: roller rink + laser-tag stage + the Hound = we like. Tons more photos here at Return to the Pit. Also, ALAWALWAD MP3 here.
7/15/2005 4:07:00 PM by cami | |
  Note: not the same thing. Best three things about some kid's post in this thread: 1. Mudvayne has a stylist. 2. Mudvayne's stylist's boyfriend posts on the Honeypump board. 3. Mudvayne's stylist's boyfriend is posting from a " Pantera Bread." p.s.: Mudvayne's stylist's boyfriend isn't the only one who's been to Pantera Bread either. Those of you looking for Ozzfest mp3s: we posted them yesterday. And dudes, it's fucking 9 a.m.: the show started a half-hour ago. NOT FOCUSED!
7/15/2005 9:01:00 AM by onthedownload | |
Thursday, July 14, 2005
We're waiting for our man-on-the-scene to file a full official report, but early returns suggest that Lady Sovereign may have to re-title her album. Something like, uh, The Massacre. Hoping to duplicate the buzz that rocked outward from manhattan when M.I.A. came over for her first US appearance, S-O-V hit NYC last night -- but in the way a fly hits a windshield. As you'd expect, people are blogging each others eyes out over this one. Recaps here, here, here, and here. The midget also stopped by an East Village community station en route to her gig; if you feel like wading through a 100-plus mb file for a very off-the-cuff one-song peerformance, you can download the whole radio show here. Somebody tripped her up with the "Ch-Ching" instrumental, but then threw on what is, for our money, a better track: "Sad Ass Stripper." On the upside, Harry and the Potters apparently blew the doors off the New York Public Library last week. Amy Phillips wants to ride their broom (!): "I haven’t heard that much squealing since R. Kelly walked onstage at the Best of Both Worlds tour."
7/14/2005 6:50:00 PM by onthedownload | |
7/14/2005 5:11:00 PM by onthedownload | |
Programming note: OTD is live all weekend . . . two exclusive Boston-rock tracks going up Saturday and Sunday. Don't sleep.You want us to get mad at Ozzfest. Not gonna happen. Not even if these kids show up:  You want us to defend Ozzfest. Not gonna happen. Not even if these guys show up:  Everything you can possibly say is wrong with Ozzfest? It is. And it's probably worse than you think. Then again, y'know, Mastodon is playing. Black Sabbath could, conceivably, suck -- just like, theoretically, Gibson could stop manufacturing guitars tomorrow and go into the tutu business. We're pretty sure this isn't cool, but OTD's class-of-'88 thrash batteries seem to get revved up every time the new As I Lay Dying album comes on. And go ahead, hate on Killswitch Engage and Trivium if it'll make you feel all butch and Rob Halford about yourself. If this is what mall metal sounds like now, then build some fucking more malls. Barring traffic snarls, it's about a 40-minute drive from Boston to Mansfield. Unless, that is, you're grinding the official OTD Ozzfest Mixtape on smash. Then it's a hair over 32 minutes. Click, drag, burn: 1. Mastodon, " Blood and Thunder" (mp3) 2. Archenemy, " We Will Rise" (mp3) 3. As I Lay Dying, " Meaning in Tragedy" (mp3) 4. Black Dahlia Murder, " A Vulgar Picture" (mp3) 5. Bury Your Dead, " The Color of Money" (mp3) 6. Shadows Fall, " The Power of I and I" (mp3) 7. Killswitch Engage, " Rose of Sharyn" (mp3) 8. Trivium, " Pull Harder on the Strings of Your Martyr" (mp3) 9. Mastodon, " Iron Tusk" (mp3) Ozzfest officially kicks off tomorrow -- Friday, July 15 -- at the Tweeter Center in Mansfield. Off the record, most of the bands are rehearsing in the neighborhood. Whatever you do, don't drive up to the Tweeter today expecting to see a run-through or something. That's definitely not a good idea.
7/14/2005 7:15:00 AM by onthedownload | |
 [ photo linked from Ink 19] From his private club, the Spellcaster Lodge, in New Orleans's Ninth Ward, the uncanny organist, inventor, and all-purpose entertainer Mr. Quintron has been spewing a stream of (be)low-fi releases attesting to his affinity for malfunctioning drum machines, pre-transistor electric gadgetry, medicine-show novelty hokum, and avant-garde noise. His creative leap, a few years back, was the realization that the Crescent City's native brand of hip-hop (in his phrase, the "No Money Cash Limit" axis) is built on pretty much the same mix. His most recent album, Are You Ready for an Organ Solo, is one of Calvin Johnson's favorite records to play at parties: "It’s fucking brilliant," he told OTD a while back. "When I put it on, everyone’s first reaction is, ‘What is this?’ But by the time they figure it out, they’re already on the dance floor." With his puppet-wielding better half, Miss Pussycat, in tow, Quintron's at the Jorge Hernández Cultural Center, 85 West Newton St, Boston with the Konks + Ghetto Fighters 8 pm $10 617.927.1730. LISTEN: Quintron, " These Hands of Mine" (mp3) LISTEN: Quintron, " 949" (mp3) LISTEN: From The Oblivians Play 9 Songs with Mr. Quintron: " I Don't Wanna Live Alone" (mp3)
7/14/2005 12:03:00 AM by onthedownload | |
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
 1. Jonah Bloodbath puts on cool shows, most of them beneath the surface of the earth. Or, if you prefer, in basements. Or, if you're really a jerk, "underground." Jonah's band has a sorta long, annoying name. His label has the best name ever. The point, though, is that the boy is so focused right now. The above seven-inch, which is old, was funny because of the song title, which we stole for the title of this post. But their new destruction is beyond. Today's song is from an upcoming split with the Hound. Our spies passed us the Hound's recent session last week, and it's like running through a rainstorm with curling irons strapped to your feet. See, the curling irons are like plugged in? And because it's raining you're getting electrocuted? And you're yelling, like, "Aiiigh! Aiigh! Fuck! How'd these extension cords get so fucking long?" You will be hearing more about the Hound very soon. But this is the first song to surface from Jonah's side. As you may have guessed by this point, it's metal. It might be OTD's new favorite song. And yes, we said that about the Doomriders song too. But no shitting, Jonah's record is gonna be a problem, y'heard?
LISTEN: ALAWALWAD, "Fatigue" (mp3, via Teenage Disco Bloodbath Records) Did we mention that there's only two people in the band? They're playing a roller rink in Hudson on Thursday. And Boston peeps stay tuned for the MassArt jumpoff on July 22. 2. Speaking of Doomriders, get ready: their debut album Black Thunder is streaming now and available for pre-order , with tasty bonus live-at-the-Middle-East 7-inch action. CD-release party August 10 at Blackout Bar (speaking of which, when is Vieira gonna update the damn site?). 3. Coming tomorrow: more metal. Coming the day after tomorrow: even more fucking metal. And maybe some hip-hop: hint, hint.
7/13/2005 4:26:00 PM by onthedownload | |
 1. Dungen, as close listeners to their music may have observed, are not from Boston. In fact, tonight is their first time in these parts. And yet, sorta like the first time Bevis Frond played here, everyone knows their name and is acting like they're old friends. Why? because that massive wave of US buzz on the album -- the one that has finally gotten it released domestically -- was generated largely on the efforts of some of our Malden neighbors. READ: Mikael Wood interviews Dungen's Gustav Ejstes. READ: Nick Sylvester reviews Ta Det Lugnt. LISTEN: Dungen, " Panda" (mp3) LISTEN: The House of Leaf and Lime has " Lipsill"  2. That the Hidden Cameras' on-line fan club is called the " Mild Mannered Army" kinda says it all. Over the course of three albums and countless singles, main man Joel Gibb has marched his fluctuating brigade of Canadians through some raunchy topical terrain, though the music has disguised itself as catchy twee-pop. To hear the Cameras' lush arrangements and multi-tracked vocal harmonies, you'd never suspect they came from a dude who yanks inspiration from dirty drawers and golden showers. Which isn't to say the Cameras are all smut - when Gibb croons a line about his old home town's "Mississauga people/Bearing the weight of common evil," it's straight poetry. Just not the kind you'd want mom to catch you listening to. T.T. the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge $8 617.492.BEAR. LISTEN: Hidden Cameras, " I Believe in the Good of Life" (mp3, left-click to download from Insound)
7/13/2005 2:28:00 PM by onthedownload | | |