Tomorrow night @ The Paradise

With their debut finally out stateside, The Go! Team are hitting the road in the U.S. Their tour brings them to The Paradise here in Boston tomorrow night with support from the amazing Grates and the unstoppable Airborn Audio. Rarely is a show this stacked or this good, and this is going to be an unstoppable party from three groups that rock it in very different ways!

The Go! Team "Bottle Rocket"



Also, if you dug that track from We're Marching On that I posted awhile back, check out Oh Bijou, which features Ryan from WMO. There is a preview track on their webpage.

Eagles vs. Broncos

The Eagles are down 28-14 in the third. McNabb, Westbrook and T.O. need to pull this out to keep pace with the fucking Giants.

Get the feeling again

This weekend was, let's see how shall I put it, fun but unexpectedly weird. A good friend from PA came to visit and after we came back from karaoke Friday night, she caused some problems wtih my roommates. I am a little annoyed/upset at the situation, and one of my roommates is either annoyed at her or the both of us, but it was nothing too big. Karaoke was a blast--we hit up this place called the Cornerstone in Cambridge and was I was able to do two songs: "Somebody Told Me" and "Don't Stop Believin'."

I am pretty sure I am done getting drunk for the year. Daylight savings is over, and I am totally pumped for an entire winter of nightfall at 4 pm!



I've been rocking a lot of Fall Out Boy lately and before you say "Eww, that's stupid emo shit," let me just say this: yes, it is stupid emo shit, but their latest album is really good in a "Wow, these guys can write some really good pop songs!" sort of way. I am guessing that this one will be their next single:

"I've Got A Dark Alley And A Bad Idea That Says You Should Shut Your Mouth (Summer Song)"



Saint Etienne are one of my favorite groups of all time, hands down -- I even got to meet Pete Wiggs and Sarah Cracknell at Washington D.C.'s now-defunct DCCD in 1999. Their newest album, Tales From the Turnpike House has yet to see its release stateside, unfortunately. The band have morphed so many times over their 15+ year career, from electro-pop to euro dance to 60s guitar pop to downbeat glitch pop. With this album and Finisterre they expertly meld sunny Britpop with Eurodance. Someone from the UK should be nice and send me the album--don't worry, I'll hook you up with plenty of goodies!

"A Good Thing"

I'm in love...

I found a bunch of great Lady Sovereign stuff on the web yesterday, plus she has her debut stateside release dropping soon. She'll be at the Middle East here in Boston on November 28th with Ghislain Porter.

Check this: "Cheeky" [remix]

The Studiofix

I just got The Studiofix's debut album, self-released and recorded and all that. They remind me of a lo-fi Del Cielo, a favorite of mine who have unfortunately broken up. Check this California band out and make sure you drop the three bones for their debut album!

Those of you around Los Angeles should check out these jams:

Sat, Oct 29. 10 pm.
FREE SHOW @ THE QWESI
1222 West 23rd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90007,US -
23rd and Hoover. With The New Motherfuckers, Death Skull and Her Rigormorts, others? QWESI.COM for more.
It's 2 of our friends birthday so bring them presents assholes.

Sunday, October 30, 2005 7.00 pm
FREE SHOW @ La Cafepia
1327 S. Harbor Blvd.
Fullerton, CA 92831
tel (714) 870-7588
We go on at 7:30 pm.
With My Machete and Le Steaky Wakes

Monday, October 31 --- HALLOWEEN!
Halloween Street Fair 8pm-12am
Melrose Avenue and Helotrope
Hollywood, CA
With The New Motherfuckers and Death Skull and Her Rigormorts and The Lottery.

I've had two coffees today and I am loving life.

Maps and Legends

Hey I will update later today, but for now, check this: I am sort of curious as who reads this thing and where they are located, so totally map yourself out here.

Idea borrowed from Gorilla vs Bear!

Tom Vek

Finally! Finally Tom Vek's album We Have Sound is dropping in the States. Look for it in shops next Tuesday, October 25th. Vek is backed by a full band that marries the best parts of Gang of Four and Talking Heads with an extra dose of bass-heavy spaciness. This is definitely one of my favorites for the year.

"A Little Word in Your Ear"
"You Set the Fire In Me C-C [Live at V2005]"

Run the Road 2

The second installment of the Run the Road series, a collection of British grime up-and-comers, dropped in the UK earlier this month, but it has yet to see a U.S. release date. Like its predecessor, it is totally lights out with amazing contributions from Lady Sovereign, Kano, Crazy Titch, Big Seac and this edition's breakout star, Plan B. With any luck, a few of the MCs will do a package tour here like they did back in March. With any hope I won't be like 5 Sparks and 3 shots of Jameson deep so I can remember it this time.

Plan B "Sick 2 Def" [acoustic]
JME "Serious" [Run the Road Remix]

We're Marching On

One of my good friends from Toronto, clued me in on the Ontario band We're Marching On. They just released an EP called Argh! Umph! Ahhh!, but I am not quite sure how available it is. It might be available at your local record store, but really, who knows? It you neeed it that bad, just just cut out the fucking middleperson and buy it from their website.

"Untitled"

Thanks Tenni!

Forward, Russia!

Forward, Russia! come to us from Leeds, UK and are a mishmash of DC-inspited post hardcore and angular, guitar-based dance. Check out their Myspace page, that's easily the best place to get all of the important info on them. I don't see them striking these shores anytime soon as there has been only very moderate buzz here so far, but things can change. Plus, I am pretty down with their drummer!

Where can I find Stella in a can in the States?

"Nine"

Tired of the rain

This is what has been up lately: I didn't stay for Juliana Hatfield last week [I was too tired], I saw Bob Mould last Monday at the Dise [great times, super nice guy] and I hung out with a friend from DC this weekend. Awesome! Here is some stuff I've jumped on as of late.



Editors are from various points of England, and as an easy point of reference, they remind me of a Bristish Interpol, and well Interpol is essentially an American Joy Division. Funny how all of this works out! Anyway, their debut album The Back Room has yet to hit the States.

"Munich"
"Bullets"



The Pipettes are a girl group [in classic sense] from Brighton, UK and since I live in Brighton, MA, I thought I'd check this group out. Ok ok, I mainly wanted to check them out cuz they're all hot, especially the one in the middle. Moving on...this is a group that would make Phil Spector proud!

"It Hurts To See You Dance So Well"



Dropping soon is the new album from Tom Vek called We Have Sound on Star Time in the States. Tom recorded the entire album by himself, in his own garage and has assembled a band to take the tunes to the masses, much like my boy Ted Leo has his Pharmacists. The album has a very British feel with a bits of electronic strokes thrown in for good measure.

"A Little Word In Your Ear"

my sister

I am off to check out Juliana Hatfield at T.T.'s tonight--it should be fun! I'll do up a review tomorrow. Oddly enough, this is my first time seeing her. She's being supprted by an awesome NY band called Back to Blonde.

ESS OH VEE in the UUU ESS AAA

She was here CMJ week, she was back again for the Spin 20th Anniversary party last week, she's been in talks with Def Jam and now she's hitting the states again during the end of November/beginning of December. Lady Sovereign is doing her first U.S. tour, although this is going to be a small one and it will only hit the major markets.

These are the dates, according to Pitchfork:

11-28 Boston, MA - Middle East
11-30 New York, NY - Knitting Factory
12-01 Philadelphia, PA - Silk City
12-02 Montreal, Quebec - La Tulipe
12-03 Toronto, Ontario - Revival
12-06 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
12-09 San Francisco, CA - Live 105 party
12-13 Los Angeles, CA - Cinespace

Her first domestic release, an EP entitled Vertically Challenged drops on November 15th via Chocolate Industries. Peep the tracklisting:

01 Random
02 A Little Bit Of Shhh!
03 Ch-Ching
04 Fiddle With The Volume
05 The Battle
06 Random (Menta Remix)
07 A Little Bit Of Shhh! (Ad Rock Remix)
08 Fiddle With The Volume (Ghislain Poirier Remix)



I was lucky enough to catch a brief set from her back on September 15th [during CMJ, I promise that a full rundown is coming soon] and she lit up the fucking room. She only got down with five songs, including "The Broom," "Public Warning and "Ch-Ching," but seriously, everyone was into it. Her lyrical skills are impressive and the energy she brought to the room was intense.

didn't steal your boyfriend

I have a bunch of new links on the side--check them out!



So Nemo was this weekend, and I got to see a ton of awesome bands. It's basically a smaller version of CMJ, and this is the ninth year is gone down in Boston. Highlights of the weekend include Oranger, Nine Black Alps, The Lot Six, and [I am not shitting you here] Ashlee Simpson Ashlee Simpson.

After work, I went out to dinner with Tim, Hilary and Chester Copperpot [who were here all of the way from Sweden for a wedding show in Jersey!]. They were great guys and it was a fun and relaxed sit down dinner, the type I don't have very often. Afterwards, I ran up to the Middle East for Nine Black Alps, who were playing upstairs. The Lot Six played downstairs, and their set was pretty decent although I could have dealt with less slow/jammy songs plus the sound was pretty fucking bad.

Saturday night's fun began around 5:30 with The Effects, who played at the Cambridge Elks Lodge. They are a young garage band that had flown in from Oklahoma to do a date here and some in NYC. They have a few pretty good songs and they ended with a gimmicky version of "Freebird" that was nonetheless really fucking awesome because it was note for note and the kid did not miss a beat!

While leaving the From Satellite show, Greg and I decided to hit up the Ashlee Simpson show next door. According to the bouncers, there was "only an hour left," but whatever, we only wanted to stay for a song or two. Avalon was filled with 15 year old girls, many of whom were dressed exactly like Ashlee [black skirt, white button shirt and a loose black tie], plus I saw at least 20 people filming the show. Of course this is a show to remember! The only song I wanted to hear, "Boyfriend," was played right after we got in and then she did that ridiculously shitty song "La La." Or as one of my music directors descirbed it, "It's not called 'La La,' it's called 'Fuck Me.' You know 'Fuck me on the kitchen floor.'" God, that show was such a trainwreck.

The night closed off on a high note from Oranger. Man, I totally love their new album [New Comes and Goes], and they played a healthy portion of it, despite skipping one of the best songs of the year, "Crones." They were pretty energetic, and at times, a couple members of Death Ray Davies would invade the stage to cause trouble or play an additional theremin.