DOWNLOAD: Sleepyhead, "Whoville" (mp3)

Before Low and Bedhead made playing really slow an act of indie virtue (and virtuosity), there was Sleepyhead: a not egregiously sleepy band, but one whose noisy, shambolic-yet-deliberate pop felt identifiably post–Sonic Youth. Their nine-year run ended in '99; co-leaders Chris O'Rourke and Rachel McNally got married, procreated, and moved from NYC to Boston. Both are now teachers in the Newton school system. But they’re also making awesome music again: a Sleepyhead album called Red Letter Daze is in production. (Don't tell Buffalo Tom). From the demo pile, check out "Whoville." Then get ready for their comeback gig September 29 at the Middle East.

9/28/2007 12:28:59 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Jesse Gallagher of Apollo Sunshine: “Top 5 Fresh Foods for Fun Livin’!!!”

1_Coconut water

2_Goji berries

3_Kale

4_Sunflower seed milk

5_Cacao beans

Apollo Sunshine play the Paradise Wednesday, October 3, with Dr. Dog and the High Strung.

--Will Spitz

9/25/2007 11:45:16 AM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

Monsterous edition of THUNDERDOME tonight, bringing Baltimore Clurb legend Scottie B and Spank Rock's Chris Rockswell to the decks, along with resident headbangers Micl Ptvn, Mistaker, and DJ Die Young to represent the home team. Special live-video guests: Robotkid (ask him how much the new Harmonix game Rock Band is gonna rule) and Matt Boch. Beware: it's at a new venue this month, and taking a cue from Robotkid's email, we're throwing in a map below instead of mpfrees.

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9/21/2007 1:42:53 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: The Outlets, "Third Floor" (mp3)

The practice of reunited punk bands re-recording their early hits rarely yeilds anything worth listening to, but the Outlets are a special case: like a bunch of Boston bands in the early ’80s, their studio recordings rarely matched their live prowess. And in the ensuing decades, they’ve kept busy — especially founding Dropkick Murphys guitarist Rick Barton, who recently returned with yet another ball-breaking rock and roll band, Everybody Out. So the only-slightly-misleadingly-named The Outlets Rock 1980 (featuring all original members, recorded earlier this year) comes as a corrective: loud, ripping, and dirty, it’s arguably better than the real thing. For good measure, they’ve tacked on the original recordings from their best singles. You can catch the band October 13 at Church (formerly the Linwood).

9/21/2007 12:20:49 AM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

50 Cent will be eating crow -- and keeping his mouth shut, if he stands by his wager -- now that Yeezy put the squeeze on the biggest Billboard sales week in forever. (Music industry please take note: rap music is your last hope). The idea that Fiddy will suddenly disappear from the cluuuurb, however, is silly. Having gone inside-out and released all his pop material up front, Curtis has just unleashed his ghetto-superstar single "I Get Money" -- newly updated for his latest financial windfall. In a traditional sense, it's a remix featuring fellow Forbes-list-making megamoguls Diddy and Jay-Z. But, showing the kind of entrepreneurial swagger that rock musicians can only drool at, the aforementioned remix has been "branded" -- as in bought, sold, paid for -- by Forbes itself. Yep: not content with naming rights to stadiums and halftimes, corporate America is now purchasing the naming rights to rap songs. Which means that while this is the first time we've ever hot-linked to a rap remix hosted on a Fortune 500 media site, it may not be the last.

DOWNLOAD: 50 Cent, "I Get Money (Forbes 1, 2, 3 Remix)" (mp3)

All our indie-rock nerds will be clamoring for something less corporate, and we see you, dudes, we see you. Thankfully, Boston hip/house monster DJ G Squared cabled us his own remix of the same track, which has less starpower but packs a bigger punch. We won't spoil the surprise, but expect this to trip every college party night in Basstown all autumn long. At the very least, we hope he'll drop that shit tonight when he DJs at the Foundation Lounge down at the Hotel Commonwealth. Get familiar:

DOWNLOAD: 50 Cent, "I Get Money (DJ G-Squared Straight To The Money Mix) (mp3)

9/19/2007 9:24:59 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

From the inbox:

"The Coolidge Corner Theatre and The Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard Medical School will present MUDDY RIVER: BOSTON’S ENVIRONMENTAL FILM SERIES, showcasing quality films that bring people together around interests that make our community great: our cultural and natural resources. The series kicks off on Sunday, September 23, with the opening day screening of Boston-based filmmakers Curt Ellis’ and Ian Cheney’s King Corn. Cheney will be in attendance to introduce the film and answer questions from the audience after the screening. Documenting Ellis and Cheney’s experiment in growing one acre of Iowa corn, King Corn demonstrates the multi-faceted use and abuse of America’s most-productive, mostsubsidized grain. Following the screening is an opening reception, featuring local and sustainable food and wine.

Closing the series on Tuesday, September 25 is a very special presentation of The Sounds of Science, featuring a live musical performance from the renowned band Yo La Tengo to the projected, rarely seen underwater films by the pioneering French avant-garde filmmaker Jean Painlevé. This show has only been performed a handful of times since the band composed the original score in 2001. The presentation will be preceded with an introduction by Fabien Cousteau, filmmaker/explorer, a Boston University graduate and grandson of the famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau."

More info here, here, and here.

9/18/2007 3:39:07 PM by Will | Comments [1] |  

Tommy Allen of Drug Rug: “Best bands seen while working either the Middle East or P.A.’s Lounge this year”

1_ The Subjects

2_ Mmoss

3_ Entrance

4_ Baba Yaga

5_ Tony the Bookie’s Daniel Johnston tribute

Drug Rug celebrate the release of their debut album at P.A.’s Lounge this Friday, September 21, with Viva Viva, the Dead Trees, and Wonderful Spells.

Read more and grab an mp3 here.

9/18/2007 2:09:14 PM by Will | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Magic People, "Laundry Night" (mp3)

On its face, the latest bit from avant-psychpunx Magic People is a wobbly, passive-aggressive love song to the girl whom ringleader John Manson bumps into at the washing machine every week. But like many Magic People songs, it moves quickly from the mundane into a vast, scary, existential crisis: Manson could’ve called this one "Judgment Night" if the title weren’t already taken. The rapidly evolving People are releasing their new album, Oh Decay (Mister Records) upstairs at the Middle East this Tuesday, but be warned that past behavior is no guarantee of future performance: the Middle East line-up will include a drummer/saxophonist and a keyboard/drum machine expert.

9/14/2007 12:06:46 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Pet Genius, "Mother Fucker" (mp3)

Since the break-up (hiatus, whatever) of Cave-In, Steve Brodsky has continued his stylistically promiscuous ways, discarding solo bands and concepts like cheap dates. One week we’d see him playing open-tuned blues covers, the next falsetto-y psych rock. (Not that we're complaining: Brodsky's one-night-stands are better than some live-in relationships we've had with certain Elliott Smith and Elephant 6 records.) By the time his solo-ish band Octave Museum played their last gig earlier this year, Brodsky already had the debut album by PET GENIUS (with Cave-In’s JR Connors) in the oven; produced by Converge’s Kurt Ballou, it’ll be out on Hydrahead in October. In the meantime, there’s a raucous three-song EP, Elvis Unreleased, with deliberately oblique titles ("Mother Fucker," "Lima Bean") and vicious, unfettered, Bleach-era grunge. Download this one, then get ye to their MySpace page for a sneak peak at their album, including the seriously-next-level "Man of the Mountain."

NEXT SHOW: October 13 at the Middle East

9/12/2007 10:18:17 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

DOWNLOAD: Cheater Pint, "Control Freak" (mp3)

As their name suggests, CHEATER PINT is a bar band — but a bar band in a great Boston tradition that stretches from the Charms and the Dents back to the Lyres and the Real Kids. Call it garage punk if you must, or find some new synonym for the kind of ragged power pop that boasts too many hooks and too much heart for a gang who couldn't give a shit about playing sober. On "Control Freak," which is already getting local airplay, frontwoman Lauran O'Neal nails the Fastbacks' sugary grit and the Go-Go's beach-grrrl harmonies while former Barbaro toughie Meaghan McLaughlin, on bass, anchors a Throbbing Lobster–ish rhythm section.

Check out the release party for their debut, Dark Side of the Pint, at T.T. the Bear’s Place on September 14 with the Figgs and the Gravel Pit.

9/12/2007 9:42:46 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Walking through Inman Square on Sunday night, on the way to pick up take-out from our favorite Indian place, and we lingered outside of our favorite book store (can you sense the Inman Square love here?) for a moment, stopped in our tracks by the odd occurrence of a Sunday night concert amid Lorem Ipsum’s awesomely inviting shelves of gently-worn, dusty classics, and non-classics - the Ipsum crew will happily place On The Road beside an unauthorized biography of Vanilla Ice... it’s fantastic. The band was scattered about - bearded lead singer plopped on the floor, acoustic guitar in hand and a MacBook nearby; female bass player (are female bass players always hot?) leaning on a shelf near the front window; a talented female multi-tasker wedged in between non-fiction and music bios, pinging away on the xylophone with one hand, and playing keys or melodica with the other. Turns out you can’t linger long when there are only a handful of people in the audience - the band finished their song, introduced themselves (Tim Williams, the indian-style-favoring lead singer, and a slew of friends from New York), and lured us in from our doorway perch, with the promise of two more songs. The wait for Saag paneer was worth it - Williams plays textured folk with an experimental edge - but not in the “freak”-y kind of way, more of a shout out to The Flaming Lips' weirdness kind of way. Weird folk? Did we just invent a new genre? Take that, NME! The songs are sparse and relatable - as folk always feels like it should be - who can’t relate to a song about the stress of inevitable end-of-the-month bill pile-ups?  But Williams knows how to add just enough crackly-sounding string loop here, gentle drumming there, and groaning oboe there, to make it intriguing.  Turns out he’s all over the place in the next few weeks - on Sept. 19 he’s playing a live set on WERS, then a show at Lily Pad.  Songs are streaming on his website here, and on his MySpace here.

9/11/2007 4:22:29 PM by Caitlin | Comments [0] |  

Mike Gintz of Clawjob: “Last Five Records I Listened To”

1_ The Fire Show, Saint the Fire Show [Perishable]

2_ Caribou, Andorra [Merge]

3_ Liars [Mute]

4_ Clark, Throttle Furniture [Warp]

5_ Neil Young, Tonight’s the Night [Reprise]

Clawjob play a benefit for MASSCAP/Citizens Energy Oil Heat Fund at the Abbey Lounge September 16.

9/11/2007 1:16:44 PM by Will | Comments [0] |  

We've got three pairs of tickets to see Smog's Bill Callahan play this Saturday at the Museum of Fine Arts. Showtime is 7:30. Here's the catch: you must be able to come pick tix up in person, during business hours (8:30 am - 5:30 pm), between now and Friday. Hit us in the comments section with an email we can reach you at pronto. First-come, first-served.

9/5/2007 5:30:40 PM by On the Download | Comments [1] |  

The Beat Train: “Top Five Absolutely Insane Buttshakin’ Dance-Floor Killers by Cool Cats You May Have Mistaken for Squares”

1_Elvis Presley, “Rubberneckin’ ”

2_Tom Jones, “Chills and Fever”

3_The Banana Splits, “Doin’ the Banana Split”

4_Chubby Checker, “Karate Monkey”

5_Moving Sidewalks, “99th Floor”

The Beat Train's new weekly "Mambo Beat Club" party at ZuZu begins this Thursday, September 6.

9/4/2007 5:48:02 PM by On the Download | Comments [0] |  

Maura from Idolator chats with FNX about Jimmy Eat World's vagina-looking album cover, Amy Winehouse's latest woes, the perfect graphic-equalizer setting for iTunes, and some other stuff.

DOWNLOAD: FNX interviews Idolator (mp3)

9/1/2007 12:58:11 AM by On the Download | Comments [0] |