our favorite local party-rap duo have a new album called Smoke Machines in Lazervision (Bodies of Water Arts and Crafts) — a half-hour of ass-agitatin’ analog beats, rhymes about White Russians with soy milk, text-message disses, and shaking ass, and a even a four-on-the-floor rendition of the Pixies’ “Gigantic,” which they’re dropping on Allston hipsters and assorted other freaks this evening at Great Scott. Do not miss.

DOWNLOAD: Big DIgits, "Why Did You Reject My Steve Perry Fan Fiction?" (mp3)

8/31/2006 2:05:16 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Since you been gone.

And we quote:

"She's got Kelly Clarkson as a screen saver on her Mac," [Courtney] Love says, laughing. "Punk is for the old folks."

The above bon mot is lifted from Hilton Als' crack-licking profile of Courtney (Hilton's most embarassing fawning since Remnick let him give PJ Harvey a tongue bath), peeled from the pages of Conde Nasty's Anna Wintour-edited "Fashion Rocks" maggie tie-in -- which, fucking horrorshow, came shrink wrapped to our New Yorker this week! Other Courtney news: she's doing another record with Linda Perry, and hot on the heels of those best-selling Kurt diaries comes . . . yep, the illustrated Courtney diaries, for which the Als piece is essentially an infomercial. Soon u, 2 will be able to own Courtney's daily scribbles, such as the undated, handwritten note titled, "Celebrity Callers of the Day":

Drew Barrymore (Eric's GIRLFRIEND)
Cher (didn't take it)
Madonna (Oh my God.)
Chrissie Hynde but I was hiding in my bed.

You don't count. Neither does Michael S. and he called. it was so good. he's so good to me. i have no clue why. i'm three miles of bad road.

Anyway, you get the drift. This mag is such a TRAIN WRECK and we can't put it down. We'll probably do something totally homo like hang the Luella Bartley/M.I.A. spread on our wall. The Times has been all aflutter about the ingenious synergy of a TV benefit with its own magazine (whatever), though the big international news from this thing is an interview where Justin Timberlake dares to suggest that Taylor Hicks "can't carry a tune in a bucket," and then puts forth the odd hypothetical "If, God forbid, he's gay . . ."

Which was amusing, though not as amusing as the Herald's Christopher John Treacy, who inadvertently outed himself as having left last Saturday's JT concert a little early without attribution -- this is known locally as "pulling a Steve Morse" -- by making a big deal in his review about Justin having not introduced his band. Which was very, very stupid, because anyone who stayed through the end of the show knows that JT spent a good 10 minutes doing exactly that: very elaborately introducing each member by name, with accompanying walkoff solos. It was actually kinda boring, but this Herald guy's editors can't be too pleased.

Meanwhile, back in the actual New Yorker, as opposed to the shrink-wrapped fashion-porn mag, SFJ has a review (that we couldn't agree less with) of the Christina Aguilera and JT albums that're worth reading just for his musical descriptions. Like us, he's still bewitched by last album's "Beautiful" -- "her 'Rocky' moment. You know she's going to raise her fists and jump when she reaches the top of the steps, but you get goose bumps anyway" -- and check his color on "Ain't No Other Man": "Premier provides a compressed drum pattern that pushes along and then pauses, like a mindful pedestrian, for the zooming delivery truck of two huge horn blasts." "Does anything need bringing back less than sexy?" he asks of the new JT single. "It's like proposing to bring back petroleum, or the N.F.L." Petroleum!

Oh, right, also: Marilyn Manson. Is. Still. Unfuckwithable. At least when it comes to casting weird little British models.

8/31/2006 1:59:57 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Well, we didn't get nominated for the Outstanding Boston Music Blog category. We heard from the organizers that it was close, but in the end, they went with Rob Zombie's movie blog, Godsmack's myspace blog, a cocktail napkin that Peter Wolf signed in 1987, and Brad Delp's hangnail. We tried pointing out that a hangnail is not a blog, to which the organizers sneered, "Oh, sure, and next you'll be complaining he's not from Boston!" Whatever. There's always next year.

Now, the BMA's didn't invent the convention of awards shows that pander to the obvious, and we certainly didn't invent the hallowed pasttime of bitching about our friends who didn't get nominated. (Uh, we think the Noise Board might have the patent though.) Mostly, we just find the BMAs logic bafflingly amusing. We're talking about an event voted on by people who claim to know something about the music industry, but every year they insist on parading their complete disregard about the most rudimentary music-biz distinctions. Our favorite annual bungle? They award three separate Album of the Year trophies: one for "indie" releases, one for "local" releases (for bands signed to regional imprints or self-releases), and one for "major label" releases. This year, Mission of Burma, who record for the indie label Matador, are nominated in the major label category. Aberdeen City, who are signed to RedInk/Columbia Records, are up for the indie label category. And Josh Ritter, who lives in Idaho and is signed to the mega-indie V2, is nominated for the local category.

Still, it's hard to argue with an organization that offers three nominations for our favorite band ever, Bang Camaro -- which works out, neatly, to exactly one nomination for every gig they've ever played. Also, high-fives and a pile of blow for whomever put together "Best Female Vocalist," surely the only place you will find Amanda Palmer, Damone's Noelle LeBlanc, and Jo-Jo on the same ballot (let alone in the same sentence). Still, duders: no Casey Dienel? What gives?

Anyway -- cue the anticlimax -- yes, Virginia, the Dresden Dolls lead all comers with six nominations, Godsmack somehow still got five, Waltham got four (look, we personally discovered that band, but anyone with a pulse knows it's been over for at least four years), and a bunch of people got three. (Speaking of which: think the Dresden Dolls are too needy? Ben Folds will come draw dicks on your wall.) Let it be known: getting three BMA nominations is the new handjob. Grace Potter, Damone, Campaign for Real Time, the Click Five, Dropkicks, Ab City, you can collect your reach-around at the back door. You probably don't want to be that dude, but if you do, you can vote for this fiasco at some other web site beginning September 8.

P.S.: we got an email the other day from a nationally-recognized indie publicist, re: Protokoll. The pitch went like this: the band has "landed the cover story of Northeast Performer's November issue, an upcoming feature in Boston Magazine, and are nominated for four Boston Music Awards." Which sounds good if you're from Kentucky. But anyone who lives inside Route 128 could tell you that this is not really stuff you brag about: it's the magic formula for describing the downward-spiralling career of a band that's going nowhere at 800 miles an hour. On the upside, Franki Chan's label is re-issuing their EP. So at least they'll have a good remix.

Because we don't know how to use Photoshop, we're uploading the complete BMA nominations as image files. Go nuts: Page 1, Page 2, Page 3, Page 4.

8/30/2006 12:04:50 AM by On the Download | Comments [5] |  

Sexy: back.

Justin Timberlake
Sexy Back club tour
August 26 at Avalon

Setlist:

Cry Me a River
Senorita
My Love
Like I Love You/Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
Until the End of Time
Lovestoned/I Think She Knows
Take It From Here
What Goes Around
Last Night
Rock Your Body
Sweet Dreams (Eurythmics)
Sexy Back

Image police prevented us from getting good shots, even of the cameraphone variety. If anyone sees stuff on Flickr/YouTube -- or if you were there and have something you want to share -- email us at onthedownload@phx.com. Full report coming soon on main PHX site. . .

8/27/2006 9:31:05 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Yes, he’s gazing out from a hot-air balloon basket on his most recent release, Farewell, My Sweet Alibi (Kool Kat Musik) — and yes, even his own mom thinks her son resembles Tiny Tim in that cover photo. But hot damn, there ain’t nothing of a tulip-tiptoeing novelty to the lead-off single from this Cambridge-based songwriter’s late-‘60s vintage-pop record, covered in the puppy trainer earlier this summer: buoyant strings, ivory-keyed soliloquies, get-happy handclaps, misty mellotron, Elvis Costello’s smartly wounded phrasing - all stitched together to make this song the best orchestral-pop tune you haven’t heard. Dude doesn’t even have downloadable tracks on his Web site! This Sunday, August 27, Simmons opens for nomadic folkie Tim Easton at TT the Bear’s.

DOWNLOAD: Jeffrey Simmons, "Half Dollar" (MP3)

8/24/2006 11:19:33 AM by Cami | Comments [0] |  

Since DaCapo's now including blog posts and eMusic promo essays in the annual Best Music Writing anthology, can we also nominate a message board thread? Specifically, we'd like to nominate the thread in which Hollertronix fans eagerly anticipate the leak of Justin Timberlake's new single "My Love" featuring T.I., then fall in love with a bootleg version where a promothug chants "Atlantic Records, T.I. Clearance" over the top. DJs relent and play the song out, apparently inspiring clubgoers to sing along with the promothug chant; someone suggests making "Atlantic Records, T.I. Clearance" t-shirts; Diplo chimes in to challenge his minions' faith, claiming the T.I. version has been shelved for a 3-6 Mafia cameo; and when the cleaned up version finally arrives, weeks later (that is, last night), there is unfettered rejoicing ("it's like the day after they pulled that baby out the well"), though some people decide they like the promothug version better.

"My Love," not that you hadn't figured this out, is straight murder. Aaron LaCrate was talking about "Sexy Back" when he told us that "Even Justin Timberlake’s new song is very B-moreish: it’s like a lot of chopped up vocals, repetitive shit over top of like crazy hard beats. That wasn’t really being done before, and that’s been the B-more formula since 1990/1991." But he coulda been talking about this one too. On "My Love" it's not the chopped vocals that catch you so much as the chopped synths, like what you'd hear if you'd stumbled out of a rave, hands over your ears, and fell down a flight of stairs. Hollerboarders gleefully anticipate this song confusing the shit out of people on dancefloors this weekend, hoping to sneak something truly pop on hipsters and truly progressive on Top 40 secretaries before everyone figures out it's just a huge radio single. Oops, he did it again.

BTW, the title track has also leaked and it's not very good. But we've been busy for the past couple of days watching the club tour on YouTube and getting really amazed with the way JT is attempting to reinvent his whole post-bboy popstar thing with some SERIOUSLY FOCUSED Frank Sinatra/ratpack-era nonchalance. It's like, he's kind of just standing there, but it's not ordinary just-standing-there. Awesomeness.

WATCH: Justin Timberlake, "My Love" (live)

8/24/2006 7:34:22 AM by On the Download | Comments [4] |  

When we posted Termanology's Premier-produced banger "Watch How It Go Down" -- on the same day back in June that Christina Aguilera premiered her Premier-produced banger "Ain't No Other Man" -- we had no idea some shit like this was in the works. The pride of Lawrence, Term has been keeping the streets red hot for a minute, but dude is in serious full-court-press mode now: if you turned up for the Rakim gig a couple weeks back you probably saw him parading with a deep sign-toting crew through City Hall Plaza; then he opened for Method Man's secret MySpace show; and now he's spitting a verse on what appears to be an official X-tina joint. Surprised? Well, us too, but we shouldn't be: leave it to DJ Premier to make the match of the year, at least for anyone who loves Boston hip-hop. (Respect to everyone else on the message boards and whatnot, but it's not like Britney's walking around handing out cameos to  Ed OG and Smoke Bulga.) So anyways, the track: on "Back in the Day" Term raps about his mom "making love to Al Green," which was initially a pretty serious shock -- TERMANOLOGY IS AL GREEN'S SON?! -- until we realized he meant, like, she made love to someone else while an Al Green record was playing. Whoops. "I been in love with Christina since the moment that I seen her," he mentions later on, which is a nice thing for him to say, unless YOU'RE A LAWRENCE RAPPER WHO HAPPENS TO BE A SORTA-KINDA DEAD RINGER FOR HER HUSBAND (see below). More details on the unstoppable force that is Termanology in this interview.




DOWNLOAD: Christina Aguilera feat. Termanology, "Back in the Day (Remix)" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Termanology, "Watch How It Go Down" (mp3)

8/22/2006 7:32:03 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

The haikus are in, and we've got our winners (original post deleted to protect the email addresses of the innocent). Here's who got the tix to see Ms. Marshall at the MFA on September 5:

Chan, you confuse me
Your voice, just so damn perfect
Your mental state, not

-- brad | 8/21/2006 9:13:14 PM

Chan comes in the house
big gray rodent in her mouth
grateful gift for me

-- jef | 8/21/2006 9:21:45 PM

Cat Power, I have
heard maybe two songs by you
do you sing well live?

-- Lynne |8/22/2006 12:08:45 AM

Thanks also to entrants four and five, who rang in just a hair too late. Sorry guys -- but thanks for the verse. . .

Chan is no rhyme man
Sounds more like "shawn", but still,
got it going on

-- mac | 8/22/2006 9:40:17 AM

Flowing Cat Power
yes like a golden shower
that girl can scat man

-- bobby without a jobby | 8/22/2006 10:54:35 AM

8/22/2006 5:26:15 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

New Bomb Turks & Spitzz
August 19 at the Abbey Lounge
All photos (c) Matt Teuten

Full report coming soon . . .

8/20/2006 11:12:22 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Spitzz, "Chloroform Fun" (mp3)

Oh, right, punk rock: we'd almost forgot it existed. Not like this’ll change the world, but Spitzz are really good at it: guitars that slop but also roar like airplane engines, the way the Pistols and Sham 69 did; frazzled Johnny Thunders' leads; shock-treatment sneers. Their new album was co-produced by revered Ohio garage-punks the New Bomb Turks -- and in the ultimate thumbs-up, the Turks are coming out of retirement (and all the way from Ohio) to play Spitzz' CD-release party at the Abbey Lounge on August 19. [Details]. Since we seemed to remember hearing something about the Spitzz/Turks connection a while back, we emailed Turks dude Eric Davidson to explain what exactly it means to have an album "produced" by an entire band. "Well, all us Turks hunkered down with those goofs about 2 summers ago, and we suggested a few knob twiddles and guitar sounds, and brough along only the cheapest Columbus beer for lube purposes. Probably brought a Chris Elliot book and some pretzels too. Anyway, I guess they've combined a few of those tunes with some more recently recorded ones for this new slab." This was all a couple weeks ago, so we hadn't heard the record yet. "I haven't heard it yet either," Davidson admitted, "but we love their stuff, and the stuff that was done in Columbus was tres cool, so here's hoping." Actually, you don't have to hope anymore. We got one, it rips. Pix and full report from tonight's show coming tomorrow.

PREVIOUSLY: Exclusive Interview: New Bomb Turks Reunite for Abbey Lounge gig.

8/19/2006 9:09:40 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Sike. Nothing's better than Kelly Clarkson singing Guns N Roses. But all this shit is pretty close.

1. Gwen Stefani blatantly, SHAMELESSLY ripping off Boston emo-fashion mogul Johnny Cupcakes for her new Harajuku Girls "Cupcake Collection." Paging Urban Outfitters!

2. Famous Boston blogger and sometime Phoenix freelancer Wayne Marshall landing an entry in the next volume of DaCapo's prestigious Best Music Writing anthology. According to our inbox, Wayne is headed to Chicago this fall, but we're hoping he'll return for some kind of Enormous off-the-meathook book party or something.

3. CARE BEARS ON FIRE. Steve Buscemi's son: tween-punk mogul!

4. Lindsay Lohan, crazy slutbag. Among our fave quotes from her Elle meltdown:

LL: Well, [I] say things that aren't true a lot, just because it's fun. Yeah, if I was dating one person [I'd] probably tell them I was dating someone else and then I'd call my friend and be like, "Do you mind if I say that we're dating?" I figure I'll fuck with them, because they fuck with me. But what did [my publicist] say?
ELLE: She recently told Page Six that you were "dating several men who live overseas," which sounded kind of tawdry.
LL: Yeah, like I'm Angelina Jolie, taking on lovers. I don't want to put myself in the position where I'm in a monogamous relationship right now. I'm not dating just one person.
ELLE: How many times do you sleep with someone before you're officially dating them? I don't know the rule these days.
LL: I don't either. But Sex and the City changed everything for me, because those girls would just sleep with so many people! My mom's going to kill me for talking about sleeping with people. But if I'm going to give my body to someone, I'd rather them not be with other people.
ELLE: That's very old-fashioned of you.
LL: Yeah, but I want to be able to if I like someone else.

5. Free Cat Power tickets. Tune in to this blog on Monday for your pair.

6. Ex-Takers and In-Out homeslice Nick Blakey's new blog, Retrospective Foresight. <--Knowledge jewels by the crate right here. Now if only we could get him to post some mp3s. (Yes, it's true what Nick says in his first post: we passed on RF as a column in the Phoenix. Not because we don't love close-readings of old American Music Club and John Cale albums, but because ultimately we aren't Mojo.)

7. The return of Lemon-Red.org. We'll miss Mr. Nelson's shenanigans at TourBlog, but fear not: coming soon to the TourBlog URL are all-new hijinks from Newburyport indie stars Tiger Saw.

8. Diplo's Cassie vs. Gold Lion remix.

9. Clell Tickle. Not quite as funny as everyone says it is, but it's waaay better than dude's MIA routine.

10. People doing double-takes at the newsboxes this week over Sharon Steel's awesome cover story: Paris Hilton: America's Next Musical Genius!

8/18/2006 11:12:00 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Daughters, "Cheers, Pricks" (mp3)

"We try to sound as fucked up as possible," Daughters told us around the time of their last album. "And I think we're getting stranger musically. The hardcore kids say we're lightening up, but that's bullshit. This next time out we've decided to write the heaviest we've ever written, more extreme, more bizarre. It'll be cool." And so it fucking is. Providence’s foremost circus-thrash freaks make dentists’ drills and free jazz accessible, but on their new Hell Songs (their first for Hydrahead, and produced by Boston mainstay Andrew Schneider) they occasionally dip below the typical Load Records/Three One G speed limit (imagine a Locust album, chopped and screwed), and frontman Alexis Marshall has switched from torture-chamber squealing to trembling, beatnik-hillbilly ranting. Which is awesome: you can actually pick “Cheers, Pricks” out of a line-up of, say, Arab on Radar songs. No, really, we've seen these dudes on bills with quote-unquote "weirder" and "heavier" bands, but Daughters blow them off the stage and the kids actually sing along. Tonight they kick off a national tour with a gig at the Middle East.

8/17/2006 1:02:16 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Could this thing be the new fashion statement for teenage hipsters?

Which is cooler, riding on electric scooters down Lansdowne Street while being chased by the police with Atlantic Records' hot new act Cute Is What We Aim For or sneaking onstage to a sold out Gnarls Barkley show? How about doing both within minutes of each other? Be jealous -- that's how OTD's token emo expert Mike Johnson spent his Friday night.

The ink was still fresh on Cute Is What We Aim For's Atlantic deal -- having moved on up from Fueled by Ramen -- and since they're still kids at heart (and basically still kids; the oldest is just 19), they followed the lead of tourmates Hit the Lights and splurged on a bunch of Schwinn electric scooters. Since they were kind enough to share, Johnson showed them how to sneak onstage at Avalon via their Axis dressing room to catch some of Gnarl Barkley’s show. They were so pumped -- and when we filled them in that Cee-Lo himself was watching some of their set, they nearly jumped out of their size 7’s.

Full report from Gnarls, with slideshow, over here . . .

8/14/2006 5:43:34 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Photos by Tia, see lots more over here.

“I can’t believe we didn’t have a flying V when we started this band,” said Bang Camaro drummer Andy Dole, staring at the Middle East stage at the ungodly early hour of 10 am this past Saturday. He’s right: it’s not really a metal band without one. But Bang Camaro have got one now, and by Christ, those dudes are so metal. They’re also on a roll: for a band with only two gigs under their belt (and that’s counting a house party), they’ve got a shitload going on. They were at the Middle East to shoot a video with American Chopper director Adam Moyer for “Push Push (Lady Lightning),” the smash-hit mp3 they debuted at some music blog or other; camera crews were also in the building for a documentary; both a live and a studio album are in the works; and they’ve already landed a song in a video game. Ridiculosity like this tends to coagulate when you’ve formed a Boston supergroup to perform spot-on ’80s-styled flash metal anthems as sung by a chorus of 14 (count ‘em, 14) frontmen.

 

Gimmick? Well, sure, but it’s also pretty awe-inspiring. Especially ’cause it’s 14 dudes who go totally apeshit – it’s like having the equivalent of at least, oh, three or four Andrew WKs worth of nonsense all at once. For logistical reasons, the chorus and the band are rehearsed separately, and only come together for one or two full-ensemble practices before a gig. Already, the chorus has developed this weird groupthink identity of their own, independent of the musicians. “Those guys bro down hard,” said one member of the band, with equal parts amazement and rue. Because they’re together so infrequently, any time the chorus gathers in a room, they are apt to start singing. Between takes at Saturday’s video shoot, without cue, you can hear them break spontaneously into Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It,” Scorpions’ “Rock You Like A Hurricane,” Metallica’s “Seek and Destroy,” and, even long after the cameras stop rolling, their own “Lady Lightning.” You’ve never seen a dozen dudes so stoked to be singing their own song.

 

Tia and OTD dropped by, mostly to see what happens when you mix half the singers in town, some regressing-to-metalhead guitarists, a bunch of superfans, and beer at the Middle East before noon. The answer? Total mayhem: check the YouTubage below. And get psyched: Bang Camaro will be back and "Hellbent for Rock" at the ME down on September 1.

DOWNLOAD: Bang Camaro, "Push Push (Lady Lightning)" (mp3)

8/14/2006 2:36:59 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

If you've logged into MySpace at all in 2006 and bothered to notice the freaky shit they're hyping on the homepage, you already know that along with a daily roster of "Cool New People" (clearly the mean-spirited handiwork of someone in LA), the social-networking juggernaut has also been promoting a national string of Chili's(?)-sponsored "Secret Shows": Franz Ferdinand in NYC, Jenny Lewis at LA's Hotel Cafe, Yung Joc in Atlanta, and even Slayer and Mastodon in Mormonville.

Boston finally gets a "Secret Show" tomorrow night when Method Man hits Axis for a just-announced, free/all-ages show hosted by our favorite "MySpace Bitch" D-Tension (a/k/a one half of joke-rap duo Los Wunder Twins Del Rap) and featuring such "special guests" as DJ Master Millions, Mighty Mystic, and Termanology. As far as we can tell, you don't have to friend Secret Show to gain entry, you either have to pick up a "guaranteed admission" wristband this afternoon/evening tomorrow morning at 10 AM [Editor's note: the plan changed after we posted] at Tower Records in Harvard Square (95 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, 617-876-3377) or show up real early at Axis tomorrow night for the 10:45 pm show -- admission, they say, is "first come, first served."

Speaking of Termanology, here's the new video for the Lawrence-bred emcee's "Watch How It Go Down." Directed by Statik Selektah and shot "over the last four weeks" in Boston, Lawrence, and New York City (Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx, Harlem, Times Sq, Subways), it's got the self-anointed "Holy Resurrection" rolling in a top-down Mustang, doing the socially conscious thing (i.e. chiding muthafuckers for learning how to shoot before they learn how to aim), and being so excited about his budding success that he actually runs out of a New York bodega waving the recent issue of XXL for the camera and opens to page 92, where he's featured in a recent month's "Show & Prove." We love the hungry hustle.

DOWNLOAD: Termanology, "Watch How It Go Down" (mp3)

8/14/2006 11:17:45 AM by Cami | Comments [0] |  

Looks like the Lily Pad in Inman Square is facing the same problems that plagued its former inhabitant, the Zeitgeist Gallery. Fresh and mostly unedited press release straight from the inbox:

The lily pad - boston's beloved forum for original, creative music - has been forced to cancel all shows until further notice.  due to noise complaints, the cambridge licensing board is obligated to follow the letter of the law in serving the lily pad with a 'cease and desist' order.

a hearing will be scheduled and the venue is currently rallying support from the community.  the licensing committee could not be reached, as it is already closed for the weekend.  we expect to have more details on monday.

since its opening in march, when it replaced the zeitgeist gallery, the lily pad has begun to flourish as a venue honoring creativity and quality by showcasing the best new original music from boston and beyond.  performers have included the best of the new york avant-garde, such as the claudia quintet, as well as members of boston strongholds like reverend glasseye, humanwine, and the dresden dolls.  but equally valuable are the performers who may have no other forum in the boston area.

if you could please forward this or point me in the right direction to anyone who might be able to help, whether by providing media attention or bribing the licensing officer (that's a joke), it would be greatly appreciated.  

Cambridge License Commission, 831 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139-3068, Phone: 617-349-6140.

That means that tonight and tomorrow, here's what is canceled:

Friday, August 11, at 7 pm, Banana Hands, Tiny Whales, Marah Mar and 10 pm "Death Metal Friday" with Pillory, Intestinal Strangulation, Porphyria, Proteus.

Saturday, August 12 at 7:30 pm, "Indie Film/Music Night to Support the Brattle Theatre" with Riding Shotgun.

And then there's an e-mailed PS:

i should also mention that if the community shows its support, we can help overturn the order.

here's what people can do to help:

1. write a letter of support for the lily pad, stating that the venue is a vital asset that is necessary to the community, and that it does no harm.  letters can be sent by mail to the following address:

Richard V. Scali, Chairman
Cambridge License Commission
831 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139-3068

or via email:

license@ci.cambridge.ma.us

2. make a secure donation to help offset legal fees, either in person or by mail (internet donation opportunities coming soon):

the lily pad
PO Box 398096
cambridge, ma 02139

8/11/2006 2:59:18 PM by Cami | Comments [2] |  

 

Thanks to K. Bonami for uploading "Miles Away" and "Cheated Hearts" from last night's YYY's freebie on Government Center. More photos over here.

8/11/2006 12:20:19 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

(All photos (c) Chris Dempsey)

Real big thanks to the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and TV on the Radio for doing it real big tonight -- we're just guestimating, but it looked like at least 10,000 of you showed up for the FNX/Phoenix blowout on Government Center. Nick Zinner's fam was in the crowd, and we'd swear that lady with the bob behind the soundboard was Karen O's mom. A bunch of dudes came down to chug bottled water and diet coke with us in the VIP, among them such swell folks as Mark Kates, Franki Chan and the Brilliant Mistake crew, Deb Eximious, and our man Rucker. We damn near got teary eyed seeing chicks with mohawks moshing and crowd surfing on the municipal pavement. Took us right back to 1994. Lots more to come shortly, thanks to Chris Dempsey for speeding back to the batcave to upload these before we go see Franki spin up at Great Scott.

8/10/2006 11:08:06 PM by On the Download | Comments [3] |  

Cable-access cub reporter "Cindy Overton" scores exclusive interview with "Saddam Hussein" for Boink. (No, not that one.) Hussein apparently goes home from court on weekends, since he sits down with Overton in his home-bunker recording studio in Manhattan, reminisces about the ambitious early days before he ruled Iraq, of screenprinting his face on T-shirts, and speaking to crowds of 50. ("We’re gonna take over the world, we’re going to take over Kuwait, and those are the days. And that’s when being a dictator is really being a dictator.")

Weird, though, Hussein looks a little thinner. A little less belligerent. A little more, hmm... like he's live from New York on Saturday nights. Is that...? Can't be. Must be just a strange spider-holey coincidence.


Thanks to Mili for sending this along.

8/10/2006 1:52:52 AM by Cami | Comments [2] |  

Learn from our mistakes: as this guy and this guy might lead you to believe, DJ RNDM is not pronounced "DJ R.N.D.M.," it's  actually "DJ Random," though we've also been introduced to him as just plain "Todd." Fortunately, we never fucked up any of his names to his face. Now you won't either.

Whatever you want to call the young crate-digger, his DJ ID is certainly appropriate for his mixtape style, which hasn't been honed in software clicks or Vegas Audio licenses, but direct from the decks. Yep, his recorded mixes are all live vinyl blends, though he does admit to a little post-production multi-tracking "to keep the energy up in a way that is technically impossible with just two turntables." That technique ends up with a classic late-'80s anthem like Soggy-Bizkit-grandfather "Walk This Way" sutured next to INXS's suicide-pop hit "Tonite" for a number the kid's logically christened, "Walk This Way Tonite." Or the first 1:45 of the sexy-people-dance "Push It" overlayed with a minute of "When Doves Cry" that's something strange called, "When Doves Push It." Unlike most dance-party sprangers (except maybe these guys), kid's also got a crazily nasty hankering for mixing classic-rock prom songs with Top 40 jukebox mainstays: "Another One Bites the Dust" spliced with "Hot in Herre"? Nas's "It Aint Hard To Tell" a cappella over Led Zeppelin's "All of My Love"? Doesn't always make sense, but somehow RNDM makes it work.

RNDM's almost done with his new CD, so as a little appetizer, he's offering his entire debut release ...this is rndm as a downloadable .zip file from his Web site. It includes all the aforementioned mixes (don't call them "mash-ups" or you will be killed!), along with Missy Elliot cussing out Payless-Shoe-shopping ho's over Young MC's "Bust a Move," plus tons more.

He's also got this A/V partnership with that ever-endearing VJ, Robotkid. Tonight, they're doubling up for some tag-team audio-visual coordinated action in which they use, quoth the young Robot, "are using special vinyl records wired to our laptops to mix music videos" at the Middlesex Lounge. Little known fact about the Middlesex: don't stand on the square seats or they will (try to) bounce your ass out of there. (Robot is a witness.) Again, please learn from our mistakes.

DOWNLOAD: DJ RNDM's ...this is rndm (link to .zip file page on djrndm.com)


Click to enlarge the flier for tonight's show.

8/9/2006 10:58:12 AM by Cami | Comments [0] |  

Hell up in Harlem: Sleazegrinder and Mr. Greenwood, in a production still from 13 Ways To Deal Coke.

In OTD's office, alongside the portraits of Paul Wall and Devendra Banhart and Madonna and Pharrell hangs a Polaroid of the great Harlem Greenwood taken by the inimitable prose stylist and mastadonian stoner rocker Tim Catz. The photo was taken on the 4th of July, 1996, on Holman Street in Lower Allston, and in it Harlem is wearing a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, a pair of flowerly boxers, and nothing else. He's standing on a beat-up linoleum kitchen floor, framed by cheap paneling, and is taking a deep swig from a bottle of whiskey. He is, I'm trying to say, in his motherfucking element. He also bears a striking resemblance to this guy, but that's beside the point.

Harlem (not his real name) is the only semi-permanent member and chief agent provocateur of a "musical" "group" called Coke Dealer, which for several years passed itself off as an avant-garde noise band -- though with no permanent membership, no songs, and a reputation for direct physical confrontation with the audience and for trashing whatever venue was stupid enough to book them, it was more like an excuse to take lots of drugs and fuck shit up. Our favorite Coke Dealer shows: the one where Harlem kicked everyone's drinks off their tables and then saran-wrapped himself to the support beam at O'Briens. And the one where they turned Jacque's -- the theater district tranny bar, and thus a metaphorical sausage party -- into a literal sausage party by dousing the audience in rancid meat and, later, after the meat had begun to sweat, in several pound-bags of confectioners sugar.

Plans for a Coke Dealer documentary have been floating around for almost a decade now, and for a while back in the day (1997? 1998?) there were a couple of video cameras at every disasterous show. But it took Sleazegrinder -- the Thucydides of contemporary slop culture's porn/skeez-metal/powerviolence axis -- to actually get on with it. That Sleazy's film, 13 Ways To Deal Coke, has a loose script and much bad acting should not deter viewers from apprehending it as the motherfucking truth -- or, ok, if not the literal motherfucking truth, than at least its inbred/retarded cousin, "reality." It is also a heartbreaking melodrama. Well, more like a comedy, actually, but the kind that makes you want to sit right down and cry.

We have as yet seen only as much of the film as you will see below, but it's about three minutes more than we'll ever need to see again -- uh, we mean, it's obviously a contemporary masterpiece. It stars Harlem Greenwood as himself, only now he has a masturbating clown for a drug supplier and a driver-slash-press-flack who thinks he's a vampire. (The clown part is totally on the level, but in real life the guy who thinks he's a vampire is just some dude in another band, he doesn't really drive much. This is what the poets call "artistic license.") We can think of no higher praise than to say that 13 Ways To Deal Coke must eventually be seen as an amalgam of the three best films ever made: Shakes the Clown, The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years, and Troma's classic Cannibal! The Musical. "So far the budget has swollen to a whopping $450," Sleazegrinder emailed us last month, in a rare spare minute between directing a 13 Ways shoot and conducting an interview with under-regarded proto-stoner geniuses Cactus for Classic Rock magazine. "We may be looking at a $5,000 movie when we're done. Big time!"

WATCH: 13 Ways To Deal Coke (trailer, via YouTube):

8/8/2006 7:55:49 PM by On the Download | Comments [3] |  

We don't have time to give you a big hoo-raw on how unbelievably fucking great New Bomb Turks were -- if you don't already know, then 1) you're an idiot, and 2) that's what Google's for. The quick: Ohio garage-punk legends, Crypt Records, Drunk on Cock, Epitaph, kaput. They played the kind of sloppy punk rock associated with total morons and degenerate drug addicts, but they used it to turn puns like "Born Toulouse Lautrec," thereby confounding most and pissing off not a few. They were half the reason the mid-to-late '90s didn't completely suck. (The other half of the reason: these guys.)

Before the Turks broke up, they struck up a friendship with the guys in the Spitzz, the Boston retropunk band that grew out of Showcase Showdown. And now the record that Spitzz made with help from the Turks is about to come out. (We're purposefully not saying too much about it because we'll be bringing you a post and an exclusive mp3 from the Spitzz record on Thursday.) And that led circuitously to the flyer above, which is for reals: New Bomb Turks reunited for two nights only, one of which is at the Abbey, the other of which is like a thousand miles away in Ohio. Slimy record store nerds in the other 48 states are gonna be puking themselves with jealousy. Immediately we shot Turks leader Eric Davidson an email to see what else they've got planned. Turns out, nothin': "These two shows (Boston and Cleveland) are just reunion shows. Just for kicks, as they say."

So how'd we get so fucking lucky? "Well basically, everyone was sorta back-of-the-mind mulling about a summer road trip, and the Spitzz were thinking about a record release party, and asked us if we'd wanna come visit and maybe play. They're great pals and it's always fun to see them. Plus they promised the Tampoffs would be on the bill. So there ya go." If you miss the Abbey gig and happen to live in the Midwest, you've got one more chance: "We're also doing a reunion gig opening for Radio Birdman in Cleveland on September 5, and that was cuz we all wanted to see Birdman on their reunion tour, and we're all originally from Cleveland so we figured we might be up there around Labor Day anyway. Basically, you show us a holiday or family party, and we'll see what we can do. But seriously, there's nothing more planned."

Check back Thursday for more on the Spitzz record, including an exclusive new mp3. For now, here's some shit you should've bought 10 years ago:

DOWNLOAD: New Bomb Turks, "Dragstrip Riot" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: New Bomb Turks, "We Give a Rat's Ass" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: New Bomb Turks, "I Got Your Bitter End" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: New Bomb Turks, "Out of My Mind" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: The Turks covering a bunch of other people's songs at some blog

BONUS: The Tampoffs, "All the Time" (mp3)

8/8/2006 1:55:18 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

 

Street heat: Ted Leo, Pharmacists. Mike Miliard's camera wants to be infra-red when it grows up.

 

And the award for most seamless segue between opener and headliner goes to...

 

Ted Leo, bounding onstage at the Middle East on Sunday afternoon during Drew O’Doherty’s cover of “Dancing in the Dark” and shimmying for a few moments like Courteney Cox before picking up his Gibson hollow body and joining Doherty to close out the song.

 

It was a 2 p.m. all-ages show upstairs, but the crowd at this one was a little different from the rowdies who populated the hardcore matinees of Leo’s youth: here was a sold out room full mostly of tender-faced teens — one of whom got a 15th birthday shout-out from stage, another of whom clutched her shoulders and swooned in Beatlemaniac hysterics as Leo powered his way through solo versions of songs from ’03’s Hearts of Oak (“The High Party”), ‘04’s Shake the Sheets (“Bleeding Powers”), and a well-chosen cover (Ewan MacColl’s “Dirty Old Town”).

 

The show was billed as a solo gig, but just as Leo approached the stomping Irish-jig climax of “Timorous Me” (from ‘01’s The Tyranny of Distance) bassist Dave Lerner and drummer Chris Wilson — otherwise known as the Pharmacists — ambled on stage (augmented with O’Doherty, who was once a Pharmacist himself) to properly enable the song’s efflorescence.

 

The band had just come off tour, and Lerner and Wilson were under no obligation to play, but they made the trip to Cambridge from Philly and NYC respectively because there was a lot of new material to test out. No one knows exactly when the next Pharmacists record will be forthcoming (“What is this, fucking VH-1 Storytellers?” Leo joked when someone had the temerity to ask from the audience) but apparently the plan is to let it gestate properly while some ideas are fleshed out and some other songs are pulled from Leo’s bag of tricks. But if the material we heard Sunday afternoon is any indication, it’s gonna be a corker.

 

There was the towering, powerful “Some Beginner’s Mind,” a demo version of which has found its way onto the blogs in recent months. “Catch You On the Way Down” has some ska-like flashes (Specials, The English Beat) and was powered along by Lerner’s nimble Motown-esque bass lines. The metal epic “The Lost Brigade” was supercharged by Wilson’s martial drums. And while “Who You Love” was straight-up mod rock in the Jam/Kinks/Faces vein and “Colleen” reached back (as many Pharmacists songs do) to the meditative, muscular melodicism of Thin Lizzy, “Crying Over You” was a departure of sorts: a heavy, sped-up dub reggae, with Leo pealing sheets of effects-laden noise from his guitar.

 

With eight minutes before the trio was obliged to vacate the stage (at 5 p.m.) Leo promised to use up ever last one of ‘em. And, verily, he did, charging into the knotty noise workouts of “Stove By a Whale,” swimming in that churning brine for a good long while. When the last note faded, the fans yelled and cheered then stumbled out, blinking, into the late afternoon sunlight.

-Mike Miliard

8/8/2006 12:19:45 PM by Cami | Comments [0] |  

Reason no. 197 why the ILM board is better than SPIN and Rolling Stone and Blender and the Village New Times combined: a rash of Danzig haiku.

Examples:

Impressive man boobs
His large pectoral muscles
Remind me of my "Mother."

Picking a fight with
A much larger, less famous rocker
KAPOW! Down he goes.

Poor Danzig. Dude's house is a mess, ain't mowed the lawn since like 4p or some shit, got mad geeks in SunnO))) hoodies walking like an egyptian out there and whatnot. Not to mention, no one will leave him alone about the bricks:

In a run down house,
Big pile of bricks in the yard.
Even Beck complains! 

To all of the above, OTD hastens to add:

"Teenagers from Mars":
Who still listens to this crap?
Hot Topic douchebags.

Feel free to add your own Danzig haiku in the comments. If anyone comes up with something good, we'll send you some crap.

8/8/2006 12:39:14 AM by On the Download | Comments [2] |  

MP3 of the Week: Bullseye, "Mick Jagger's Birthday Bash"

DOWNLOAD: Bullseye, "Mick Jagger's Birthday Bash" (mp3)

As imagined by a bunch of Pioneer Valley pre-teens, the party in question appears to take place in the future, and in Heaven: there’s a cool guest list (Dylan and Johnny Cash, Art Garfunkel and the Clash) and cooler party favors (guitar picks by Hendrix, a song by Stevie Nicks), but kind of a creepy vibe (the Stones sneak them ice-cream cones, Dee Dee Ramone phones home). The Bullseye line-up (average age: 11) includes the 10- and 12-year-old offspring of veteran musician, booking agent, one-time Donnas producer, and film-music consultant Greg “Skeggy” Kendall — which explains why the riff sounds closer to Smoosh than to Kidz Bop and more “Gimme Shelter” than either. The kids have already opened for soft-alt-pop megastars the Fray, and on August 11 they’ll open for Kristen Hersh's reunited Throwing Muses at the Middle East [Click for show details].

8/7/2006 7:58:25 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Kidzapalooza

Perry Farrell is for the children.

Patty Smith: scary old grandma of rock

The original School of Rock

Preschooler with wifebeater/mohawk, at lower left: focused.

Broken Social Scene

Uh . . . Kidzapalooza's over, duders.

Wilco

Red Hot Chili Peppers

All photos (c) Carina Mastrocola

8/7/2006 7:08:32 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Common

Dresden Dolls

New Pornographers

Wolfmother

Sonic Youth

Flaming Lips

Kanye West

While braving a faceful of snot and her most inopportune cold of the summer, our photog Carina Mastrocola managed to bring back the goods again. We got a note from her this morning that she'd just run into Mike Patton (see below), began conversing with him in Italian, and found him to be a swell dude. Above: the best of yesterday's rock on the Lolla fairgrounds. More to come. And if you're following along at home, the webcast continues today (beware, these are all Central time):

12:30 PM Sparta
01:30 PM Stars
02:00 PM Matt Costa
02:30 PM Ben Kweller
03:30 PM The Frames
04:30 PM The Redwalls
05:30 PM She Wants Revenge
06:30 PM Andrew Bird
07:30 PM Poi Dog Pondering
08:30 PM Wilco

8/6/2006 10:38:13 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

If you haven't already checked out this week's awesome Phoenix cover story on Berklee alum Brendon Small's new animated Cartoon Network heavy-metal series Metalocalyspse -- best. show. ever. -- we highly recommend you do so immediately, in preparation for tomorrow night's premiere (first seven minutes via YouTube, below). Great show, great article. The lady who wrote it for us, metalhead/librarian Larissa Glasser, knows of what she speaks: she's also in the totally brutal Boston death-metal band Hekseri. Fans of Kreator/Deicide/Norwegian dudes who burn churches should check them out. If you don't know what band they're covering below, your black-metal credentials are hereby revoked. Doom/grind fiends, GET FAMILIAR.

DOWNLOAD: Hekseri, "