"Bouncement"
Ghislain Poirier, Beat Research's DJ C and DJ Flack, Zebbler/Sean Stevens
March 30 at the Linwood Grill
Photos by Matt Teuten

3/31/2007 6:20:07 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Regular readers of OTD know we're all over Mark E. Moon's jock. Up til now he's focused on dropping Certified Bananas-style indie-rap smashups, but in honor of his joining the MySpace megaverse -- as good an excuse to revisit his way-too-slept on Neutral Milk Hotel remix -- he's put together a two-minutes-and-change minimix that throws gimmicks out the window and just kills shit, flipping the ubiquitous Justice/Simian track "We Are Your Friends" until it flips the bird at social networking. In other news, Mark E.'s been cooking up this thing where he's become the Jam Master Jay of Big Digits, live-mixing "ciara and kelis hooks, reggeaton umbrage, and comedy record laugh tracks" right into their backing beats. They're doing this shit live tonight at the Middle East for a last-minute gig.

DOWNLOAD: Mark E. Moon, "MySpace Minimix" (mp3)

 

3/31/2007 5:44:01 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

When you've driven an entire metropolitan area into a state of talking-junk-food-induced panic, what the hell can you do for an encore? Peter "Zebbler" Berdovsky and Sean Stevens, the young men who punk'd Boston with lite-brite Mooninites and '70s haircut jokes, will attempt to answer that question tonight. Luckily, they're the low men on the totem pole for an event that would be worthy of your attention even if it didn't feature the Hub's most-wanted outlaws since Whitey left town. Bloghouse geeks need no intro to Montreal's Ghislain Poirier, and Cambridge's Beat Research crew are making their first foray outside the Enormous Room's lab walls, in an attempt to bring the smart party people to the tougher-than-leather Linwood Grill. For more, read David Day's interview with them dudes here.

We had hoped for a Boston Bounce/Aqua Teen Hunger Force mashup starring Schoolly D. Here's some other stuff instead:

DOWNLOAD: Ms. Thing "Jump Up And Bounce (DJ-C's Boston Bounce Remix)" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: DJ Flack, "Beyond the Valley of the Smurfs Mix" (link)

3/30/2007 5:15:48 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

This week on the main site, we dipped back into the archives to dig up the faxes that Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love sent us back in '93 in response to a profile that appeared in our pages about Mary Lou Lord and her brief but intense relationship with Kurt around the time that Nevermind came out. Courtney has always downplayed the relationship, but Everett True's new Nirvana: The Biography (DaCapo) refutes Courtney's version of the tale, confirming that for a time Kurt was telling people how in love he was with Mary Lou, and even dreaming about moving to Boston to be with her. You can read the relevant excerpt from the book here, and also check out some other cool Nirvana interviews we pulled from the vaults. True also publishes a long and touching reminiscence written by Mary Lou, but for that you'll need to buy the book . . . or be one of the first six people in the comments section to name the first person to play "Smells Like Teen Spirit" on the radio. Hint: his first name was Kurt, too. (Use your real email addy so we can get at you: we promise, no spam.)

3/30/2007 4:48:29 PM by On the Download | Comments [9] |  

Bloc Party
March 28 at the Orpheum
Photos: Carina Mastrocola

Before Bloc Party visited the Orpheum, FNX had them over to First Act on Boylston street for a low-key, acoustic, afternoon roll in the hay. We've got the mpfrees below. If this is the kind of thing you tend to go apeshit for, scuttle over to www.vwgreenroom.com for more live/unplugged mp3s from Cold War Kids, Pete Yorn, and Say Anything.

DOWNLOAD: Bloc Party, "I Still Remember (Live in Boston)" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Bloc Party, "Sunday (Live in Boston)" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Bloc Party, "This Modern Love (Live in Boston)" (mp3)

3/29/2007 12:08:28 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: The Information, "Alchemy In the Age of Science" (mp3)

Three things that bode well for the new EP by THE INFORMATION, as gleaned from the in-the-studio video they recently posted on their MySpace page: 1) They've got more guitars and they know how to use them; 2) The man behind the board is legendary producer Paul Kolderie (Weezer, Dresden Dolls, etc.); 3) When they go to the liquor store, they make for the Jack Daniel's. Those who remember the Info from their much-praised debut, Mistakes We Knew We Were Making, will by now be doing double takes. But believe it: here’s one Eggers-worshipping new-wave band who’ve learned how to rock. The EP, due soon, will be an Internet-only release, with a twist: show up at a gig with a fistful of bills and they’ll load it right onto your iPod, or for a few bucks more they’ll give it to you on a flash drive. Or you can do it the old-fashioned way and buy it on iTunes. Stay tuned to their MySpace page for details. Or do yourself a favor and catch them live at the Pill tomorrow (Friday, March 30) at Great Scott.

(Edit: due to a weird ID3 tag mishap, we mis-labeled the song. It's actually called "Alchemy In the Age of Science," not, as previously reported, "Back from the Dead.")

3/29/2007 10:51:36 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

The Used

30 Seconds To Mars

"Taste of Chaos"
feat. the Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, Aiden, Saosin, and Senses Fail
March 22 at Tsongas Arena, Lowell
Photos by Carina Mastrocola

3/27/2007 11:11:47 AM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Aiden

Saosin

Senses Fail

RUNNING THANGS: We finally got a photo of Sylvia from MassConcerts, the world's awesomest publicist-type-person.

"TASTE OF CHAOS"
feat. the Used, 30 Seconds to Mars, Aiden, Saosin, and Senses Fail
March 22 at Tsongas Arena, Lowell
Photos by Carina Mastrocola

3/24/2007 9:01:33 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Wheat, "Move = Move" (mp3)

By some freak occurrence in the musical time-warp that existed during the change of millenniums, one of Boston's most beloved abstractionist indie-pop bands ended up sharing a label with John Mayer and tours with Liz Phair. Unlike the Flaming Lips, with whom they shared a producer, WHEAT never found a way to fit in -- for that matter and to their credit, they never really tried. And while the experience nearly derailed the group following 2003's Per Second, Per Second . . . Every Second (Aware), they've returned with an album of substantial yet understated beauty, built around the evanescent tides of memory, love, and loss. Like most of the songs on Every Day I Said A Prayer For Kathy And Made A One Inch Square (Empyrean, out in May), "Move = Move" is not nearly as cryptic as its title suggests. "The things that you love should be set free," Scott Levesque murmurs in one breath, in the next cautioning that love "can get off track, 'cause everything don't come back."

Look for an interview with the band on the main site early next week, and get your tickets now for their gig March 31 at T.T. the Bear's Place.

DOWNLOAD: lots of live Wheat mp3s at this fan site

 

3/22/2007 12:44:44 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Three more tracks just leaked off the Timbaland album, and maybe it's time to ask: what's the story with this off-brand nonsense?

And before you go awww some more, let's say up front: nobody in this office is gonna deny dude a well-earned victory lap. That's why we're carping on the blog
instead of in the paper of record. (And, agreed, better that dude work out his midlife crisis behind the mixing board than by getting all up in everybody's videos
the way he's been doing.) Against our better judgement we had kinda high hopes for this thing. Enough with this for-the-streets shit. We wanted one for the fat genius dudes in the studios. The streets get plenty! It's like Charlie Weiss getting a Super Bowl ring. We wanted one for our gastric-bypass peoples! Is that so wrong?

To be fair, producers' legit albums are notoriously nowhere near as good as their singles, for obvious reasons. (Speaking of, what you heard about that Matrix album lately?) No way does it make economic sense to put A-list Timberlake or Furtado material anyplace but on the artist album. And there's no way you can convince us that there ain't a waiting list for new Timbo material. How could the solo jawn be anything else but what ended up on the cutting room floor, or experiments gone wrong?

Sure, "Give It To Me" made it as a commercial-hit-radio track based on the personnel alone (how you can you not play Timberlake and Furtado on the same song?), but a coordinated marketing shout-out to everyone's previous hits isn't really gonna make 13 year olds buy the record. Plus, are we the only ones who find that beat kinda tacky and awkward -- as if someone was trying to connect the dots between verses recorded in two different time signatures? Technically impressive? Yessir. Single of the year? Nyet.

As previously parsed, the Hives are an afterthought in the track they're billed on, which probably would've had a more constructive life as a Pussycat Dolls b-side. "Kill Yourself"? Does the world really need more Timbo/Scott Storch drama? Are we the only ones who think two engineers hiring rappers to insult each other scans like a sissyfight?

And "Miscommunication" commits the faux-pas of imitating the "Drop It Like Its Hot" tongue-clicks, only here they don't sound dope and rhythmic, they just sound. . .
kinda gross. As much as we're digging the whole trance-rap phenomenon, which Timbo invented and thus gets to milk endlessly, not even the phase-y keyboards can make up for how uncomfortable we feel with some dude making weird noises in our ears.

The best stuff to leak from Shock Value are capital-S SONGS: verse-chorus-verse shit. You'd think that kinda material would be more in demand, now that "What Goes Around" is all over the radio. But maybe Top 40 pop kahunas still ain't ready to admit there's a black man who writes rock songs as well as he writes rap hits. Their loss. Tim's Fall Out Boy song is pretty good if you're into that sort of thing. (Sidebar: why not more excitment about the Kanye remix of "Arms Race," which is real good even if you're deducting points for 'Ye's self-evident ambivalence, his white-people-be-funny-in-tight-pants verse. Let's assume it took Mr. West no more than 2 minuntes 30 to remix that tune: then can we talk generally about how goddamn EASY it would be to make most Fall Out Boy songs better? Just shitcan the guitars!) Back on topic: Tim's production brings out a hint of Faith No More in Fall Out Boy -- hold the hatemail, we promise we'll never sully Mike Patton's good name
with that comparison ever again. At least until/unless that bitch Scott Storch bites back on the next Panic at the Disco! jawn.

PREVIOUSLY: Timbaland Leaks Fall Out Boy, M.I.A., Timberlake Snippets
PREVIOUSLY: Timbaland vs. the Hives

3/21/2007 10:36:57 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Man, we downloaded this album so long ago we forgot it wasn't out already. Apparently James Murphy's impressario instincts have kicked in -- he's been telling every interviewer in the world to tell you that if you're ever going to buy Sound of Silver to please buy the album this week so they can get on the Billboard charts. We can't decide if this is really funny or really sad. At least he didn't tell you not to buy a Ne-Yo record.

Pitchfork gives it a 9.2. What are you waiting for?

BUY: LCD Soundsystem, "Sound of Silver" (Insound)

And while you're at it, these people wouldn't mind if you bought their record either:

Willy Mason, If the Ocean Gets Rough

DOWNLOAD: Willy Mason, "When the River Moves On" (mp3)

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Living with the Living

DOWNLOAD: Ted Leo, "Bomb.Repeat.Bomb (1954)" (mp3)

Andrew Bird, Armchair Apocrypha

DOWNLOAD: Andrew Bird, "Heretics" (mp3)

3/20/2007 10:08:34 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Modest Mouse at the Orpheum Theatre
Friday, April 27, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $31.50
On-sale Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 12:00 pm

Till We Die (CD Rel.), One in Vain, Prospect Hill, Breathe, and Escape To Everything at Avalon
Saturday, June 23, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Tickets are $15.00 adv / $20.00 d.o.s
On-sale Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 10:00 am

Keane and Rocco DeLuca at the Bank of America Pavilion
Friday, May 25, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $29.50*, $35.00* & $39.50*
On-sale Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 10:00 am

Tim McGraw & Faith Hill at the TD Banknorth Garden
Thursday, July 5, 2007 at 7:30 pm
Tickets are $52.50, $68.25 & $92.25
On-sale Saturday, March 24, 2007 at 10:00 am

3/20/2007 9:51:22 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Q. Whatever happened to my rock and roll?
A. Eat shit, motherfuckers.

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club.
Myspace.
Preorder.

Sayin'.

3/19/2007 10:04:44 AM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Isis

Jesu

Zozobra

Isis, Jesu, and Zozobra
March 17 at the Middle East, Cambridge
Photos: Rev. Aaron

3/19/2007 9:43:34 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

UPDATE: Alas, a March blizzard can indeed keep the PRV v. BOS showdown from going down: word came down around 5:30 that Thunderdome is officially postponed. Look for a new date in a week or two.

THUNDERDOME.
THUNDERDOME.
THUNDERDOME.

There. You've been reminded. Not even a March blizzard can keep the PRI v. BOS showdown from destroying the Elks tonight. See our previous post here for more cheerleading. Certified Bananas make their Lodge debut, go check their MySpace for recent remix wizardry. Here's the seven-minute hall-of-fame intro that Winnipegians put together for Max and Sam during their recent Canadian jaunt, during which Dennis Quaid apparently showed up?!

DOWNLOAD: DJ Co-Op, "Completely Bananas" (mp3)

In other developments:

1. Canadian heat to warm your Nor'easter-froze ass: bazonkers new mix from Jokers of the Scene, via Discobelle:

DOWNLOAD: Jokers of the Scene, "Jokers Is Playing That Blog House Mix" (mp3)

2. Chris Lemon-Red gets the scoop on Fools' Gold, the new label from A-Trak and Nick Catchdubs: that Kid Sister joint has been wrecking our iPod for months, can't wait for the vinyl.

3. If you haven't already, go download the latest Mad Decent Radio podcast, featuring the latest Weapons of Mad Destruction from B-more phenom Blaqstarr.

4. Kinda digging these Kidz in the Hall remixes where they throw Omarion's current smash "Icebox": "over "Sweet Dreams", and then cement their next-Kanye status by jumping on a John Mayer track.

DOWNLOAD: Omarion, "Icebox (Kidz in the Hall remix)" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: John Mayer, "Waiting on the World To Change (Kidz in the Hall remix)" (mp3)

5. Fader throws out a Ronson-ized remix of "Smile" on which Wale answers her whining and delivers the line of the week: "her mouth was an orphanage."

DOWNLOAD: Lily Allen feat. Wale, "Smile (Mark Ronson DC Remix)" (mp3)

6. Pour one out tonight for Brad Delp. Herald claims the final straw was something to do with Boston drama. But what are the dudes in Beatlejuice gonna do?

DOWNLOAD: Wayne and Wax, "More Than a Stealing" (mp3)

7. TOMORROW: IF ANYONE'S STILL ALIVE AFTER THUNDERDOME:

3/16/2007 1:27:28 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Cop that shit.

DOWNLOAD: Timbaland presents Shock Value snippets (.mp4 video) 
DOWNLOAD: Timbaland and Fall Out Boy, "One and Only (Radio Rip)" (mp3, via SexyFront)
DOWNLOAD: Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, "Release (45 sec. snippet)" (mp3 via SexyFront)

PREVIOUSLY: A Get Together To Tear It Apart: Timbaland and the Hives

3/15/2007 11:02:41 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Deadly Sins, "Unpaid Bills" (mp3)

Whatever sex appeal Dropkick Murphys can claim belongs to Stephanie Dougherty, the brassy, tattooed lass the band brought on to lend a woman's touch to their drunk-punk classic "The Dirty Glass." Now she's stepping out as the frontwoman of a spidery deathpunk band called the DEADLY SINS. (Merch booth: focused!) The song title tells you all you need to know about how much being a bit player in DKM actually pays; this demo was recorded in a year's worth of downtime, shuttling the redeye on JetBlue from Vegas to Boston, hoping Starbucks wouldn't fire her by the time she got back. Ex-Crash and Burn frontman Bill Brown adds a feral counterpoint to Steph's drop-dead belt, producing note-perfect thrash-pop that'll make fans of Crimpshrine and early Jawbreaker melt. Grab the track, then catch Deadly Sins during their hometown debut with the Murphys on St. Paddy's Day at B.U.'s Agganis Arena.

3/15/2007 4:43:05 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips
March 9 at the Museum of Fine Arts
Photos: Christopher Kontoes

3/13/2007 9:34:44 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Photos: Carina Mastrocola

The Pogues began a multi-night stand last Thursday at Avalon, in what is generally recognized as the official jump-off for St. Patrick's Day weekend, which in Boston Irish circles lasts about two weeks, give or take a month. Pogues fans have been back in force for the group's last two tours, which marked the return of their original vocalist: a tall glass of Guinness stout. The Guinness, which was given pride of place on a stool at the front of the stage, was spotted periodically sipping from Pogues mascott Shane MacGowan.

READ: Phoenix review of the Pogues at Avalon

3/13/2007 9:20:01 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

We were going to blog today. Really. We know it's late, so here's what we meant to tell you around 12 hours ago...

1. Holly Golightly is playing the Paradise right about now with Keys to the Streets of Fear. She's doing a duo thing you can listen to over here.

2. Our knowledge of '77 UK punks the Prefects? Nil, except that our dude Nick Blakey, who is never wrong about this shit, is creaming his pants. Prefects founder Robert Lloyd performs for the first time ever in Boston, leading his latest band the Nightengales, at the Abbey. In addition to the below, we recommend checking out their newish "Wot No Blog?" song at MySpace.

DOWNLOAD: The Nightengales, "Crafty fag" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: The Nightengales, "How To Age" (mp4)

3. Fishwrap had to cut the following graf from David Day's column this week, so if you read it only in the paper, here's what you missed:

Boston's beloved underground techno club, 808, resurfaces this week at the Enormous Room, where they are bringing ALEX UNDER in for a live set. The appearance is worthy of worldwide attention as the Spanish Under is considered one of the finest live techno acts on the entire globe. Under's sound is quite minimal, but very melodic and playful "He makes cutting edge late night party music that is somewhat genre bending between house and techno," says promotion robot BLEEP (aka BRIAN MERZ of ROBOTLOVESONGS) on email, "but decidely different from the norm in any of those genres. "Hopefully friday will be one of those magic nights with lots of what I call 'disco moments,'" he says, "which seem to happen most often when you put an amazing artist and performer in a small intimate room packed with likeminded people." The appearance is being supported by local dub-sound designer TRITON (aka Eddie Odabachian) with an early set at 8pm, and DJs DAMIEN CULVALIER and ERIC MCLAUGHLIN from the 808 clan. "Both own Alex Under records and might play them out on a normal night," says Bleep. "Damien's sets are perfect for a party, and Eric sets defined the 808 sound." Get there early and stay late…

DOWNLOAD: Alex Under, "Live at Mutek 2006" (mp3)

4. Speaking of David Day, you can catch him in a couple hours at this thing, which isn't quite as smashing as we thought -- the early plan appeared to be Paper all night, but the flyer has been ammended to note that the RISE resident house DJs are taking over around 1:30 -- and . . . well, if you haven't RSVP'd it's too late anyway. Last we heard, they had 1200 people sign up in advance:

3/9/2007 8:24:35 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT: Click the image above to watch Girl Authority beat up Binky while Jake plays guitar.

DOWNLOAD: Girl Authority, "This Is My Day" (mp3)

The three original songs on GIRL AUTHORITY'S new Road Trip (out Tuesday) instantly catapult them from the Kidz Bop pack -- that runt-litter of tween hopefuls churning out Totally Hits for tots, ad infinitum, until their voices crack -- and herald the coming of . . . what? The next Spice Girls? Who knows? For now, it's enough that Rounder hired the boss's daughter and a dozen of her friends to chirp away encouragingly for two albums running at girl-groop standards from "Dancin' in the Streets" to the Go-Go's "Vacation," a trick cute enough that G.A. have been pulled on stage with the Dresden Dolls and can be found this week making a cameo beating up a guitarist in the new Jake Brennan video. Tanya Donelly, a G.A. superfan via her daughter Gracie, strikes just the right note of grammar-school affirmation in her girl-power anthem "This Is My Day," which incidentally might be the catchiest thing she's written since "Feed the Tree."

3/9/2007 7:29:38 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

SOOOO is for the children. No idea how they'll all fit on the Paradise Lounge stage, but Canada's answer to !!! stop by tonight en-route to SXSW, courtesy of the Happy Endings crew. Sample some mpfrees and a remix from SOOOO's Nik7 over here.

3/8/2007 6:15:17 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Weirdest tour of the spring right here: woolly-mammoth thrash, leftist mallpunk, indie bleeding hearts, and strange-o pigfuckery all on the same bill. Sponsored by the acronym WTF?

Mastodon, Against Me!, Cursive, and These Arms Are Snakes at Avalon
Saturday, May 19, 2007 at 5:30 pm
Tickets are $20.00
On-sale Friday, March 9, 2007 at 10:00 am

Wolfmother at Avalon
Sunday, April 29, 2007 at 7:00 pm
Tickets are $22.50 adv / $25.00 d.o.s
On-sale Friday, March 9, 2007 at 10:00 am

Hellogoodbye, Boys Like Girls, and the Rocket Summer at Avalon
Sunday, May 6, 2007 at 6:30 pm
Tickets are $18.00
On-sale Saturday, March 10, 2007 at 10:00 am

3/6/2007 7:48:54 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Bruce v. the Mooninites

Ever since we heard about Hollertronix taking root at the Ukranian Club in Philly, we'd been dreaming about a Boston party scene flowering at grimy, non-club-like venues. The obvious corollary was the Elks Lodge in Central Square: two basement rooms, no attitude (unless you count the gentleman's no-cursing rule enforced by the bartenders), a two-o'clock license, and -- dude -- paneling. When the Certified Bananas crew started heating up Enormous Room, this was the dream: a monthly at the Elks, with every party DJ in town getting drunk, throwing caution and genre out the window, making a sweaty roomful of kids lose their shit.

The future is now. Mistaker has laid the groundwork with three increasingly ridiculous editions of THUNDERDOME, a night with no rules and ample helpings of cheap booze, druggy video projections, and bass. Lots of bass. Volume 4 is now set for March 16, and the Providence-vs.-Boston theme brings together our absolute favorite party people in New England under one roof. Yeulch. Clear your fucking calendars.

Meanwhile, DJ-C and DJ Flack have been shredding the fringes of experimental party music at the E-Room every Monday night, building towards something bigger. Now we know what that something is. Their inaugural "BOUNCEMENT" night -- named for a DJ-C mixtape that pretty much changed our lives -- is going down March 30 at . . . the Linwood? THE LINWOOD?!

This is such a good idea.

Although it's marginally less destroyed than it was several years ago when it played home to beard-metal goons, biker-punk apocalypticians, and Southern-fried boogie-rock leviathans, the Linwood is still 100-percent roadhouse. It's physically impossible to walk through the door and not get hammered. The room just demands instant retardation. And BOUNCEMENT is genetically engineered to take advantage of it. You've got Montreal's GHISLAIN POIRIER headlining, and he's been here enough that he ain't just a face from the blogs anymore. The dude has turned out parties here with astonishing regularity, with a rep based more on jam-packed E-Room nights than on Fader/Vice clippings. For pure spirit-of-the-moment circus factor, this will also be the first post-Mooninite performance of ZEBBLER, a/k/a the dude with the dreadlocks who accidentally punk'd the entire fucking city of Boston. In his pre-lite-brite-terrorist days, Zebbler was a working video artist, and he'll be on hand to graphicalize with frequent Glitch Crew compadre Sean Stevens.

This is a good month.

3/6/2007 12:33:02 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Allston's Alexander Chen, a/k/a BOY IN STATIC, put out his debut album Newborn on the label run by the Notwist dudes, and spent a chunk of last year touring as the opening act for 13&God. He's finally set a May 29 release date for the follow-up, Violet, on Mush Records, and the first single, "Where It Ends," is now available for your downloading, with an accompanying video making the rounds at YouTube. "Newborn was a night of half-awake dreams: Violet is the morning after," Chen told thephoenix.com's David Day last fall. "So in some ways it is as different as night and day, but it's also the second act in the same play. It's full of extremes, from quiet wine-glass-and-piano duets to songs with guitar solos over 30 layers of handclaps."

All our Mobius Band fans should have already checked BIS out, but if not, we double our recommendation. There's still hints of Newborn's glitch-whisperer atmosphere, but "Where It Ends" leaves the guitars up front and floats more winterish melancholy than anything we've posted since that moon song by the Channels. Breakup soundtrack of 2007 right here.

Links below to the mp3 and also to the video-iPod-friendly .m4v file for the video. But we strongly encourage you to go watch the video over at BIS's gorgeously-designed flash page. Web design nerds take note. Added bonus: he's slotted in hidden-track remixes after the video plays, which rotate depending on what time of day you're visiting. The Her Space Holiday re-work is pretty rad, and there's supposedly a Helios version floating around as well.

DOWNLOAD: Boy in Static, "Where It Ends" (mp3)
DOWNLOAD: Boy in Static, "Where it Ends" (m4v)

3/5/2007 10:03:21 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: The Sterns, "Supreme Girl" (mp3)

Boston takes its power pop seriously. So in a town where no Kinks or XTC reference goes unnoticed, it’s telling that THE STERNS have quickly become the power-pop band to beat. Their Sinners Stick Together has won a dedicated following, and on March 13 it’ll begin getting a national push in conjunction with the Sterns' journey to South by Southwest. Sure to be a hit in Austin, "Supreme Girl" is a tragic love song written from the point of view of Dubya Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. Too obscure a reference? Maybe, but with a melody that nods liberally to the Supremes, it’s primed to shake hipsters' hips, even as the subtext flies over their heads.

Here's the Sterns gig schedule at SXSW; for more details check their MySpace page:

Mar 14 2007 11:00P: SXSW Showcase @ Latitude 30 Austin, Texas
Mar 16 2007 1:00P: SXSW Party @ Momo's Austin, Texas
Mar 16 2007 3:00P: SXSW No Cover Magazine Party @ WAVE Austin, Texas
Mar 17 2007 3:00P: SXSW (Convention Center) Austin, Texas

WATCH: The Sterns, "Buffer Zone"

3/4/2007 1:15:00 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Bonus track: the singular say-what? facial expression of M. Ward . . .

Bright Eyes
February 28 at Somerville Theatre
Photos by Joe Harrington

3/1/2007 5:07:18 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

So we heard you dudes were so stoked about the Clipse poster that someone stole the blown-up version right off the stand! We had our eyes on that thing when it was in the office. Whoever got it, we hope you were man enough to get it signed. Send photos!

And since so many of you were bugging Mike Johnson about where to get the poster after he ran out, we figured we'd upload you a super-duper pdf of the joint. It's a huge file, but it's ready for flash-driving to your local Copy Cop or whatever.

DOWNLOAD: Jef Czekaj's Clipse poster (pdf, 8mb)

3/1/2007 1:42:16 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |