LISTEN: Mighty Mighty Bosstones, "The Impression That I Get (Dub Blend)" (mp3)

Hi. The Bosstones are broken up, supposedly. But something funny just landed in our in-box. And if it hadn't come from who it came from, we wouldn't be posting it. But let's just say we're pretty sure they want you to hear this. So as not to spoil the surprise, we'll keep the description simple: when we cue this up, RealPlayer tells us it's from the MTV Mashups album. Is that the case? We have no idea. Enjoy.

Since we don't get to talk about the Bosstones much anymore, some history: for those of you who only know the hits, we were seriously in love with the Bosstones when these records came out. Lots of dudes of a certain age have very fond memories of the days when Fishbone or Murphy's Law would come up to play Sunday all-ages matinees with 'em at the Paradise and the Channel. Dicky Barrett was a guy who was physically incapable of taking himself seriously. MMB once came up with the idea of trying to cover Metallica's "Enter Sandman" before the "Sandman" single was actually released, and they very nearly pulled it off. And, y'know, all those Bosstones dudes did some serious representing for Boston hardcore. Go find the first EP they put out after they signed to Polygram, and find us a band now who'd use their major label debut to cover Minor Threat, Angry Samoans, SSD, and Bob Marley. For better or worse, there's no way in hell there'd be a Dropkick Murphys without the Mighty Mighty Bosstones. Just sayin'.

NOTE: on a whim, OTD has decided to start posting songs for just a week or two, instead of indefinitely. Partly it's because it seems to be what everyone else is doing. Partly because we don't want you to take us for granted. The stuff that's up right now will be slowly phazed out during the next month or so. Don't sleep. Possibly we'll be archiving selected tracks over at the Phoenix band guide site. At least that's the plan. No guarantees.

9/30/2005 9:25:00 AM by onthedownload | Comments [1] |  

. . . Mark "Hydrahead" Thompson. Let's give Mark a round of applause, and welcome him to the blog game. (Pelican jumping on an Opeth tour? How can anyone be mad at that?)

Actually, Mark's holding a real Emmy, which belongs to his girlfriend. But let's pretend it's one of those cute little paperweights they were passing around at the saddest night out in the USA, a/k/a the Boston Music Awards. If you've ever watched someone try to stretch one night of semi-fame into a lifetime career, you know what the room was like. We hope host Jimmy Tingle was drunker than we were, because -- as anyone with post-traumatic stress syndrome will tell you -- the memory of a bombing like that can be worse than the actual carnage. Most famous people in the building: the guys in Aerosmith who are not Steven Tyler. Best explanation suggested for why they were there: dem boys still owe the Lansdowne Street guys from when Mama Kin went belly-up?

Admittedly, we left before Click 5, who went to Berklee for five minutes, were awarded Best New Local Act, and also before Dropkick Murphys won for Outstanding Pop/Rock Act (ain't that the truth), and some ass named Ray LaMontagne (jokes: we love that record, but HE'S FROM MAINE) won Album and Song of the Year. And probably some other stuff. We lost page two of the results. Can we go on record right now as saying that we don't want to live in a town where the best hopes for the future are Dear Leader (Local Album of the Year) and the Perceptionists (Independent Album of the Year)? Look, there's nothing wrong with either group: we like Lif and Aaron Perrino as much as the next indie yuppie progressive college-rock or hip-hop fan. But please: can't we just skip the disappointing career arcs and banish these guys straightaway to the Hall of Fame?

Speaking of which, we also left before the Neighborhoods were inducted into said Hall. But we did so only because we just saw Minehan play with Paul Westerberg the other night, and because we know that there's another, way much better, Neighborhoods reunion show coming up. For those of you who haven't seen this week's paper yet:

Scissorfight + The Neighborhoods + Clouds + Dana Colley
November 18 at the Middle East 18+ $15 8pm doors

More soon on the return of the allmighty Scissorfight, including new song, details of the long-awaited Jaggernaut, and plans for world domination.

9/29/2005 9:29:00 AM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

Better late than never, right?

AEROSMITH + LENNY KRAVITZ
November 12 at TD Banknorth Garden, Boston
$55-$125
on sale Friday at 11 am
617.931.2000

RYAN CABRERA + THE CLICK 5 + THE VERONICAS
November 5 at Avalon, Boston
on sale Saturday at 10 am 617.931.2000

PHIL LESH & FRIENDS
December 1 at Agganis Arena, Boston
$40 on sale Saturday at 10 am 617.931.2000

RAY LAMONTAGNE
December 2 + 3 at Berklee Performance Center, Boston
$28 on sale Saturday at 10 am 617.931.2000

311
November 23 at Tsongas Arena, Lowell
$35 on sale Saturday at noon 617.931.2000

APOLLO SUNSHINE + PROTOKOLL
October 5 at Somerville Theatre to benefit the Red Cross + Tipitina’s Fund
$12 617.931.2000 or www.bostonkatrinaconcert.com

RIC OCASEK
October 10 at Harpers Ferry, Allston
617.254.9743

MARK YOUR CALENDARS:

October 23: DJ Marlboro at Club Lido

December 5: Sinead O'Connor with Sly and Robbie (as in, Sly and Robbie are backing Sinead O-fucking-Connor) at Avalon. Listen here, if you dare, and peep that awful Irish rasta layout . . .

9/28/2005 6:58:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

Before the esteemed Mercury Prize mantle, before allegedly making Lou Reed teary-eyed, before blog-rolling Boston college girls chatted about him on the Green Line (we eavesdropped on one such hilarious conversation last week), androgynous cabaret singer (chanteuse?) Antony performed at the Oni Gallery, a dearly-departed Chinatown loft space. (Reason #389 why the city of Boston sucks: the inability to comprehend why something like the Oni should exist.)

Back then, semi-professional early-adopter Jon Whitney (recently propped for his music site Brainwashed.com here and here) interviewed Antony for his weekly vlog segment, the Eye. Contrast this 27-minute piece against the 4700+-word profile in the New York Times earlier this month (sorry, not online for free) and you can see how performers reveal themselves differently when the venue shifts from fifth-floor loft space to Carnegie Hall. Y'see, some people speak more softly into a megaphone.

1. Antony’s mane.

NYT asks whether or not Antony’s “dark, glossy hair of mysterious origin” is a wig: "If Elton John and Beyonce divulge their beauty secrets, I promise I shall follow suit!"

The Eye: he’s straight-up bald.

2. Antony’s outsider status.

NYT: "It's a sign of the times... that someone like me could have a forum to present myself."

The Eye: “In most societies... my kind of person usually is the first to be killed. In Afghanistan, I would’ve been buried under a wall of rubble when I was 12.”

3. Antony’s Johnson.

NYT: “I probably would marry a man,” he would tell me after much tortured consideration. “So that probably answers your question around whom I’m attracted to. I wasn't really one of those kids who needed to come out.”

The Eye: Growing up, "I thought that homosexuality was disgusting... although I knew I was, like, a cocksucker.”

WATCH: Jon Whitney interviews Antony (scroll)

Antony's back in Boston tonight, following up his MFA gig earlier this year, with an intimate "cabaret-seating" gig at the Paradise, 967 Comm Ave, Boston 617.228.6000.

9/28/2005 2:03:00 PM by cami | Comments [0] |  

1. How many bridge-and-tunnel glossies does it take to give Aerosmith's singer a handjob? Both of them, apparently. We love a front row seat for a nasty media war, and Boston Magazine has apparently fired off its opening screw-you in the general direction of incoming interloper Boston Common, a new high-end, large-format admat that's shelling out gazillions in an effort to become the new bible for our fair city's sorta-rich and barely-famous. Two weeks ago, Boston Common leaked details of its inaugural issue to the Herald's Inside Track, touting an interview with (and more-faggy-than-ususal-looking cover photo of) clothing designer and young-at-heart dadrocker Steven Tyler. Maybe it leaked a little too early, since Boston Mag had time to counter with its own Steven Tyler cover story -- one entirely unencumbered by its lack of interview and cover photo (don't know if you can tell on the jpeg, but that's a painting). Which leaves us asking the obvious question: does anybody care about Steven Tyler anymore? Maybe they do in a city where he isn't on the cover of every magazine on the newsstand 13 months a year.

2. And we dunno who said you can't judge a book by its cover, but that's plain wrong: these two issues are just as dead on the inside. Boston Mag's "15 Best Boston Bands of All-Time" list -- sorry, the "15 All-Time Boston Musicians We Love," proving they've got even less in the way of balls than they have in taste -- is as follows, in ascending order: Boston, Burma, Donna Summer, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Aimee Mann, Cars, Pixies, Carly Simon, Jo Dee Messina, J Geils Band, Godsmack, New Edition, Morphine, the Click Five.

OK, full stop, deep breath.

Staind and New Kids on the Block are gonna be crushed.

3. Let's try to figure out which chooch wrote their unsigned "Top 50 Boston Songs," shall we? (wild guess, entirely conjecture) Um, Extreme's "More Than Words" (#27) -- that's how much better than Aerosmith's "Mama Kin" (#28), again? -- is listed a full ten spots lower than "Where'd You Go" (#15), which for the record was a far more annoying Bosstones radio hit (around here anyway) than their worldwide hockey-rink anthem "The Impression That I Get" (#36). Other petty gripes: Letters To Cleo's "Awake" (#50) is half as good as Robin Lane and the Chartbusters' "When Things Go Wrong" (#25)? The fuck outta here. Even blatant bids for street cred -- the inclusion of Gang Green's "Alcohol" and SSD's "How Much Art," which we hereby challenge Paul Robicheau to hum 12 bars of -- are muffed by their completely retarded sense of perspective. Like saying Human Sexual Response's "Land of the Glass Pine Cones" (#33) is better than motherfucking "Academy Fight Song" (#35). My ass.

4. Guess which is which:




VISIT: www.georgebushhatesblackpeople.com
VISIT: www.georgebushdoesntcareaboutblackpeople.com

5. For those of you who only read the Sunday Times, and therefore missed this on Saturday, here's the videoblogger who set Katrina news footage to Green Day's "Wake Me Up When September Ends," which, sayeth the Times, "fits the lyrics like a glove."

9/26/2005 7:02:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

Even though he didn't end up getting the NEP slot, D-Tension is still That Dude. Tonight: him and the Commonwealth Records posse team up with dem Leedz boyz and 97.7's Mr. Peter Parker for a rally in the alley. There's a mixtape to go along with it, the best part of which might be the bonus track:

LISTEN: Mic Stylz, "I'm Sick of Everything To Do with Hip Hop" (mp3)

9/24/2005 5:12:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

Flickr image from lunarbull.

1. "Earlier on Friday, two persons were injured a few meters away from the scene of Emeterio’s accident when a black Honda Civic (UEE 171) hit a Fuso trailer truck (EVL 319) driven by Juan Bron at the southbound lane of South Superhighway, corner Java St. in Palanan, Makati City. Injured were the car’s driver, Joshua Galang, 19, a resident of Marikina City; and his female companion, Toni Lacson. Galang was rushed to the nearby St. Claire Clinic while Lacson was taken to the Manila Sanitarium in Pasay City. The injuries they sustained were not immediately known."

2. Galang takes top spot in quarter-mile race
Joey Galang of Team MOH Speed took the top podium spot in last Saturday's Blaze Shootout in Clark, Pampanga. Galang, in a Honda Civic, posted a 16.51-second E.T. (elapsed time) on the quarter-mile track set up along Spur Road in Clark, Aneles, Pampanga. He also took the top honors in the Quick 8 category.

3. "U.R.A.S.U.V."

4. "Sorry to kill the party . . . Two days ago, I had a fight with a friend because I sold 'Galang' to Honda . . . Sometimes I think I shouldn't have done it. Maybe you guys don't give a shit . . . But I hope I still have your support . . . I'm a first generation immigrant, how else am I gonna make money so I can get it the people who need it? . . . This is still my song. It doesn't belong to Honda."

-- imperfect, partial transcription scribbled on OTD's bar napkin of what M.I.A. said last night right before she played "Galang."

9/24/2005 1:25:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

The Stooges (top two: JazzFest, 2004, at Louisiana Music Factory; above, in their previous incarnation as the Lil' Stooges, at Ernie K-Doe's funeral, New Orleans, 2001)

"In New Orleans, the brass bands are street-bred. Their chops can handle tricky jazz arrangements, and their second-line rhythms (laid down by drums and tuba) can morph into dancehall raps or straight hip-hop. The Stooges played one song dedicated to a friend, trombonist Joseph 'Shotgun' Williams, of the Hot 8 Brass Band, who 'was killed by the New Orleans police department' last August. Part of the refrain went: 'They have the nerve/To say they protect and serve.' The name of the tune was 'Why’d You Have To Kill Him?' "
-- Jon Garelick, Boston Phoenix, May 6, 2005

By now you probably have figured out that a) we're not talking about Iggy's Stooges, and b) that there's nofuckingway on earth you can miss this Sunday's show. (And we haven't even mentioned the Stooges' their John Legend cover yet). For further illustration of the enduring link between hip-hop and NOLA brass, see this Matt "Houstonsoreal" Sonzala's post, or check the (mind-blowing, if you've never heard it) example by Hot 8 below. Hurricane or no hurricane, these boys don't quit.

LISTEN: The Stooges, "Can't Be Faded" (sample mp3)
LISTEN: Hot 8 Brass Band, "Skeet, Skeet" (mp3)

DETAILS:
Central Square World's Fair
EmergencyMusic + Rocketscience + The Rudds + Muck and the Mires + Reverend Glasseye + Juliana Hatfield + the Stooges Brass Band
Sunday, September 25
outdoors on Mass Ave between Prospect + Main

PRINT: Central Square World's Fair map/schedule (.pdf)

9/24/2005 10:41:00 AM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

SEPT 23 [GS: "The Pill"] Certainly, Sir + Cassette [MA] Tiny Hawks + Mahi Mahi + Made in Mexico [OB] Major Stars + Plunge into Death + Magic People + Travers [RG] 40 Watts [NU] Jason Anderson + Landing + Tiger Saw + Sanguine



1. Um, look, we know MIA is playing tonight, too, and no one's more bummed about that than the Plunge Into Death guys. Despite a name that sounds like a death metal fan club, they're actually a cartoonist, a weird gothic hippie, and assorted punk rock/hip-hop fiends attempting to make a new kind of DIY party music. We like to think of them as our Le Tigre. They're also part of the secretly prolific Compound 440r collective (read Camille's piece in this week's Phoenix) that's been dropping like a half-dozen remixes a week. Here's the latest . . .

LISTEN: Plunge Into Death, "Ay Ay Ay (David Banner Remix)" (mp3)
LISTEN: Major Stars, "Pocket" (mp3, OTD Exclusive)

2. Kay Hanley jumping on a N.E.S.T. bill at the last minute? THAT'S WHUT'S UP. Plus Jason Anderson -- a/k/a Our Sufjan -- and Tiger Saw, Newburyport kids whose new album Sing is killing us softly with big-choral-group harmony parts. (DO NOT think Polyphonic Spree: this is different.)

LISTEN: Jason Anderson, "O, Jac" (mp3)

3. We liked Certainly, Sir long before their singer started writing about mugic, and all pro-wrestling-type beef aside (which is to say, the kind of beef that's not entirely fake but is pretty silly even when it's real), we've got mad love for those dudes . . . so much love that we're not even going to add the obligatory "no homo." Click here for David Day's preview of the new C,S album, TAN, the rare long-form collection of song-based dance music that actually has consistenly great songs and also has consistently dope programming, which is not even mentioning the consistently dope cameo by Ben Gibbard. Ben is right in wanting to keep on these guys' good sides, since they might own him in a couple of years. The album isn't out til November and even then only in Japan, but here's the song M. Brodeur leaked to a local message board last week:

LISTEN: Certainly, Sir, "Tony" (mp3)

4. Hollerback: HUUUUGE thanks to Juan Maclean for coming down last night: he drove straight to Boston after having spent the past three days without sleep at the bedside of his three-year-old daughter, who we're pleased to say has recovered from a nasty bout of pneumonia. If there's anyone who embodied the spirit of NEST, it's a guy who gets asked to play Derrick May's Super Bowl party showing up solo to spin Carl Craig's "The Climax" and Underground Resistance's "Transition" and Mr. Velcro Fastener and Derrick Carter and Kraftwerk on a pair of beat-up decks with broke-ass faders set up on a card table for an audience of semi-appreciative indie kids. Let's just say that, uh, money wasn't a motivation, either. Just a really geniunely chill dude. He also had semi-encouraging news for those of us still holding out hope for a Six Finger Satellite reissue campaign from Sub Pop. Keep the faith.

9/23/2005 4:26:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

1. The Juan McLean keeps his fingernails clean.

2. ... and his rekkids

3. Parts & Labor

4. Parts & Layb-hair

5. Isolée grows bored with laptop beats; gets drunk.

6. Sho' nuff, that's David Day fingersnapping in the blue.

1-4, Great Scott, photos by Cami D.
5-6, Middlesex Lounge, photos by Cami D.

9/23/2005 2:30:00 PM by cami | Comments [0] |  

1. The Teeth

2. More Teeth (and a curly stache)

3. Michael Johnson reports: "Mittens was, well, Mittens. They come,
they play, you dance. Quirky pop tunes from quirky indie-rock dudes."

1-3, O'Briens, © Michael Johnson

9/23/2005 12:05:00 PM by cami | Comments [0] |  

SEPT 22 [GS] DJ Juan Maclean + Parts & Labor + Man Man Films + Badman [MA] Secret Diary + Hive Mind + Cornucopia + Luasa Raelon [OB] Mittens + Pants Yell! + Hats & Glasses + The Teeth [RG] Toxic Narcotic + PosiXforce + Direct Control [ML] Isolée + Rainbow Bright + DJ Caulder [ZZ] Pragnus Gray (Stephen J. Lawrence feat. mems of Anchormen and the Empties).



Juan Maclean photo from the Ice Cream Man; Mad Man Films photo courtesy band.

You'll have to wait til November to see Juan Maclean kick it live-band style with LCD Soundsytem -- holy christ, that tour is gonna own -- but tonight the Juan in Juan Maclean, better known to some in these parts as Six Finger Satellite's John Maclean, is coming down to spin some records between bands.

WATCH: The Juan Maclean, "Give Me Every Little Thing" (video, opens in RealPlayer)
LISTEN: Parts & Labor, "A Great Divide" (mp3)
LISTEN: Badman, "City Lights" (mp3)

MITTENS + PANTS YELL + HATS & GLASSES + THE TEETH
For the sartorially inclined, these accessories-to-rock are looking sharp. Mittens? They’re handy — with a hook, an off-kilter rhythm, an elliptical love song. Pants Yell? Leggy isn’t quite the word, but they look great in blue jeans as they bash out their cryptic bedroom pop. Hats and Glasses are heady, for sure. And the Teeth? Dunno. Shirty, perhaps?

SECRET DIARY + HIVE MIND + CORNUCOPIA + LUASA RAELON
With fathoms-deep drones that alternate between horrifying and gorgeous, Hive Mind are leading the voting for NEST Act Most Likely To Make You Curl Into The Fetal Position. That late-night, empty-house, dead-lump-in-your-stomach feeling? Hive Mind can give it to you in broad daylight. This shit is Brian Eno on peyote, Richard D. James during a blackout. Viva analog synths!

9/22/2005 5:16:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

1. Piles

2. More Piles

3. Piles of Piles

4. The Reputation's Elizabeth Elmore

5. Victory at Sea's Mona Elliott

1-5, Great Scott, © Michael Johnson

9/22/2005 3:00:00 PM by cami | Comments [0] |  

LISTEN: Rainbow Bright, "The Rollah" (mp3)

Rainbow Bright, aka Jay Flower and Mike Uzzi, met at the New England Conservatory back when they thought electronic music was crap. Years later, they're cutting one of the hottest techno tracks of the year. As part of the Unlocked Groove collective, they have been in the lab experimenting and trading ideas with other carbon based life forms. "The Rollah" is a deceptively simple cut that reveals its complexity on repeat listens. Chords shift slightly, like the sands under a receding tide, as synth pads bounce and pan from earlobe to earlobe. And that thick circular bassline opens like a flytrap -- then just when you feel safe in its wide blossom, it snaps shut.

Tonight Rainbow Bright puts on a special live performance in support of German techno superstar Isolee. As Uzzi explains, RB are "prepared to rock shit." Tickets are $12.00 and can be purchased at http://www.squar3.com/. Opening is an extended set from one of Boston's best: DJ Caulder.

As for the track, "The Rollah" is one of four tracks on the upcoming Unlocked Groove 001 12" EP, due out October 25. It's the label release by the Appliance of Science label, named after their Friday residency at the local watering hole River Gods. Two more 12-inches will follow in early 2006.

There's no telling what will happen to the crew, but absolutely no one would be surprised if "The Rollah" showed up on a CD mix from overseas (implicit: the idea, which we're resigned to, that blowing up begins with recognition from outsiders), at which point you'll be telling everyone you knew them back when.

(DISCLOSURE: Today's guest post is from Square Productions DJ and Phoenix "Circuits" columnist David Day, who, technically, has a financial stake in tonight's Rainbow Bright show. This is what's known in strict journaleese as a "conflict of interest." Sorry. The thing's gonna sell out no matter what, which has nothing to do with this little item and everything to do with the headliner. Trust us, no one's getting rich off this shit. We just happen to really like the song, and since David is better at writing about this stuff than the rest of us, we asked him to weigh in on it. Go pooh-pooh if you want. There's nothing hinky going on, it's just a small fucking town, OK?)

9/22/2005 11:32:00 AM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

1. Bladoww! Certified Bananas is back on the attack with new website, new tunes, new live date: Update the bookmarks 'pon dem. Belated September mix: YES. Long-overdue grouping of CB's greatest-hits exclusive remixes, including flashback to that time Tego Calderon gave a verse to Joanna Newsome on that reggaeton jawn: YES. Place for you to cop all the wonderfully-packaged CB Radio CDs: YES. Advance Warning for October 14 throwdown at Enormous Room: FUCK YES.


New England hardcore: so gangster.

2. WATCH: Ramallah, "The Horror and the Gag" (uh, some kind of flash video, maybe?)

We know you indie-blog hipsters aren't supposed to like thugged out East Coast hardcore, but babygirl playing the ivories on this has us all choked up, for real. Plus: Roballah Lind rocking the Axl Rose bandana and the prison-teardrop tattoo? THAT'S A GOOD LOOK.

(The previous item came to our attention via an old accomplice: what, you didn't think he was gone forever, didja? Oh, no, it can't be: RUCKER'S WORLD IS BACK?!)

2. People slept on What's Next to the Moon, Mark Kozelek's amazing album of AC/DC "covers" -- more like he re-wrote the tunes but kept the words -- until ex-Phoenix hotshot Mike Crowley spilled the beans (somewhat obliquely) in a much-blogged-about piece in TNR. (He does a good job of illustrating something we pointed out in a piece about Napster five years ago: that filesharing "begins to smooth out the differences in accessibility between such market-imposed distinctions as rare and abundant -- Captain Beefheart outtakes and import B-sides are as accessible as the new 'N Sync album, regardless of how many people want to hear them.") Hopefully heads are getting familiar with that album, because it's genius. And also because Mark's at it again: if you're wondering whether to lay odds on the probability of Kozelek's upcoming album of Modest Mouse covers, we'd guess it's better than Kidz Bop, for starters.

LISTEN: 90 seconds of Mark Kozelek's "Love at First Feel" (mp3)

3. Big ups to old pal Kevin Rifle, who we just ran into out front, on his break from a gig at NEC. Those dudes are doing it real big: Billy Joel just handed them a check for $300,000. And Clogs are coming in for a masterclass before their MFA show. Kevin also reminded us about a Boston-based blog we haven't mentioned enough: Bradley's Almanac. The Almanac straps himself up with state-of-the-art field recording equipment and brings back full-show empeefrees from sold-out musical events of note, such as, recently, Sigur Ros at the Opera House. (Check the comments section: kids are shedding tears over it. To be fair, our intrepid music editor, asked for his impressions of said show, was uncharacteristically at a loss for words. "This is gonna sound stupid," said he, "but it was . . . beautiful.")

LISTEN: Clogs, "Pencil Music" (mp3)

9/21/2005 9:55:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

SEPT 21 [GS] Victory at Sea + Reputation + Shore Leave + Piles [MA] Stephen Brodsky + Animal Hospital + WAYFAYIS [OB] “Get Smart” w/ DJ Whoever [ZZ] Nurse & Soldier + Organelles + Forbes Graham [YWCA] Purity’s Failure + They & the Children + Shanghai Valentine + Sinaloa


LISTEN: They & the Children, "Route 1 Never Shined Brighter" (mp3)
LISTEN: Shanghai Valentine, "Nothing Wrong" (mp3)

Stephen Brodsky + Animal Hospital + WAYFAYIS
Steve Brodsky, seen last night post-Octave-Museum-set getting fanboyishly up in Ramona Cordova's grill, goes for his second night in a row -- this time with his own solo-dude-with-guitar stylings. We go on about this like a broken record, but if Stephen doesn't put out his unreleased solo album Static Intellect pretty soon, we're going to leak the fucking thing. He's also told MTV that he's working on some of "the most elaborate" songwriting he's ever done. You can and should buy the other Brodsky solo albums, as well as the new Cave In album (already in second pressing: fuck you, RCA!), as well as the New Idea Society record (which is really more this guy's baby), and whatever else he's selling. On a completely unrelated note, Animal Hospital are really cool. Check this shit out . . .

LISTEN: Animal Hospital, "Beneath the Ocean" (mp3)

Victory at Sea + Reputation + Shore Leave + Piles
Vic @ Sea started out as the last of the Chicago-style indier-than-indie bores but have surprised the shit out of everyone in recent years by overcoming all that bloodless meandering and turning into a great fucking band. People still desribe Elisabeth from the Reputation as the gal from Sarge, which is getting a little old. Her and Mr. Since You've Been Gone (he's not playing! Just being a thorough linker!) are the best part of Lookout!, hands down. Shore Leave and Piles are like secrets we don't feel like parting with yet: you remember when the furtive, crepuscular art-rudeboy Momus said that in the future everyone will be famous to 15 people? Like that.

LISTEN: Victory at Sea, "Love Is Ageless" (mp3)
LISTEN: The Reputation, "Face It" (mp3)
LISTEN: Shore Leave, "Water" (mp3)

9/21/2005 5:22:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

1. Protokoll

2. Protokoll crowd

3. Roh Delikat's indie-gothtronica chanteuse Kristina Johnson

4. Roh Delikat's Sam Gutterman

5. Kristina Johnson gets up in Ho-Ag's Matt Parish mug

6. Crank Sturgeon

7. Providence's Alec K. Redfearn and the Eyesores

8. Alec K.'s slow-shutter-speedy accordion

9. Ramona Cordova

1-5, MassArt, © Daisy Romero.
6, Great Scott, © Kristen Goodfriend.
7-9, O'Briens, © Cami D.

9/21/2005 2:25:00 PM by cami | Comments [0] |  

Audioslave
With Seether, 30 Seconds to Mars
At Tsongas Arena
Monday, October 31, 2005 at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $40.50
Tickets go on-sale Saturday, September 24, 2005 at 10:00 am
617.931.2000

Ben Folds
At Orpheum Theatre
Saturday, November 5, 2005 at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $35.00, $29.50 and $25.00
Tickets go on-sale Saturday, September 24, 2005 at 10:00 am

The Dandy Warhols
At Paradise Rock Club
Wednesday, November 30, 2005 at 8:00 pm
Tickets are $20.00
Tickets go on-sale Saturday, September 24, 2005 at 12 noon
617.931.2000

Los Lonely Boys
With Los Amigos Invisibles
**SHOW MOVED FROM ORPHEUM TO AVALON-ALL TICKETS HONORED
Friday, September 30, 2005 at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $32.50
617.931.2000

RIC OCASEK
October 10 at Harpers Ferry
Tickets ON SALE NOW




Say it ain't so.

2. Um, we're not exactly sure how to break this, but . . . you know those rumors floating around about Rancid's Tim Armstrong fronting a Clash reunion? We know, we know: everyone's tried to trace the message board posts, and the whole thing sounds really, really bogus. But word has reached us from very credible sources -- multiple sources within the Hellcat Records camp -- that this is in fact a done deal. You done heard: Tim Armstrong will front a Clash reunion. Also, the Transplants are broken up. Which we wouldn't give a shit about except we were kinda curious to hear what a full album of Trannies chopped and screwed by Paul Wall sounds like.

p.s.: for the young 'uns wondering why they should care, the Clash were a very important band in the history of the mash-up. If not for "Rock the Casbah" and "Magnificent 7," British DJs might still be throwing dem Whitney Houston a-cappellas over extended Kraftwerk mixes.

p.p.s.: on the off chance the Clash rumors turn out to be false after all, is it too soon to start the rumor about an Op Ivy reunion?

9/20/2005 6:07:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

SEPT 20 [GS] Devil Music + Black Helicopter + Crank Sturgeon [MA] Protokoll + Ho-Ag + Roh-Delikat + Reports [OB] Alec K Redfearn & the Eyesores + Octave Museum + Ramona Cordova + Meli [ZZ] “Electrosocial” DJ PTVN + Westward Trail + Fiasco



1. DJ MicL Ptvn (not this ptvn) has been killing it on the microprocessors lately. Boy's got his skinny, mustachio'd-dude hustle on f'reels: between Cassette, Lovewhip (who, uh, didn't play last night) and probably something else, we're pretty sure he's scheduled to play like every night of N.E.S.T., even if he isn't. His XXXX-clusive remix of Lovewhip is in the download queue at right. And for those of you who didn't cop his recent MIA remix, you should get that too. Plus he's got new-wave Boston synthpop dudes Westward Trail and NYC's Fiasco tonight over at ZuZu. Putting dollar sign after the numeral = D.I.Y.-SO-TRILL.

LISTEN: Fiasco, "Don't Walk Away" (mp3)
LISTEN: Westward Trail, "Excuses" (mp3)



2. Word on the street (OK, not the street: some geeky chatboard we lurk on) sez Devil Music, in addition to being a great art-rock trio who sometimes transmogrify into a full new-classical-music orchestra and other times into a film-scoring post-rock dynamo, are tonight pulling another trick from out their raggedy sleeves: a nine year old guitar shredder? Black Helicopter are cooler than you because they have a record coming out on Thurston Moore's label. Thurston Moore is cooler than you because he fucks Kim Gordon. So as not to be confused with the obscure dead rock star, the band Presley have helpfully located their Web home here instead of here or here or god forbid here.

LISTEN: Devil Music, "Inferno" (mp3)
LISTEN: Black Helicopter, "Army Pup Tent" (mp3)



3. Champs of art skronk and noise rock, Ho-Ag are dedicated experimentalists: the band’s ever-evolving nature ensures that no set or song gets played the same way twice. Some things are, however, constant: deftly alliterated lyrics about apocalyptic destruction, jaggedy industrialized guitars, maniacal moog melodies, megaphone. A match made in heaven if you dig spazzing out, dancing, weird fun. Also, Roh Delikat indie-gothtronica chanteuse Kristina Johnson was born for stardom.

LISTEN: Ho-Ag, "Ben Sisto Please Email Us the Track Listing" (mp3, from NEST CD comp*)
LISTEN: Roh Delikat "So So Sad" (mp3, from NEST CD comp*)
LISTEN: Reports, "Move and Glow" (mp3)
LISTEN: Protokoll, "Holy Divine" (mp3)

(* coming soon to a url near you! bootleg copies gone, thanks to our friends in . . . France and Sweden? Today the Northeast, next year . . . NATO?)

4. ALEC K. REDFEARN & THE EYESORES + OCTAVE MUSEUM + RAMONA CORDOVA + MELI

Alec K. Redfearn & the Eyesores are more than a mouthful: they’re accordion-steered carnival tuneage for the post-folk gypsy-cowboy apocalypse, with a hot female French horn player. Also, Ramona Cordova sounds like Joanna Newsom handjobbing Antony’s Johnsons to the tune of the Believer compilation. And close followers of this blog may have downloaded Octave Museum's fucking awesome Cave-In-meets-solo-Steve-Brodsky three-song demo during the week or two it was online . . . sorry, it's gone now.

LISTEN: Alex K. Redfearn & the Eyesores, "Black Tar and White Slavery" (mp3)

N.E.S.T. DAY TWO ROUNDUP (from Will):

Three bands with animal names transmogrified a compliant crowd at Great Scott into wild dancing beasts. Big Bear got things going, filling the room with ear-shattering, dissonant math-metal riffage and Jordyn Bonds’ ungodly screaming -- dudette wailed so hard her face matched her crimson shirt by the end of the set. Then came our first encounter with the Mules, and fuuuuck -- we were blown away. For a second we thought wit was 1979 and we were watching the B-52’s. "Wig the fuck out!" commanded singer/synthmaster Marin. So we did. Next, Montreal’s We Are Wolves kept the new-wave vibe alive while the crowd readied itself for the only band of the night without a zoological handle. (Translation: despite CMJ buzz, we weren't feeling it.) Olympia’s the Gossip cleared up any confusion as to what the White Stripes would sound like if they were fronted by Aretha Franklin and had a competent drummer -- amazing.

9/20/2005 3:42:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

"The best place to get screwed." Coming this Thurrrrsday.
(Photo of Bun B's "Draped Up" vidshoot via HoustonSoReal.)

1. We're just trying to prepare some of y'all who have not been picking up on all the Screwston vibes in the air. Our rock and roll peoples: pay attention for a minute. White dudes with diamond grills, purple beverages spiked with powerful narcotics, vinyl singles played at the wrong speeds: that's what's up. Chris Nelson, fresh from sippin' Belvedere with Houston legend Bun B, gets you up to speed in this coming week's Phoenix (complete with slang-decoder-ring sidebar). So you can stop feeling nervous when the corner boys laugh at you for not knowing the words to "Sittin' Sideways." Let the pre-turorial tutorial begin:

READ: Bun B talks to WordofSouth.com. The bad news about Bun's forthcoming album: no 50, no Jay-Z. The good news: solid October 18 release date. Oh, and this:

"I got a song called 'The Story' which is basically the whole of UGK. I got a song called 'None Of Us Are Free' with David Banner and Talib Kweli which is talking about, ya know, the hurricane (Katrina) and we been knowing that the government had no love for black people and it's just an accommodation of all the bullshit and fuckery that they been pulling. Shit, I got a song called 'Trill Recognizes Trill' with Ludacris, and I got a song produced by Travis Barker from the Transplants, featuring Rob from The Transplants, called 'Late Night Creepin'."

LISTEN: Bun B, "Draped Up" (mp3)
LISTEN: to the UGK classic "Front, Back, or Side To Side" at Lemon-Red's place.
LISTEN: to a bunch of Slim Thug joints over at Hardly Sean's place.


2. So there's this new DJ Shadow mixtape, Funky Skunk, that no one can afford because it comes with like a $170 box set. A valiant bunch of communist freedom fighters (OK, some nice geeks with blogs) have liberated the Skunk from the box set and are distributing it as an empeefree. The mix is sort of notable because Shadow gets crunk and turns into the incredible hulk and bombs the fuck out of his turntables and rips Southern hip-hop a new asshole. It's like someone took out one of those neon road signs and made it say, "HE'S BAA-AAACK!" We can't tell you where to find this thing, but We Eat So Many Shrimp might be able to help you out. Oldassmotherfuckingdjshadowstillsooootrill.

3. Hit me baby one more time.



LISTEN: to new mom (congrats, yo) Britney Spears's "new" "single," "Over To You Now" (mp3, via Benzi). Warning: even worldofbritney.com is a little non-plussed.

9/20/2005 9:54:00 AM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

SEPT 19 [GS] Gossip + Mules + Big Bear + We Are Wolves [MA] Mass Hysteria + Bread & Roses + Minamata + OB Wildlife + Butcherings + LUVs [ZZ] Mark Robinson + Carlisle Sound + Yoni Gordon



1. The Gossip + The Mules + We Are Wovles + Big Bear

We've said this before, but Big Bear are tremendous. Huge. Larger than life. Wookie-strength geek-thrash that rips like Converge without the tattoos and all the bark-no-bite about the "scene." And yes, that singer's a girl. We Are Wolves got coralled into our dumb little riff on bands who have the word "Wolf" in the title (trust us, it was funnier before the edit). Sorry, don't know the Mules. Goxxip, of course, are your lord and savior. PLUS: Mark Robinson at Zuzu, Ghetto Fighters at O'Brien's, Lovewhip at MassArt.

LISTEN: The Gossip, "Sweet Baby" (mp3)
LISTEN: Big Bear, "Track #1" (mp3)
LISTEN: We Are Wolves, "La Nature" (mp3)

WILD CARD POST:
LISTEN: MINAMATA, "We Hope That Condoleeza Rice Never Has Children" (mp3)



N.E.S.T. Roundup, Day 1 (see here for updates):

1. What did you buy at the Punk Rock Flea Market? Or, as the cute little street-punks with mohawks and safety-binned badges call it, the Not So Punk Rock Flea Market? Ohmigod, punks who complain the Punk Rock Flea Market isn't punk enough = SO ADORABLY PUNK!

2. Pictures of the Khanate/Kayo Dot show here and here and here and here.

9/19/2005 5:46:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

It's on, bitches.

We haven't mentioned this before, but we decided to do a free CD with the festival. It's a 20-band N.E.S.T. compilation CD that will be handed out on the final weekend: show up to a gig September 22 through 24 and you should be able to nab one. (It will also be available in MP3 form online pretty soon.) The official version has artwork and is at the factory, but a few people started begging for them early, so we took a lesson from the streets and bootlegged our own shit. Everyone who asked us: your copy's in the mail on Monday. We also have a few left over, so the FIRST 30 HEADS to email their full address to onthedownload at phx dot com will get the ghetto white-label CD-r version mailed for free to their snail-mailbox: just put "NEST CD" in the subject line. Not for nothing: we can practically guarantee you will find at least one new band (and possibly, if you're us, like six) that you won't be able to live without.


Khanate.

1. KHANATE + KAYO DOT + THE WORLD'S GREATEST LIVING NOISE ARTIST.

Great Scott, 1222 Commonwealth Ave, Allston [MAP] Doors 9:00 PM, Closes 2:00 AM

Our introduction to James Plotkin came many years ago when OTD hailed a taxi from Sun Studios in Memphis and our driver was putting out dude's noise records. These days Plotkin's leveling bowel-obstructing bass in slow-motion doom destroyers Khanate, who just put out a two-song, 40-minute EP with our friends at Hydra Head. Plus there's Kayo Dot, the best metal band on John Zorn's label. Plus Lowell's own Emil Beaulieu. Holy fuck.

LISTEN: Khanate, "Too Close Enough To Touch" (mp3)
LISTEN: Khanate, "Skin Coat" (mp3)
LISTEN: Kayo Dot, "Marathon" (mp3 via MySpace)
LISTEN: Kayo Dot, "Antique (Live on WMBR)" (mp3)
LISTEN: Emil Beaulieu, "Baby I Love What You've Done To Your Hair" (mp3)

2. UV PROTECTION + BEARD + FATAL FLYING GUILLOTEENS + CHINESE STARS.

Mass College of Art (MA) 621 Huntington Ave, Boston [MAP] All Ages Doors at 7:30 PM, Shows end by 11:00 PM

We don't say this enough: U.V. Protection fucking rules. It's easy to take them for granted, or throw around gawky descriptions of their latest costumes, but the bottom line is that whenever the U.V. Pro Theme comes on, with the handclaps and the brrr-zappp synths and the crazy-ass opera singing and whatnot, people wild the fuck out. Dance commanders.

LISTEN: U.V. Protection, "U.V. Protection Theme" (mp3)
LISTEN: Fatal Flying Guilloteens, "Tiger Vs. Gator" (mp3)
LISTEN: Chinese Stars, "Passing Out Nails" (mp3)

3. There's like four other shows going on, not to mention PunkRockFleaMarket, see NESTWEB for the latest. Here's a wild-card mp3 choice for the band playing ZuZu tonight:

LISTEN: Brownbird, "Colorado" (mp3)

9/18/2005 4:25:00 PM by onthedownload | Comments [0] |  

Khanate + Kayo Dot + Punk Rock Flea Market 6 + U.V. Protection + Beard + Fatal Flying Guilloteens + Chinese Stars + Fat Worm of Error + Goat of Arms + x-04 + Crystal Cock Over Canada + The 9 Billion Names of God + Brownbird + The Gossip + The Mules + Big Bear + We Are Wovles + Bread & Roses + Minamata + Wildlife + The Butcherings + The LUVs + Mark Robinson + Carlisle Sound + Yoni Gordon + Devil Music + Black Helicopter + Crank Sturgeon + Protokoll + Ho-Ag + Roh-Delikat + Reports + Alec K Redfearn and the Eyesores + Octave Museum + Ramona Cordova + Meli + DJ PTVN + The Westward Trail + Fiasco + Victory at Sea + The Reputaion + Shore Leave + Piles + Stephen Brodsky + Animal Hospital + WAYFAYIS + Nurse & Soldier + Organelles + Forbes Graham + Purity's Failure + They & The Children + Shanghai Valentine + Sinaloa + DJ Juan Maclean + Parts & Labor+ Mad Man Films + Badman + Secret Diary + HiveMind + Coirnucopia + Luasa Raelon+ Mittens + Pants Yell! + Hats & Glasses + The Teeth + Toxic Narcotic + PosiXforce + Isolée + Rainbow Bright + DJ Caulder + Certainly, Sir + Cassette + Tiny Hawks + Mahi Mahi + Made in Mexico + Major Stars + Plunge Into Death + Magic People + Travers + 40 Watts + Jason Anderson + Landing + Tiger Saw + The Sanguine + Wilderness + Night Rally + Tunnel of Love + Oxford Collapse + Bones Brigade + Verse