We’d like to apologize for what happened when we debuted Bang Camaro’s “Push Push (Lady Lightning)” back in June. It’s amazing what a little hyperbole (“mp3 of the decade”) and a catchy thumbnail description (“Polyphonic Spree meets Headbangers’ Ball”) can do in this town: all the sudden the band’s headlining awards shows and getting slapped on the covers of every fishwrap in town. All of it completely deserved, of course, but in an era when hype can be a band’s worst enemy, we fear for bands who become household names before they’ve got a record out. So we beseech you: hold the backlash, broseph. The concept hasn’t worn thin, the songs are getting even better, and the sheer havoc of their live shows still registers as a seismic shock, not as Darkness-y schlock. Just check “Rock of Mages,” their blistering homage to Pyromania-era Def Leppard and Justice-era Metallica. Or, if you’re man enough, show up for their NYE extravaganza at the Middle East, with OTD faves Hooray for Earth and Snowleopards. Bonus tracks below are the songs those bands gave us, plus the Bang Camaro dance remix (!) that David Day unearthed a few weeks back.  

DOWNLOAD: Bang Camaro, "Rock of Mages" (mp3) (sorry for the temporary usendit link; OTD's uploader is on the fritz)

BONUS TRACKS:

DOWNLOAD: Bang Camaro, "Push Push (Lady Lightning) (DJ Die Young Remix)" (mp3)

DOWNLOAD: Hooray for Earth, "Simple Plan" (mp3)

DOWNLOAD: Snowleopards, "Hipmatize Me" (mp3)

DOWNLOAD: Snowleopards, "Stuck in the Middle" (mp3)

12/30/2006 10:36:49 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

We were looking for this footage on YouTube back when we named James Brown's historic concert at the Garden in 1968 -- yes, the one he did the night Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated -- the best concert in Boston, ever. The performance, nearly cancelled but eventually broadcast live on WGBH, has been widely credited over the years with sparing Boston from the riots that erupted in many other cities. This footage has been on and off YT over the past couple of months, and here's hoping the copyright holders let it stay up for a bit. This six-minute clip is particularly amazing -- not just for the performance footage, which shows James screaming and dancing at his superhuman, late-'60s best (it also includes his infamous cape-throwing reveal), but also for the way he handles the crowd rushing the stage: as a gaggle of nervous cops attempt to keep people at bay, James takes command and talks one-on-one with members of the audience, calming both police and fans while displaying in a few short moments the authority, grace, and pride that informed all of his finest music.

WATCH: James Brown, live at the Boston Garden, 1968.

12/27/2006 12:17:48 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

100.

 

100. Kevin Federline, “Popo Zao”

099. Rihanna, “S.O.S.” With apologies to Vanessa Hudgens’s “Baby Come Back To Me” (“Baby Come Back”), J-Simpson’s “A Public Affair” (“Holiday”), and Jamelia’s “Beware of the Dog” (“Personal Jesus”): best ripoff of the year.

098. Earl Grayhound, “SOS”

097. MSTRKRFT, “Easy Love”

096. Certified Bananas, “Kiss the Girl (Baltimore Remix)”

095. Ashley Tisdale, “Kiss the Girl”

094. Ashley Parker Angel, “Let U Go”

093. Janet Jackson, “Weekend”

092. From First To Last, “Shame Shame”

091. Silversun Pickups, “Lazy Eye”

 

90.

 

090. Diddy, “After Love”

089. DJ Shadow, David Banner, and Nump, “Seeing Thangs”

088. Jibbs, “Chain Hang Low”

087. The Pipettes, “Your Kisses Are Wasted On Me.”

087. The Carrots, “Beverly.”

086. Unk feat. Andre 3000, “Walk It Out (Remix)”

085. Fat Joe feat. Lil Wayne, “Make It Rain.”

084. Boo feat. Jazze Pha, “Make It Rain.”

083. Grandaddy Souf, “Make It Rain.”

082. Nelly Furtado, “Crazy (live on BBC)”

081. Thom Yorke, “Black Swan”

 

80.

 

080. Panic at the Disco, “I Write Sins Not Tragedies”

079. Dresden Dolls, “Sing”

078. Nine Inch Nails, “Every Day Is Exactly The Same”

078. The Rapture, “The Sound”

077. LCD Soundsystem, “Someone Great.” Grandfathered into ’06 despite lack of official release based on the fact that Diplo’s already smashed it up under the record of the year.

076. Teddybears, “Cobrastyle (Diplo Remix)”

075. Grinderman, “No Pussy Blues.”

074. Andrew W.K., “Pushing Drugs”

073. Uffie, “Pop the Glock”

072. Lupe Fiasco, “Kick Push”

071. CSS, “Let’s Make Love and Listen Death From Above (Spank Rock Remix)”

 

70.

 

070. JoJo, “Too Little Too Late”

069. Joanna, “Screaming Infidelities”

068. J.R. Writer feat. Hell Rell & Jim Jones, “Goonies”

067. Stephen Brodsky’s Octave Museum, “Kid Defender”

066. Gwen Stefani feat. Pharrell, “Yummy”

065. Mission of Burma, “2wice”

064. Cousin Cole, “Atlantic Records TI Clearance”

063. Gnarls Barkley, “Smiley Faces”

062. Akon feat. Eminem, “Smack That”

061. Hooray for Earth, “Simple Plan”

 

60.

 

060. Dr. Evil, “More Punnany”

059. Ms. Peachez, “Fry That Chicken”

058. Wolfmother, “Woman (MSTKKRFT Remix)”

057. Yeah Yeah Yeahs, “Gold Lion (Diplo Remix)”

056. Matt and Kim, “Yea Yeah”

055. Da Musicianz, “Camera Phone”

054. Hot Chip, “Over and Over”

053. Cadillac Don & J-Money, “Peanut Butter and Jelly”

052. Converge feat. Jonah Jenkins, “Grim Heart/Black Rose”

051. Bubba Sparxxx, “Ms. New Booty”

 

50.

 

050. Township, “House in the Sky”

049. Paris Hilton, “Stars are Blind”

048. Coldplay, “Talk (Jaques Lu Cont Remix)”

047. Soulwax, “Miserable Girl (Nite Versions)”

046. Cassie, “Long Way To Go”
045. Nelly Furtado, “Promiscuous”

044. Fergie, “London Bridge”

043. The Gossip, “Standing In the Way of Control (Le Tigre Remix)”

042. Ali and Gipp, “Go Head”

041. Casey Dienel, “Frankie and Annette”

 

40.

 

040. Lady Sovereign, “Love Me or Hate Me (Missy Elliot Remix)”

039. Aidonia, “War Munga” (Ghetto Whisky Riddim)

038. Mistah FAB, “Ghost Ride It”

037. The Pack, “Vans”

036. Justice, “Waters of Nazareth”

035. Ray Lamontagne, “Crazy”

034. The Strokes, “You Only Live Once”

033. Lily Allen, “Friday Night”

032. Arctic Monkeys, “I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor”

031. LCD Soundsytem, “45:33”

 

30.

 

030. Young Joc, “It’s Goin’ Down”

029. The Channels, “The Moon”

028. Chamillionaire, “Ridin”

027. Justin Timberlake, “What Goes Around”

026. Nelly Furtado, “Maneater”

025. DJ Webstar & Young B, “Chicken Noodle Soup”

024. Lillix, “Sweet Temptation”

023. Bonde Do Role, “Melo Do Tobacco”

022. Mark Ronson feat. Alex Greenwald, “Just”

021. Christina Aguilera, “Hurt”

 

20.

 

020. E-40 feat. Keak the Sneak, “Tell Me When To Go.”

019. Evanescence, “Call Me When You’re Sober”

018. Cassie, “Me & U”

017. Kleerup feat. Robyn, “With Every Heartbeat.”

016. Buraka Som Sistema, “Yah!”

015. Justin Timberlake, “Sexy Back”

014. P!nk, “U and Ur Hand”

013. Damone, “Out Here All Night”

012. Say Anything, “Alive with the Glory of Love”

011. T.I., “What You Know”

 

10.

 

010. The Veronicas, “4Ever.”

009. Killswitch Engage, “My Curse.”

008. Amanda Blank feat. Spank Rock, “Blow”

007. Clipse, “Hello New World”

006. Bang Camaro, “Push Push (Lady Lightning)”

005. Gnarls Barkley, “Crazy.”

004. Rick Ross, “Hustlin’.” Other than 001, the only other song on this list that OTD bought as a ringtone.

003. Troy and Gabriella, “Breaking Free.” OTD's High School Musical essay is brewing. That January 10 Centrum date may have something to do with why he's not writing it just now.  

002. Joanna Newsom, “Emily.” Realization while listening to this song for the 1439^th time without ever having bothered to forge ahead towards song two: If Jeff Mangum had led off “In the Aeroplane Over the Sea” with “Oh Comely,” we might never have listened to the rest of the album.

001. Justin Timberlake, “My Love.” One measure of a song, though not a good one, is how many remixes it produces. Another measure of a song, somewhat better, is a song that turns out to be unremixable. By both standards, this song is a classic: nobody has come up with a better version, and several big names – DFA, who fell flat on their faces, and Diplo, who threw it over a DFA track – have failed to come up with anything that beats the original.

 

1.

12/27/2006 3:36:47 AM by On the Download | Comments [2] |  

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

It's 6:30 a.m. and my six year old daughter is shaking me out of bed. "Where's Camille leaving to?" she says. I have no idea how she knows Camille is going anywhere. Maybe she read the Great Scott calendar like everyone else.

She got a job in New York, I yawn. 

"She's moving away to go work there?"

Yes.

"Is she the girl with the ice cream cones at her desk?"

Yes, that's her. Camille's desk is piled with back issues of High Times and books and booze and sneakers and weird swag; there's her old computer, unhooked and dusty, that's been sitting there for a year; a couple of clipped photos pinned to gray felt. And plastic ice cream cones.

---  

I can't really remember how it came up. I think we were reading Catchdubs or Teaching the Indie Kids To Dance Again or something. Camille said, "We should do an mp3 blog." I said, "Yeah. I don't have time." She said, "Neither do I." Then we went ahead and did it anyway. Secretly, at first, on a free Blogger account. Told a few friends. Linked to our favorites. Met Catchdubs, and Lemon-Red, and Sylvester. They linked to us. It felt . . . not like writing. Writing's like this: you show up, tunnel backwards into yr skull, and dig for inspiration until an editor grabs you by the throat and makes you turn your shit in. OTD is like smoking in the boys' room. After writing about music professionally for more than a decade, I was burned to a crisp. OTD is the most fun I've had since, oh, probably the Monoman episode. In any case, the important thing to remember is that when it comes to OTD -- the pawrty recaps and the Juelz Santana interviews and the local-miniceleb separated at births -- the whole thing was Camille's idea.

Next week she'll be launching a new music blog at the Village Voice.

--

From Camille's "Why I Write" essay (the one that Gawker quoted in officially welcoming her to NY's media shitstorm):

I like to think about throwing a huge party and putting everyone I’ve ever written about on the guest list. I imagine the anarchists debating unions with the manager of the Glass Slipper. The Assman trying to slap one of his stickers on the Jesus Guy’s sandwich board. The cosmetology-school girls screaming at each other and playing Guitar Hero in Second Life. Darkclouds stickering the fridge. The ex-con sneakerhead trying to get some play from Boston’s first SuicideGirl. The Best Thing Ever covering “Big Poppa” in the bathtub. Perhaps that’s how I know when I’ve found somebody worth writing about: I immediately want them there.

In case you haven't figured this out yet, we're havnig a hard time saying goodbye. But you're welcome to come by tonight and watch us get drunk and try. The party described above is in fact happening, they've all been invited. As are you. We can't guarantee there won't be a fight, but the flickr pix are gonna be awesome.

IF YOU GO:

Camille's going-away party
Feat. DJ RNDM, VJ Robotkid, Los Wunder Twins del Rap, Life of the Mind (some old friend of Cami's reading extraordinarily bad poetry), and special surprise guests...
Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston
9 pm, $5

12/23/2006 8:22:27 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Piebald, "Oh, the Congestion"

Ten years on and no closer to stardom, PIEBALD keep finding ways to get better. Once upon a time they were a band defined by their quirks, by Travis Shettel's archly geektoid sense of humor and his ability to turn a simple melody into a manic obstacle course full of twists, turns, and on-a-dime shifts from jangly art rock to sweeping piano choruses. No more: on "Congestion," a teaser for their new Accidental Gentleman (Side One Dummy) it takes less than three minutes and not much more than four chords for the band to get from A to B, nailing the kind of simple, anthemic power pop they've always run rings around. No surprise whatsoever: they're really good at it. Don't miss their annual holiday gig Friday, December 22 at Andover Town Hall.

12/21/2006 6:12:49 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Between this and "Dick in a Box," 2006 might be the best year for Christmas parodies yet. Quite frankly, this blows R. Kelly's version away, especially chapter three, which makes South Park look like The Electric Company. Thanks to Brenda at Fenway Recordings for dropping the dime on it.

WATCH: Trapped in the Clauset Chapter 1

WATCH: Trapped in the Clauset Chapter 2

WATCH: Trapped in the Clauset Chapter 3

12/20/2006 4:30:21 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

1. You always wanted to be at that party where Charlie Brown throws down with Jim Jones. So if you haven't already, point your browser at Lemon-Red, who's come out of hibernation to upload a dastardly X-mas mix from fellow Lab scientists Snack and C'mish. Elf people stand up.

2. Click 5, Christy Carlson Romano crash Q Division holiday bash.

3. (We Are) Cassette re-ups their electro-pop X-mas album. Some of you probably got this last year, but it still kills. Do you hear what I hear?

4. Wayne & Wax re-ups his Christmas Re-Mixmas. Ibid.

5. Happy Holidays from Protokoll. We give them shit, but they sound really, really good. The Blood Brothers remix of "Holy Divine" is for keeps. New year's resolution: write more about Protokoll.

6. Pitchfork slams Knife's x-mas song, but give them top album honors anyway.

7. Kayo Dot get x-mas present: next album on Hydrahead. Kayo violinist Mia pees herself with holiday cheer.

8. Hotter than roasted chestnuts and open fires: Allston's resident rare/Italo-disco specialist DJ Joseph Colbourne unwraps a megamix. What are you doing on New Year's Eve?

12/19/2006 2:08:22 PM by On the Download | Comments [2] |  

IF YOU GO:

THROWED
feat. Spank Rock, Chris Rockswell, E-Marce, David Day and !!!'s Justin Vandervolgen
Harpers Ferry, Allston
10 pm, 18-plus

Year-end lists won't reflect it (SORRY, DUH), but '06 was the year that PAPER broke through and turned hardcore's infamous "the kids" into non-rockist party-music ballers. Scenesters could pshaw all they wanted to, but the ones who took a turn behind the decks emerged changed humans: DUDE, IT'S PACKED WITH TEENAGE GIRLS WHO DANCE WTF?! For the benefit of outsiders: this does not ever happen in Boston. And, having a dedicated audience of young kids, they also had the cash to lure in the types of out-of-town DJs who'd usually not even bother playing here. Exhibit A: the Spank Rock dudes, who liked it so much that Chris "Rockswell" Devlin has now teamed up with Paper resident Eric "E-Marce" Marcelino for a monthly night at Harpers Ferry -- yes, the original home of Paper. The new night, dubbed "THROWED," kicks off Tuesday night. That's right. It kicks off on the Tuesday before Christmas. No, no, please: hold your applause.

Devlin, it turns out, has recently moved to Boston -- hey Gawker: Boston is the new Philly is the new Brooklyn! -- and E-Marce says they're shooting for a Boston version of Philly's "Making Time" party. Don't know about you nerds, but with Juwan (a/k/a the Spank Rock in Spank Rock) taking the mic at midnight and Justin from !!! on the turntables (perhaps spinning their hilariously titled new record Myth Takes?), this should be a done deal. For reference, this is how E-Marce rolls -- and the vid below is taken from a show in front of a bunch of indie-rock stiffs. Imagine this with emokids going apeshit:

12/19/2006 10:34:24 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Making a shameless ploy to make it onto year-end ballots -- check back later this week for those, btw -- ABERDEEN CITY sent fans and critics a christmas card directing folks to a little holiday treat hosted on their site. The chestnut: a cover of Low's sad, simmering "Just Like Christmas," b/w a slowly-as-the-snow-falls rework of their hit "God Is Going To Get Sick of Me." Awesome. In the spirit of the season, we're re-gifting to you . . .

DOWNLOAD: Aberdeen City, "Just Like Christmas" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Aberdeen City, "God Is Going To Get Sick of Me (Highway Version)" (mp3)

12/18/2006 6:22:58 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

 

First, you should know this about the In Out:

 

It’s the In Out. Not the In-Out, and certainly not the In/Out. (I learned this the hard way thanks to an e-mailed tongue-lashing from bassist Nick Blakey.)

 

However, while I’m not sure exactly what the inspiration was for the band’s name, if it was indeed referring to its use in A Clockwork Orange — as in, “a little of the old ... on a weepy young devotchka” — then I’m sorry to say that the screenplay is quite clear: the hyphen should be employed.

 

Anyway, the important thing to know about the In Out is that they are good, and have been for a long time. They were plying their trade way back in 1992, in the salad days of Boston’s alterna-rock efflorescence. (Remember, those happy days of Dando and Hanley and Hatfield, where the hours seemed 120-minutes long?)

 

And they’re still playing music that sounds nothing whatsover like the aforementioned artists.

 

Blakey, guitarist/vocalist Todd Nudelman, and drummer Tim Morse kick up a noise that resembles, by turns, the clangorous racket Confusion is Sex-era Sonic Youth (“Money & Business”), a Gang of Four personal/political polemic crossbred with the Dave Clark Five (“My Solution”), klieg-lit Ubu-esque shamanistic incantations (“Deutschland”), carbon-monoxide-choking garage rock shake (“Synth Corps”), and Fall-ing down death-rattle throttle (“V.W. Ubergrinder”).

 

They share a bill tonight (December 17) with The Hidden and Jeffrey Simmons at The Bulfinch Yacht Club.That’s at 234 Friend Street, near the much bigger venue of TD Bank North Garden.

-- Mike Milliard

12/17/2006 3:50:24 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

12/17/2006 3:34:28 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Even before this came on, the entire first half of the new all-Timberlake SNL scanned like it was written explicitly for YouTube. Justin as singing cup-of-soup is damn near classic at this point: you couldn't get more viral without having the soup can sing Webstar and Young B. As for "Dick In a Box," NBC clearly is hoping for another "Lazy Sunday": by the morning after, it was taking center stage on the NBC video page under the title, "A Special Christmas Box." Will link to the Web rip as soon as it surfaces; hopefully we'll get one in time to play at Cami's going away party next weekend.

WATCH: Justin Timberlake, "Dick in A Box" (NBC Video)

12/17/2006 2:53:56 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

 

DOWNLOAD: Los Wunder Twins del Rap, "Feast of Steven" (mp3)

Of the few holiday carols that haven't already been appropriated by R&B hitmakers, "Good King Wenceslaus" looms as the most implausible basis for a hip-hop anthem. Which makes it the perfect foil for Lowell's finest novelty-rap duo — and success is all the sweeter when LWTDR's D-Tension plays off his government name to throw off his own "Feast of Steven" (sic, for the benefit of all our copy-editing thugs). There's just one problem: D's broke, so, as he informs his comrades, "we're gonna have to do some shoplifting." What follows is comic gold, as jolly old Saint D-Tension slips in and out of stores, pants bulging with stolen goods, all the while spitting crisp 16-bar verses stocked with references to Yankee swaps, Christmas blunts, and eBay scams: "Pissing, puking hip-hop drunks/at the feast of Steven/lots of presents out tha trunk/merchandise of Stee-ee-vennnn!"

12/17/2006 2:19:08 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

1. Cop that Mission of Burma product.

2. If you've ever seen Eli "Paperboy" Reed play a live set, you've probably thought to yourself, "Damn, I'd like to download that kid's record collection." Next best thing: he guest-deejayed and spun a shitload of really rare records on PJ's "Galactic Fractures" show, which you can, in turn, download. Bonus beats at the end by PJ, who gets on the decks to spin the rarest record Skippy White ever made.

DOWNLOAD: Eli Reed Guest DJ's on Galactic Fractures (mp3)

3. Shouts to Mr. Lif, who lived to tell about the bus crash that almost took out his crew and the Coup. Tour date cancelled, all parties recovering, but if you need an earful of Lif, check out his weekly podacst on all things NFL.

DOWNLOAD: Yo! Football Radio Week 13 (mp3)

3. There's a documentary about OTD fave Krumbsnatcha called Starvin', which you can get a free copy of if you register at his website: www.krumbsnatchamusic.com.

4. Last, but not least: sleep not, Thunderdome 2 is coming this Friday at the Elks Lodge in Central Square. If you weren't at the last one, get familiar. The last one featured six DJs, two bands, one moose, and a camera crew. What could be better about this one? Let's start with this: free glowsticks. No joke. We also highly recommend the RSVP function over here.

12/12/2006 5:10:38 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

All photos (c) Byron Smith

Harry + the Potters X-Mas Spectacular
December 10, 2006 at the Middle East

12/11/2006 2:51:09 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

All photos (c) K. Bonami

Lightning Bolt + White Mice + BEARD
12.09.06 at MassArt
Also check out K. Bonami's video below . . .

WATCH: Lightning Bolt at MassArt (YouTube)
WATCH: White Mice at MassArt (YouTube)
WATCH: BEARD at MassArt (YouTube)

12/10/2006 10:22:34 AM by On the Download | Comments [2] |  

Dave Pino is the kind of guy who would think it's clever to have a myspace address that, spelled backwards, reads "Satan Is Lord." He owns a Segway and worships Camaros, and he is the bitchingest guitar hero ever to come out of Waltham, Massachusetts. So it was probably inevitable that we'd run into him at the bar just before Bang Camaro's set during the release party for Guitar Hero 2 a couple weeks ago. The founding songwriter of Waltham (the band), Pino threw away a batch of songs that a local producer picked out of the trash and transformed into Damone's first album. With both Waltham and Damone he managed to get within spitting distance of fame, look the bitch square in the eye, and tell lady luck to go fuck herself. He is the only certifiable musical genius we know; he is also completely nuts. It's useless to separate one quality from the other: he once suggested turning Waltham (the band) into a high-school musical, which everyone thought was insane -- including his bandmates -- until, not long ago, Disney put out something called High School Musical that became more or less the biggest breakout of the year. (We'll spare you our dissertation on how Pino essentially invented, by complete accident, the musical template for most of today's commercial tween rock from Avril to Hannah Montana -- this while publicly pledging allegiance to groups like Amen and Zakk Wylde's Black Label Society -- but trust us, this is demonstrably the case.)

Pino quit Damone just as they were launching their RCA debut, deciding after much thought that he didn't really want to tour -- and that he'd rather work for his dad's construction company. Over the past couple years, you could find him playing with a couple local teenage hardcore and hellbilly bands in seedy bars in the burbs or, on a good night, somewhere near the commuter rail station. Which is why we were somewhat surprised to hear, when we ran into him at the GH party, that he has signed on as the guitarist in former Killswitch Engage singer Jesse Leach's band, SEEMLESS, whose current tour -- alongside Swede-thrash giants In Flames -- arrives tonight at the Palladium.

(The Pino/Damone split has never really healed -- the rest of the band still doesn't speak to him, although they've done remarkably well without him. We bumped into Damone drummer/songwriter Dustin Hengst last weekend at the old Damn Personals practice space, where former Crash and Burn singer Bill Brown was debuting a new, as-yet-unnamed band fronted by Dropkick Murphys' female foil Stephanie Dougherty. Damone had just come off a year-long tour in support of their criminally underpromoted Out Here All Night, during which they were on the road with the likes of Andrew W.K., the Pink Spiders, and the All-American Rejects. Their cover of Billy Squire's "Everybody Wants You" -- originally recorded under a fake name for quick cash while they were trying to get out of their RCA deal -- will become the theme song of the CW network in January, which might provoke the suits at Island to sink some more cash into promotion.) 

Pino now looks better than we've seen him in a half-dozen years -- for one thing, he's shed the mountain-man beard that was once one of the more ridiculous bones of contention between an artist and a label (at one point, RCA allegedly threatened to drop Damone if he didn't shave it; Dave left the band, the beard stayed). He's playing guitar in a touring band, performing for audiences that can appreciate the monstrous talent they're looking at. He sounds happy. He is part of a New England thrash supergroup that may yet someday make an album. As for his songwriting -- which is, even more than his guitar-god flash, the thing that astounds us most about the man -- "I'm saving all my songs for a puppet band with Robby Roadsteamer," he myspaced us recently. In other words: Pino's still batshit crazy, but you'd be even crazier to bet against him.

UPDATE!

DOWNLOAD: Dave Pino talks about drugs (mp3)

12/9/2006 8:43:24 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Cynthia Von Buhler

Those of you old enough to remember the Women of Sodom will appreciate the new mp3 from Cynthia Von Buhler, who masqueraded as a dominatrix-y singer in the evenings while perfecting simultaneous commercial- and fine-arts careers during the daylight hours. Von Buhler, who moved to NYC to become an art star a few years ago, has just released a new book for children The Cat Who Wouldn't Come Inside. (Our colleagues across the way at Word Up talked to Von Buhler for a post yesterday.) In homage to her former musical career, she and ex-husband Adam Buhler have collaborated on a new song called "Come Inside Kitty" that skirts the line between sweet and sexy. That's Cynthia cooing "Kitty I want you to come inside"; local cheese-rock virtuoso Chris Cote (Upper Crust, Seks Bomba) telling her what she's got to do if that's what she wants (feed him tuna?!), and Adam on everything else.

DOWNLOAD: Cynthia von Buhler, Adam Von Buhler, and Chris Cote, "Come Inside Kitty" (mp3)

12/9/2006 6:29:57 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

IF YOU GO:

• Certified Bananas + DJ A
  Enormous Room
  567 Mass Ave, Cambridge

They're too bigshot to write home anymore except in form-letter emails, but CERTIFIED BANANAS are finally in superstar DJ territory. In case you hadn't heard, Sam a/k/a P-Nice has been living in NYC and runnin' thangs for Brooklyn's legendary The Rub crew; right off the bat he got himself an official remix by UK bigshots the Editors, alongside huge names like SebastiAn and friends like Ghislain, even beating out Paul "Phones" Epworth for a spot on the wax. P-Nice is something like a phenomenon. Go spend the damn 99 cents and buy the track at iTunes.

Meanwhile, Sam & Max Bananas are bringing it back Certified style. Starting today you can download their new 30-minute mix for Discobelle, the hysterically-titled "Sweden on Blast." We were hoping for some Hives and Hellacopters and got half our wish; for most of you it'll come as absolutely no disappointment to have a bunch of Robin (vs. Nelly Furtado), Concretes ("feat." Spank Rock accomplice Amanda Blank), Dungen (vs. X-tina's "Ain't No Other Man") and lots of other blended goodness (that we won't spoil) from the Soundtrack of Our Lives, Jens Lekman, and the rest of your blog-hyped swede faves. As usual, it's door-to-door dope; let us be the first in line, however, to request the stand-alone remix of Jose Gonzales: just when you were convinced nobody could do anything new with that damn song, here comes something completely different. BTW, we miss those free, monthly CB Radio mixes these dudes used to do; we hope there's a few more of these to come. The boys are said to be at work on an album called Haemonetics, a follow-up to their official mixtape debut Sprang.

DOWNLOAD: Certified Bananas, "Sweden On Blast" (mp3)

Some of you may remember DJ A (a/k/a Doc Money) from his Bonde Do Role remix, pitting Rio's most famous teen baile-funk clan against the 'pella of "Don't Fear the Reaper." He's also, not coincidentally, buds with our friends at Mad Decent, makes beats, and is the technician behind lots of maje-label remixes, not to mention the master-er of some of your favorite Diplo and Paul Devro refixes. He's living in our neck of the woods these days and makes a guest appearance tonight with Max and Sam's monthly Certified Bananas residency at Enormous Room. Get familiar:

DOWNLOAD: Dizzee Rascal, "Fix Up (DJ A Remix)" (mp3, via MySpace)
DOWNLOAD: Project Pat, "Good Googly Moogly (DJ A Remix)" (mp3, via MySpace)

 

12/8/2006 5:04:52 PM by On the Download | Comments [2] |  

Having shamelessly posted our report about the Dolls' bickering over the Onion Cellar on the Dolls' Shadowbox messageboard, we were pickled to see Amanda Palmer chime in again to clarify. (And also doubly pickled to see Shadowboarders adopting our wink-nudging nickname for the production.) For those of you who can't be bothered to click on the dotted line, we reproduce Amanda's response below. Also, we heard through the grapevine that ticket sales spiked: in other words, ditto to the following . . .

oi vay!
the drama.
actually, we invented all of this to get more press. you know. conflict SELLS!!!

i'm going to put together a long blog about this one, have been reluctant to do that because of the sensitivity of the process. once the dust clears, i'll do it.

i grieve when the band comes off looking bickery in the press, it's just disheartening to everyone. brian, in his defense, never knew much detail about the original concepts (back when my original script was based on the book & grass's story - that's not in the show now) and how they were politely thrown in the trash before anyone (including him) saw them put on the stage. all brian saw (and is referring to in the article) was my 24-hour slapdash attempt about a week ago to try to unsuccessfully