By now our love of Mad Man Films is well documented, and even though they've supposedly moved the hell out of Allston, they're still our favorite Nick Cave/Tom Waits freaks. They write evasive melodies and eight minute songs that build but never go prog; like Big Black before them, they are not as good a funk band as they think they are, but make up for it by being really grim and noisy; completely unlike Big Black, their singer can actually -- when he wants, which isn't often -- sing real soul music.

We don't know when this song is coming out or whether it's part of an album or something. We just know it's unreleased and awesome and if you liked "Brotherfucker" then you know what's coming. And that the boys are back in town for yet another greatfugginshow with Ho-Ag, Badman, and Tristan da Cunha at Great Scott.

DOWNLOAD: Mad Man Films, "Oh God" (mp3)

We were hoping for a talk show appearance, or at least a press conference, but, OK, a ransom note will suffice. Speaking of anonymous judges, incidentally . . .

WATCH: John Lydon on Judge Judy (Real Video)

The name Kevin Omen isn't chiseled on the Harvard Ave concrete the way it oughta be, but back in the '90s he was one of the unsung heroes of Allston rock: there was a time when he was best known for fronting Otis, but OTD's favorite incarnation was the Kevin Omen Signal, a jacknifing, honkytonk-noir roadhouse band that, in retrospect, might be the missing link between early Danzig, Hank III, and Blood Meridian. Their only EP, which may not even have ever come out, is buried somewhere in OTDs attic. Damn. Last we heard he'd moved away to drive trucks or something, but a little googling brings the news that he's been kicking around Brooklyn under the name Squint Eastwood and playing with one of the dudes in Devendra Banhart's old band. His old Allston bandmate EEE Adams, of Rock City Crimewave infamy, has located Mr. Omen and brings him back to town tonight for a solo show with two of our favorite messes: Meaghan McLaughlin (ex-Barbaro), whose solo material is indescribably creepy and beautiful (think freak-folk for scumfucks), and Billy Brown, the ex-Crash and Burn frontman who's been writing songs for Dropkick Murphys singer Stephanie Dougherty's new band.

No, the big guns of MassMetal aren't on board -- no Killswitch Engage, no Shadows Fall, no Unearth -- but the 8th annual NEMHF, at the Palladium in Worcester April 28-30, has all the stuff we've come to expect: US debut of some weird Europowermetal we haven't heard of yet, old hardcore bands (or new hardcore bands that sound just like the old hardcore bands), plenty of deathy metalcore for the kids, and at least one band we thought we'd never see again yanked from our garage-thrash days. Tickets go on sale Friday. Confirmed thus far, from the press release: 

Lacuna Coil, Gamma Ray, DragonForce, Arch Enemy, Chimaira, The Black Dahlia Murder, Bullet For My Valentine, Exodus, Cryptopsy, 100 Demons, A Perfect Murder, Alarum, Arsis, Bloodline Calligraphy, Bronx Casket Company, Byzantine, Caliban, Cattle Decapitation, Colin Of Arabia, Damnation AD, Dead To Fall, Death Threat, Demiricous, Dying Eyes Bleed, Ed Gein, Embrace The End, Folly, Full Blown Chaos, Goat Horn, God Forbid, Hate Eternal, Horse The Band, Hypersolid, If Hope Dies, Immolation, Inked In Blood, Into Eternity, Ion Dissonance, Ligeia, Losa, Mercury Switch, Necrophagist, Neuraxis, Nodes Of Ranvier, On Broken Wings, Protest The Hero, Ramallah, Righteous Jams, Ringworm, Sanctity, Scars Of Tomorrow, Second Story Window, Shoot To Kill, Since The Flood, Skinless, Still Remains, Suffocation, Sworn Enemy, The Acacia Strain, The Absence, The Classic Struggle, The Miles Between, Torn Assunder, Trouble, Twelve Tribes, Who Killed The Promo Queen, Wolf, xDEATHSTARx, and xLOOKINGFORWARDx

Friday tickets are $35.00; Saturday and Sunday individual day tickets are $40.00. Three-day passes are $109.50. Tickets will be available at all Strawberries Record Stores, online at tickets.com, or by calling tickets.com at (800) 477-6849.

WATCH: Exodus, "Now Thy Death Day Come" (Real Video)

In most cities, when you mention the words "battle of the bands," musicians give you a look like you just backhanded their mother in public. Not in Boston, where the Emergenza Festival is spreading like a tumor, and where for the past 25 years and counting, "important" and "popular" bands from Mission of Burma to the Dresden Dolls have been dog-and-pony-showing in the Rock N Roll Rumble, an odd local tradition that's spawned its own lore and even its own curse. Even the ones among us who've judged the thing for a decade don't entirely get it. For bands, it's a guaranteed payday just to be invited, and the winner's earnings usually include an album's worth of studio time -- not to mention three and a half months of local buzz and the undying enmity of their peers. This year's victims, some of whom appear in the exclusives box at right, were announced earlier today; as per recent tradition, all preliminary-round shows take place at the Middle East. (Semis are April 14-15; finals are downstairs on April 21.) Gambling, of course, is discouraged. But if we were laying odds, the Rudds and Taxpayer would be the obvious favorites (emphasis on "obvious," since that's what usually triumphs in these things). In terms of rooting? It's hard to root for anyone who signs up for a battle of the bands, but still: putting Tiger Saw and Eyes Like Knives in the same prelim elimination is exactly the kind of thing you would do if you were trying to make sure neither of the bands with credibility make it out of the first round.

SUNDAY, APRIL 2

1. CAMPAIGN FOR REAL-TIME   9:00 – 9:30
DOWNLOAD: In Your Dreams (mp3)

2. ALCHEMILLA     9:50 – 10:20

3. A HERO NEXT DOOR    10:40 – 11:10

4. COCKED N’ LOADED    11:30 – 12:00 

MONDAY, APRIL 3

1. TAXPAYER     9:00 – 9:30
DOWNLOAD: When They Were Young (mp3)

2. MACH 5      9:50 – 10:20

3. SCAMPER     10:40 – 11:10

4. PLAN B      11:30 – 12:00 

TUESDAY, APRIL 4

1. SAY WHEN      9:00 – 9:30

2. CASEY DESMOND    9:50 – 10:20

3. CERTAINLY, SIR     10:40 – 11:10
DOWNLOAD: Midnight Again (mp3)

4. APPOMATTOX     11:30 – 12:00 

THURSDAY, APRIL 6

1. SUCKA BROWN     9:30 – 10:00

2. TIGER SAW      10:20 – 10:50
DOWNLOAD: Singing with Ghosts (mp3)

3. WE’RE ALL GONNA DIE    11:10 – 11:40

4. EYES LIKE KNIVES    12:00 – 12:30 
DOWNLOAD: Skull (mp3)

FRIDAY, APRIL 7

1. THE COFFIN LIDS     9:30 – 10:00
DOWNLOAD: Vampire Girl (mp3)

2. HARRIS       10:20 – 10:50

3. THE SHARKING      11:10 – 11:40

4. JONAS COMPLEX    12:00 – 12:30 

SATURDAY, APRIL 8

1. THE RUDDS     9:30 – 10:00
DOWNLOAD: Astrological Sign Choker (mp3)

2. ROOFTOP SUICIDE CLUB   10:20 – 10:50

3. RANDOM ACTS OF VIOLENCE  11:10 – 11:40
DOWNLOAD: Transfiguration (mp3)

4. FACES ON FILM     12:00 – 12:30 

Since paper doesn't grow on trees and all, every little thing that we ever write in the fishwrap ends up being shorter than we want it to be. Take, for instance, Will Spitz's interview with Animal Collective's Avey Tare. There just wasn't space to include dude's musings about lazy-assed critics who lump AC in with freak-folk, or for a graf on how he spent his childhood listening to Cats and Wings. Which is why through the miracle of digital voice recorders, RCA phone jacks, ProTools, and iTunes, we're able to offer you . . . one 26 minute mpeg-layer-three audio recording of Spitz jawing with Animal Collective. (Which, of course, was too big to load up onto our servers as a single file. So, for the first time in months, we're going USendIt.) Think of this as a refresher course so you'll have shit to talk about when you're hanging out backstage tonight at Avalon.

DOWNLOAD: Will Spitz interviews Animal Collective's Avey Tare (mp3, 18 mb)

or, if you like smaller file sizes (and for anyone who Googles their way in a week from now):

DOWNLOAD: Will Spitz interviews Animal Collective's Avey Tare, Part 1 (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Will Spitz interviews Animal Collective's Avey Tare, Part 2 (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Will Spitz interviews Animal Collective's Avey Tare, Part 3 (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Will Spitz interviews Animal Collective's Avey Tare, Part 4 (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Will Spitz interviews Animal Collective's Avey Tare, Part 5 (mp3)

Mike Patton's kept himself away from the pop charts since, oh, Faith No More's Commodores cover or so, but all along -- through all the Bungle/Fantomas/Tomahawk metalurgy, solo-voice noise, and occasional guest spots -- he's teased us with promises of a mass-market pop album. It was beginning to look like it'd be his Chinese Democracy, but we finally got an official Peeping Tom press release this morning from the Nasties, and . . . well . . . it's pretty much everything you'd expect from the world's reigning avant-garde heavy metal soul singer. Due May 30 on Ipecac, it includes collaborations with Kool Keith, Norah Jones,  Massive Attack, Bebel Gilberto, and a bunch of Patton's usual suspects. Not having heard a note of it, it's probably too soon to start hyping it as an American response to Gorillaz, although that would be our elevator pitch if were were hyping Rolling Stone on it or something. From the press release:

In keeping with the landmark 1960 psychological horror film that inspired its name, PEEPING TOM had its genesis a modus operandi devoid of physical intimacy. Patton would write songs with a wishlist of theoretical collaborators in mind, then hope for a reply in the form of a finished track. "It's an exotic way of working for someone accustomed to a band environment," Patton says. "It was charming, really. None of the usual Animal House stuff. Instead of swapping spit and underwear, we were swapping files."

Lack of face-to-face interaction did not keep long-distance collaborators from turning in exceptional performances: Norah Jones' lascivious "Sucker," Kool Keith's "Getaway" and Massive Attack's "Kill The DJ" are intense and passionate as anything a live band environment could have produced-despite the fact that Patton has still never met Jones or Keith. "Plenty of people on the record are still complete strangers to me," he says.

The initial PEEPING TOM offering also includes contributions from Amon Tobin, Bebel Gilberto, DubTrio, and several of Patton's Bay Area running buddies, such as Dan "the Automator" Nakamura (who tag teams with Rahzel on "Mojo"), and Jel, Odd Nosdam and Dose One of hip hop collective anticon. The end result is an utterly unique multi-genre/multi-artist departure from Patton's more recent noisy output-one that would ultimately have to be classified as a pop record… a Mike Patton pop record, but a pop record nonetheless.

"I don't listen to the radio, but if I did, this is what I'd want it to sound like. This is my version of pop music. In way, this is an exercise for me: taking all these things I've learned over the years and putting them into a pop format. I've worked with many people who have said to me, 'oh you have a pop record in you, eventually you'll find it,' and I always laughed at them. I guess I owe them an apology."

Yeah, sure, there's a DFA remix album coming out, which contains almost nothing you didn't SLSK eight months ago. Don't get us wrong: it'll be nice to have it all in one folder. But for those of us who hang on James Murphy's every cowbell thwack, there's gigabytes of new shit afoot.

1. This one likely didn't make the remix-retrospective cut: a new 10-minute DFA remix of Tiga's "Far From Home," which has been making the rounds, and is available locally from our friends at Compound 440r, complete with MicL Ptvn's close-reading attention to detail, if you're into "reviews" and stuff. And new DFA signees Hot Chip also got the grand treatment. Speaking of which, there's a new Hot Chip song (sans DFA remix) up at Fluxblog. We're sorta finding it hard to get super excited about Hot Chip; keep wishing Spank Rock had got signed down there instead or something. Y'know, Juan likes 'em.

2. As always, the best thermometer on what's soon to emerge from the DFA camp is official-DFA-DJ Tim Sweeney's "Beats In Space" show. Just before jumping on tour with the Juan Maclean, he uploaded his end-of-January edition, which has even more goodies you will not find on the upcoming remix record. Don't want to spoil the surprise, but for a teaser: how about a Carl Craig remix of Delia & Gavin?!

DOWNLOAD: Beats In Space, Jan 31 2006, Part One (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Beats In Space, Jan 31 2006, Part Two (mp3)

3. Issued just before Christmas in ridiculously small quantities, leaked on DFA-friendly message boards when the holiday eBaying got out of hand, and now posted all official-like, the DFA Radio mixes showcase a quintessential Murphy DJ set, dropping Tyrannosaurus Rex, the Bee Gees, Six Finger Satellite, John & Yoko, Radiohead, and Jonathan Richman, plus copious DFA and Rub N Tug mixes, spread over two CDs. A third disc rolls out how the Juan Maclean do, beginning with Hawkwind and ending with Giorgio Moroder, but spazzed in between with throbbing punk-rock gristle (black flag, DAF, bad brains). That clicking sound you hear is your iPod's shuffle button committing suicide.

DOWNLOAD: DFA Radio Mixes 2005: James Murphy, Disc One (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: DFA Radio Mixes 2005: James Murphy, Disc Two (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: DFA Radio Mixes 2005: Juan Maclean (mp3)

4. Disc two kicks off with that ridonculous Rub N Tug "edit" or cover or whatever the hell it is of "I'm a Man," which deserves some sort of award for unlikely superbreak of the decade or something. From the sets we've heard, it's become Murphy's unofficial theme song, or at least his designated leadoff track. No exception: his hour-long set at Australia's Big Day Out, which is available for your appraisal (along with, if you like, his Euro competition) . . .

DOWNLOAD: James Murphy, Live at Big Day Out 2006 (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: 2 Many DJs, Live at Big Day Out 2006 (mp3)

We thought a few more YYYs songs might leak by now, but the Internet seems satiated by the same three that've been up for the last week or so -- even though none of the tracks singled out in SFJ's New Yorker preview have surfaced. Maybe everyone's too busy downloading the Flaming Lips record. Whatever.

So we'll recap.

1. If you already heard the Diplo remix of "Gold Lion," the original is going . . . to . . . sound . . . really . . . really . . . slow.

2. It's almost not even worth mentioning that "Dudley," while totally failing at being any kind of great song, fulfills the eternal New York Underground promise of a younger, sexier Sonic Youth. The verses are totally Sister/Evol, and if you ever spent lazy Sundays fucked up on drugs and girls while spinning those records over and over, you're going to get lonely listening to this song. Warning you now. [Check these sites for more info.]

3. Call us crazy, but "Let Me Know" reminds us of Fuzzy, if they'd ever done an unplugged record. Translation, if you weren't living in Boston or listening to Lemonheads side projects in 1994: a song with a too-simple melody that sours sweetly on each new note.

A little birdie sent us this link a few days ago and begged us not to leak it until it got played on the air. In the meantime, of course, it spread like wildfire, and local radio jumped all over it. Despite the fact that it's three years old and may very well be the worst GNR song ever. Worse than "Madagascar" even. Contains all of the following: snaky Far East guitars, cheesy processed drum machine, new-agey cackling, Waco-era anti-gov't paranoia. It's as if Axl was cryogenically frozen in 1996, subsisting only on piped-in Porno for Pyros and leftover Candlebox. About the only thing we can imagine "I.R.S." being good for: soundtrack to the Kid Rock/Scott Stapp blowjob tape?

Expect this leak to fire up the rumor mill again -- there's already talk of a summer tour. Central Village has this one and another supposed leak from the album, plus a link to Brooklyn Vegan's story about Axl playing people a completed copy of Chinese Democracy.

Ok, it's bad enough that the Powers That Be deep-sixed Boston's own DJBC and the latest installment of his BEASTLES project. Now the big babies at the RIAA want you to buy both an ACTUAL copy of a CD and, if you want to put it on your iPod, a DIGTAL copy of the SAME FUCKING CD. This is insane -- even for an industry who's whole business model is based on selling people the same albums over and over and over again.

Oh, the RIAA is also really pissed that their parents never bought them a pony. Stupid parents ...

This newsflash brought to you by the Electronic Fronteir Foundation, which -- as Mike Miliard pointed out a couple weeks ago -- is fast becoming the new ACLU.  

-- Eli Anderson

Oh, to be a misunderstood artist.

After firing out of the gates with their exceedingly violent punk-funk debut, Liars threw a wrench in the works. They ditched their rhythm section, released a concept album about witch trials that Spin called "unlistenable", then moved to Berlin and essentially became the new This Heat. They Were Wrong, So We Drowned stripped away the trendy Gang of Four-isms of their debut, leaving only a bleached-white musical skeleton. But the band's new album Drum's Not Dead (out 3/21 in the US) begins to put some muscle -- or at least some Gristle -- back on that skeleton. Everything screeches and falls apart, crackling with an odd tension that is never given proper release. It's pretty much the perfect album for walking really fast, but never quite breaking in to a full run.

And, according to the press release, this ones a concept record too: "The album's title and several track names refer to two fictional characters: Drum and Mount Heart Attack. For the band they are like Yin and Yang, each a state of being. Drum is assertive and productive, the spirit of creative confidence. With two drum kits integral to many of these percussive, propulsive, highly rhythmic convulsions, Drum came to be acknowledged as a fourth member of the band. Conversely, Mount Heart Attack is the reaction to Drum's action, the embodiment of stress and self-doubt. Both became key elements in the creative process."

Ummm . . . okay, duders, whatever you say.

Is the world ready for the Liars in 2006? If a bull terrier can win "Best in Show" at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, just about anything can happen, right? The (cough) "single" (cough) "It Fit When I Was A Kid" has been ramrodding around the Internerd for a minute, but if you still haven't copped, go grab it at Kill Your Co-Workers , then find a killer remix of "The Drum and the Uncomfortable Can" at 20 Jazz Funk Greats .

-- Eli Anderson

Mittens wax nostalgic about AM-radio pop, but their sly, self-effacing worldplay, indie-pop bustle, and modest arrangements feel as new as your little sister’s Click 5 addiction. It helps that their pared-down approach stands firmly within a longstanding Boston tradition of jangle and melody that includes Papas Fritas, the Fly Seville, and drummer Nick Buni’s older brother Jim’s band, Buttercup. The trio have just wrapped a new, as-yet-untitled disc that’s due in the spring, but we've got an exclusive preview track, “Leeway,” for right-clickage below. Then check the band on Saturday, February 18, at Great Scott with Furvis, the Plain Janes, and Headset.

DOWNLOAD: Mittens, "Leeway" (mp3)
FRIEND MITTENS: http://myspace.com/mittens

BONUS: top-secret internal memo circulated last month by irate Phoenix copy-editor . . .

Hey folks: I see Mittens gradually turning into "the Mittens." Let's make up our minds or I'm going to start referring to "THE Death Cab for Cutie," "THE Mission of Burma," "THE Pearl Jam," Morrissey's old band Smiths, and Robert Smith's great band, Cure.

Certified Bananas have new CD due soon and a gig tonight at Enormous Room with esteemed Canadian guests. Go ape.

Off topic, slightly: the new Haruki Murakami short story, "A Shinagawa Monkey," is certified bananas. Go read.

Everyone at Certified Bananas tonight should read Cami's story on Boston sneaker fiends. Among other things, homegirl made our childhood dream come true and got our first true love -- the '85 Jordans -- on the cover of the fishwrap. She's been regaling us with Rob Heppler stories for like four months, can't wait to meet this dude in person.

OTD stands corrected: after digging around, we're guessing what the commenter said was that we misidentified the Adam 12 in She Wants Revenge, not the Adam 12 in Powerman. Which turns out to be . . . true! Although we can't figure out a way to link to it, there are photos on MySpace that make it clear that Adam 12 from She Wants Revenge bears no resemblance to Adam 12 from PM5K. So we're leaving the post below up as a monument to our monumental stupidity. SLIPPY COME BACK AND TAKE CREDIT. Double ugh.

____ (disclaimer: the below is all a big stupid misunderstanding and OTD is a big stupid stupid head) __

UGH.

So, um, we accidentally deleted the She Wants Revenge post, which sucks because a) hipinion already linked to it, and b) someone actually left a COMMENT on it. Even worse, the commenter (Skippy? Slippy? Whoever you are PLEASE REPOST) claims we've got it all wrong. Which is possible -- we think it's unlikely, but we always welcome opposing points of view. More importantly, if we were wrong, we still wouldn't DELETE THE POST ON PURPOSE -- we'd just man up and correct it. All of which is to say, THIS WHOLE DISAPPEARING POST THING LOOKS FISHY BUT IT'S NOT. So, just to keep everything on the level, we're reposting the orignal post, exactly as it was, below (thanks, Google cache!). Then, below that, a couple of add'l links.

. . .

Okay, here's the deal: She Wants Revenge, right? They're gonna be big stars, the song's a hit, they sound exactly like Human League, everybody loves them, even though Fred Durst signed them. We get it. What we don't get is this:

The band is two dudes, Justin Warfield and Adam Bravin, who also goes by the name Adam 12. There's another dude we know who goes by Adam 12. He used to be in Powerman 5000. And these two Adam 12s, if indeed they are two guys and not the same person, bear a physical resemblance to each other. We called She Wants Revenge's manager, who told us straight-up, it's not the same guy. We called the label. The label insists, it isn't him. Adam 12/PM5K's mom goes to church with an acquaintence of ours, we even put in a call over that way. No dice. We called PM5K's old Boston label people, who were totally in the dark on it.

So maybe Adam 12 from Powerman 5000 is not Adam 12 from She Wants Revenge. Let's have a look, shall we?

Here's Girile Action's press shot of Adam 12 from She Wants Revenge (larger image here)

Here's a picture of Adam 12 from Powerman 5000, at right.

Here's another one of PM5K:

Okay, you tell us. Two fellas. Both named Adam 12. Not the same guy?

Answers, perhaps, tonight at the Middle East, where She Wants Revenge play with Electric 6. It's sold out. If you didn't get in, tickets to She Wants Revenge's headline date at Avalon on April 3 go on sale Saturday at 10 am.

LISTEN: She Wants Revenge, "Sister" (stream)

 . . .

“First thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” — Shakespeare.

“The party is over with. Grab your stuff and go and nobody goes to jail.” — A cop.

If the mash-up is “passé,” djBC — co-proprietor, with Lenlow, of the popular Mash. Ave. night at the Independent — hasn’t heard about it. (Neither have the legions of aural alchemists at GYBO.org, the global bootleg clearinghouse that recently escaped legal trouble by agreeing to only link to its members' mash-ups rather than linking to the MP3s directly.) BC’s mixology makes for a twitchy tension between McCartney’s dulcet piano swells and the screeching bravado of those nasty little men (“Let it Beast”), Lennon’s spectral voice hovering above lounge-louche organ/bongo funk (“A Day in the Life of a Beastie Boy”). Even George’s sitar-hazy mystic warblings get pumped up with scabrous scratches and manic breakbeats (“Love You to Check It Out”). Think George Martin as the third Dust Brother.

And let’s be real: “Looking Down the Barrel of a Warm Gun” is a title that writes itself.

If that Brady Bunch-style cover looks familiar, it’s because it’s drawn by famed cartoonist Josh Neufeld (American Splendor, World War III Illustrated, Duplex Planet). It’s downloadable as a PDF to make nifty jackets for the CDs burned by the iPod-less. Hell, even vinyl fetishists can find satisfaction in the digital age. “Whatcha Want, Lady?,” from the first Beastles record, can be found on a wax compilation here.

LISTEN: “Belly Movin” (MP3)
LISTEN: “Electrified Kite” (MP3)
LISTEN: The Beastles debut (torrent)

Big smooches to Compound 440r's MicL Ptvn for re-upping his V-day mix last night: this is what happens when discopunk and synthpop fiends google their itunes playlists for the word "love." The tracklist probably mirrors the mixtape you made for your girlfriend last week, or at least had promised you'd make, so take MicL up and pass it off as your own if you haven't already:

DOWNLOAD: 440 DJs, "The Internet Is for Lovers Mix"

Some other stuff OTD loves . . . 

1) Krystl-meth/disco-death divas Glass Candy giving away their CD-r back catologue on MySpace.

2) Hollerboard: back and humble.

3) The Rub's triple-threat mixtapes at Lemon-Red.

4) Unlikely covers. Like Sufjan Stevens covering Tim Buckley, the Subways covering TVOTR, or . . . Big Dipper covering Pete Shelley?

5) The Pixies network television debut, back when Letterman had hair. Frank, too. With the World's Most Dangerous band taking solos. (Thanks to Catchdubs for the link.)

6) A Wayne&Wax mix we neglected to mention a couple weeks ago, this one inspired the already-legendary electronic-music class Wayne teaches at Harvard. Not a progression, but an oscillation, moving in tight circles from Stockhausen to Kraftwerk, Juan Atkins to Juan Maclean, Matmos back to Bambaataa.

DOWNLOAD: Wayne and Wax, "A Crunk Genealogy" (mp3)

7) Boston mp3 blogs. Including this kid Ben who loves Kanye and Green Day, and Bradley's, who's been around for years and still tapes shows we wish we'd gone to see.

8) Sleazegrinder, one of our all-time favorite humans, at least as far as writers go. Condolances to our dude on the loss of his father, which we learned about by stumbling across his blog for the first time a couple weeks ago. Sleazy is posting up the secret canon of flash-metal over there in .rar files -- believe us, once these are gone, you'll never see these things again. OTD hereby requests (no, DEMANDS) the immediate posting of the second Rogue Male album.

9) The Jacques Lu Cont remix of "Lose Control." Where the hell has this thing been hiding? (Side note: last week Atlantic sent out a note saying that "Lose Control" has downloaded triple-platinum. To put that in perspective, "Laffy Taffy" and the Click Five's "Just the Girl" have downloaded only double-platinum.)

10) The Bonde do Role VIDEO, this one pushing "Push It" into an AC/DC megamix. 

From the inbox:

ZEITGEIST GALLERY TO MOVE; THE LILY PAD SPROUTS UP IN ITS PLACE

 

Announcing the establishment of a new venue for creative, original music: the Lily Pad.

 

On March 1st, 2006, the Lily Pad will sprout up in the Inman Square location that currently houses the Zeitgeist Gallery.  The Zeitgeist's director, Alan Nidle, is relocating the gallery around the corner to 186 Hampshire Street.  Gill Aharon, who co-owns and lives above the gallery's current Cambridge Street abode, will be assuming full responsibility for the Lily Pad.

 

Aharon and partner Alan Carrier bought the property--a national historic building registered as Cambridge's oldest functioning wooden commercial structure--when foreclosure proceedings began in 2002.   Aharon wanted to ensure that the space would continue to function as a venue.  The building is a magical location that benefits from the ghosts of the 1369 Jazz Club of two decades ago, and Aharon could not imagine a better spot to create a permanent home for musicians and artists.  He secured most of the musical equipment for the gallery, including his 7-foot Kawai piano, and is responsible for bringing such Zeitgeist staples as the legendary Fringe's weekly residency and the Wednesday night open jam session.  These-as well as all of the currently established residencies-will continue to play in their usual time slots at the Lily Pad, so the musical content will be similar to what you've come to expect from the Zeitgeist Gallery. 

 

However, one can expect a ramping-up in the intensity of the music program at the new venue.  Although Zeitgeist director Alan Nidle will continue to curate art for the Lily Pad's walls, the Lily Pad will make its focus more music-based. There are already some new series in the works, including the establishment of a Sunday-afternoon "musical prayer" event starting in April led by Jeff Robinson and his trio. This is in addition to the already established series including the Tuesday night tango, Thursday's Hammond organ shows, and the Saturday afternoon Classical Appetizer.  Rob Chalfen's subconsciouscafé series will continue to showcase the eclectic and bizarre.  The Pad will continue to reflect a wide range of genres and be a place for the unusual and underrepresented.

 

The ethos, as Aharon describes, is to provide a venue for activities that encourage sustained focus and inspiration.  Future plans include the establishment of a music, math, and martial arts summer and after-school program for children, improvisation and composition workshops, ensembles, and a Lily Pad Big Band.

 

Also in the works is the establishment of an online record label that will release many of the accumulated live recordings, including most of the Fringe concerts, as well as events like the Pianofest. These will be available in digital form as well as limited-edition hard copies.

 

The venue's new manager, Andrew DiMola, who has brought in musicians like Trevor Dunn (Fantồmas, Mr. Bungle, John Zorn's Masada), Apollo Sunshine, and Dana Colley (Morphine), is responsible for the booking, and is reachable via email at easybooking@gmail.com.

 

Brett Rautenberg is the venue's webmaster and archivist.  Rautenberg, who is also the webmaster for Ropadope Records, has made a name for himself as the go-to person in town for quality live recordings of shows.   He's been recording the Fringe every week since July 2004 and has amassed a veritable library of live shows.  This huge archive will form the basis for the formation of the Lily Pad's record label.

 

Rachel Koppelman is the venue's publicity consultant.  Koppelman, who heads the publicity department at Powderfinger Promotions, will help to publicize the Pad's major happenings (venue news, festivals & major events).  She is also excited to launch the Floating Opera concert series under the auspices of the production company she co-heads with Andrew Bergmann, Floating Opera Records & Productions.

 

Kathleen Fulton, illustrator, graphic designer and product genius, is working on the new sign and logo.

 

This stellar team of young, motivated people will infuse the halls of the venue with fresh energy.  And with nearly all of the people at the helm being working musicians, the Lily Pad is in the unique position of fostering a true community of musicians working together in the collective interest of the music itself.

 

The Lily Pad will celebrate its grand opening with a performance featuring a double-header of Bar Rot (Max Ribner - trumpet, Rick StoneDave Coniglio - drums, Andrew DiMola bass and compositions) and the Gill Aharon group (Dave ConiglioRick Stone, Alec Spiegelman - horns, Eric Hofbauer - guitar, Andrew DiMola - bass, Gill Aharon piano and composition).  So mark your calendars for March 1, (8pm amd 10pm).  There will be a $10 suggested donation, and proceeds will go to the building fund.  Following the show will be the weekly jam session.

Lawrence has never been known as a hip-hop hotbed, but TERMANOLOGY stands poised to put the city on smash. In recent months, the 23-year-old Puerto Rican wordsmith has garnered attention from the likes of MTV, Allhiphiphop.com, and The Source, and for good reason: hot off his award-nominated Hood Politics mixtape, he's dropping a new collaboration with producer DC, Out the Gate (St. Records/Showoff). Term's a student of rap music, not just of the rap game, and the imprint of everyone from Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to Big Pun can be heard in his hybrid of socially conscious and gangsta styles. He and DC celebrate the release of the new disc with their crew, ST. DA SQUAD, local legends ESOTERIC and AKROBATIC, PROSPECT (of Terror Squad), LEE WILSON, and the SKITZOFRENIKS. DJ DEADEYE and Showoff honcho STATIK SELEKTAH (who was up at 50 Cent's superbowl party!) will be manning the wheels of steel at Bill’s Bar, 5.5 Lansdowne St, Boston | 617.421.9678.

LISTEN: Termanology & DC, "This Is Hip Hop" (mp3)
LISTEN: Termanology & DC, "Motion Picture" (mp3)
LISTEN: Termanology & DC feat. Checkmark and Ghetto, "Never Be the Same" (mp3)
WATCH: Termanology & DC, "Motion Picture" (.wmv)

1. Meant to post this up on OTD's 33rd birthday last week -- you'll know why as soon as you hear the Birthday Boy kick shit -- but, y'know, better late than never. Trust us, you need thiz. What we have here are Da Muzicianz, the new Ying-Yang/Mr. Collipark offshoot (not his "intimate club" steez, just regular old crunk-azz, kick-motherfuckerz-in-the-ballz shit). After pissing off the Bay Area last fall, they've come back with our favorite kind of club track: a novelty song about cell phones. As beats go, "Camera Phone" isn't quite as meta-tastic as "Nextel Chirp," though it does incorporate a little snizzap click noise. Still, this song is seriously nuts: a paen to lil'-momma poses and T-mobiles and our freaky updrizz/nipslip intersleaze universe, it had secretaries three doors down coming up to our office to shake something. Awesome. As Collipark himself posted over in the TJsDJs forums, "It's more of that original, bass heavy music we are know for. More like Ying Yang's first records. It's what the club is missing right now." Co-signed.

LISTEN: Da Muzicianz, "Camera Phone" (mp3)

2. Do not interpret the above to mean that Collipark's given up on intimate club -- he just sent his new kids P Stones into the studio with the guy who produced the Laffy Taffy record; they came out with a decent snap record called Git Like Me.

3. Because Lemon-Red reminded us what's really good. DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB DUMB:
(Now with making of!)

1. OTD maintained, at the beginning, that if that kid Jack White ever got himself a real band he might get famous. Instead, he got famous first, and now he's finally got himself a real band. He's needed one too, since White Stripes got slammed with a bad, two-album case of Pearl Jam-itis (the condition of being turned by your fans and critics into a classic rock band long before your time). Haven't really found much to like about the guy since Red Blood Cells, and we almost didn't bother listening to the Raconteurs, his long-awaited team up with Brendan Benson. We ascribe this near-oversight mostly to Mr. Benson, Mr. Jack's long-suffering protege, whose much-hyped albums we never liked much. The idea of the two of 'em getting together was striking us as "Oh, Jack's so determined to get the kid a hit that he's playing guitar in his band now" kinda thing. Then "Steady As She Goes" came ripping through our headphones, all "Fell In Love with a Girl" whallop meets "All Apologies" or something similarly minor-key and volcanic and melancholy like that. Whoa: what was he saving this for, again?

Look, we love watching Meg try to play the drums -- for the same reason all straight men love watching Meg try to play the drums -- but we