Timber (RIP)

I thought the last post would be my final one for the year, but I decided to do this one as well, to celebrate a great band calling it quits. Plus Flynn is a fellow contributor over at icoulddietomorrow. I'm sad they're breaking up (1) because they're an awesome band (2) I never got a chance to see them play (3) my plans for Record Hospital Fest 2009 have been dashed.



These boys outta Maryland put out a demo last summer and had it up for free online. I don't remember how I came across it originally, but I do know it's more of the screamy hardcore we all love. I don't think I like it as much as their 7", but that's pretty tough competition. "Beginning" was one of my favorite tracks of this year. Anyway, this is kind of a half-assed entry, but listen to this, buy their 7", get into it. And happy new year.

Info on getting their 7"
Timber- Demo

Bread and Circuits/Former Members of Alfonsin

I just got back from seeing Finally Punk. They've got another 7" out now on M'Lady Records. Bobb Bruno played before them in some mouse suit or something. I'm not really into gimicky shit, and I didn't think his set was interesting. I was looking forward to seeing Finally Punk because I hadn't seen them before, but I thought they came off kind of flat. Decent set, but I think it's hard to follow up after seeing Portraits of Past. The reunion was awesome. The first ten minutes of their set were some of the most intense shit ever. I got chills up my spine, and everyone else was really into it to. I was also just really psyched to see it since I missed out on the shows they played this summer. The night before I was supposed to see Punch the night before, but the show got broken up before they could play, which was pretty disappointing. Get the repress of their 7" while you can because it's one of the best records of 2008.

I got an Amoeba gift certificate for Christmas, so got some fun new things, but I'm not letting myself go through them until after all my work is done.

Speaking of which, I have papers + exams through the 15th, so I probably won't be blogging much between now and then. Shortly after that, I'll be doing a CORIN TUCKER ORGY on WHRB... more details will follow on that.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyway...

This is sort of a request... someone wanted some lyrics for Former Members of Alfonsin a few weeks ago. I'm including pictures of the notes to this album with the upload, so hopefully you can read some of them.


The two bands on tour.

I picked up this split about a year ago. I think with this Bread and Circuits first catch your eye (or at least for me) because of the Mike Kirsch thing. I think I listen to the Former Members of Alfonsin side more though. Especially last year, I went through a phase when I would just keep that side up on my turn table.



Bread and Circuits are pretty standard Mike Kirsch fare (not that there's anything standard about him), fitting both chronologically & sonically somewhere between John Henry West & Please Inform the Captain This Is a Hijack. The band also included Jose from Struggle & Swing Kids and Mag of Yaphet Kotto.

I don't really know as much about Former Members of Alfonsin other than that they are not former members of a band called Alfonsin. They alternate male and female vocals some of the time, which I always really love. I think "Devil's Vocabulary Test" is my favorite song on the whole album.

Bread and Circuits/Former Members of Alfonsin split LP

Punch

Things I am not excited for when I get home:
doing lots of homework
mostly just that

Things I am excited for:
seeing Charlotte, Matt, Dani, family, etc.
December 26: Punch
December 27: Portraits of Past
December 30: Finally Punk



I'm pretty stoked for Punch (anyone wanna come with me?)... furiously fast/fastly furious hardcore from San Francisco. In all their pictures, they look ferocious live, and their EP, Eyeless, has been spinning regularly on my turntable since I picked it up over the summer. They toured the East Coast this past summer, but I missed it along with everything else when I was across the ocean.



Eyeless was recorded in October 2007 and released last April (I think) on 625 Thrash (not sure if I've ranted on here before about I trust pretty much anything put out on this label to be good) and Discos Huelga. They just did a repress (the third press), so get it while it's hot.



This is some of the angriest, most solid female-fronted hardcore around right now. Holy fuck... they're just so fast and pissed. Awesome onslaught for your ears.

Punch- Eyeless E.P.
Get it from Discos Huelga

December 12, 2008

This was my last show of the semester... worked out really well + Christa hung out with me the whole time.

Bikini Kill- Carnival
Punch- Words
Libyans- No Chances for an Orphan
Turboslut- Dry
Cheeky- Bad Mood
---
X- Los Angeles
Pink Razors- The Wrong Son
Cat Party- Jigsaw Thoughts
Closet Fairies- Ghetto Girls
P.S. Eliot- Broken Record
---
Neon Christ- Draft Song
Out with a Bang- Love My Life
Social Circkle- Life Crisis
Autistic Youth- The Sound of Violent Screams
Dead Friends- Newsies
---
Mark McCoy/Will Dandy super set
Charles Bronson- Marriage Can Suck It
Orchid- Aesthetic Dialectic
Bucket Full of Teeth- Here's Your Warning
Failures- Cheer Up
---
Pygmy Lush- Send Bombs
Life At These Speeds- Younger Monkey
Crime Desire- In Lucifer's Grip
Native Nod- Tangled
Timber- Beginning
---
Snotty girls set
Ingrid- What Makes You
Finally Punk- Boyfriend Application
The Coathangers- Shake Shake
Raooul- Rotten Dead Monkey
Emily's Sassy Lime- Soda Jerk
---
Boys Life- Tucked In
John Henry West- 10,000 Words
Sinaloa- Ashes of Giants
Yaphet Kotto- Torn Pictures
1994!- Get off Our Weed You Pussies
---
Ringers- Not Many
Shorebirds- Highway
Career Suicide- Cherry Beach
Born Against- The Good Father
Nightstick Justice- Sick and Tired
---
Religious as Fuck- Made of Many
Devoid of Faith- Human Storage
Crossed Out- Lowlife
Suffer- One Step Closer
Agathocles- Hippie Cult
---
No Comment- World of Difference
Sex/Vid- Cleansing
Tapeworm- Lite Brite Baby
Swallowing Shit- If They Hated Me, They Will Hate You
Government Issue- Blending In
---
Portraits of Past- Wait Mom and Dad
Amber Inn- Serenity in Hand
Trifle Tower- Salvage
Ordination of Aaron- Immersion in a 90 MPH World
Algernon Cadwallader- Some Kind of Cadwallader
---
Shop Assistants- Train from Kansas City
Marine Girls- In Love
Death to Tyrants- Wake Up and Bee
Des Ark- The Subtleties of Chores and Unlocked Doors

GET LAID

December 5, 2008

Only did an hour & a half of air last night. As a side note, I got all my music transferred off of my failing hard drive! I re-upped the Sonora Pine as requested. If you find any dead links you want fixed, give a shout. Get psyched for GET LAID live on the Record Hospital tonight!

Please Inform the Captain This Is a Hijack- We Train These Robots
Ingrid- Whatever Makes You
Christ on a Crutch- Food for Thought
Ultra Dolphins- Town Goat
Failures- Friends
---
Little Lungs- Loft Coffin
Third Party- Work Anthem
Civic Progress- Uranium Miscarriage
Algernon Cadwallader- Katie's Conscious
---
Fuck on the Beach- Never No Skin Fuck
Religious as Fuck- Standing Still
Shank- Witch Hunts Work
The Body- This Is Disease
Fury Resurrection- Circle of Lies
Oil Tanker- Happiness
---
Bad Dirty Hate- (name is in a foreign script)
H100s- Brown Sugar
Die Kreuzen- Pain
Dylan Bredeau- Tiny Feet
---
PS Eliot- Troubled Medium
Sleater-Kinney- One More Hour
Neo Boys- Rich Man's Dream
Skinned Teen- Pillow Case Kisser
Cheeky- Get Outta Here
---
City of Caterpillar- And You're Wondering How a Top Floor Could Replace Heaven
Impetus Inter- Cram
Timber- Ritual Curse
Shadowmen- Written Undefined
Behead the Prophet No Lord Shall Live- Baby Loves to Watch Me Sleep
---
Guyver-One- Blurden
Ulcer- Morality
Red Thread- Cracked
Tear It Up- Right Place Right Time
Infest- Where's the Unity/If I Were You.../Which Side?

November 20, 2008

Walls- Tread on Me
Laceration- Band-Aids Are for Pansies Who Bleed
Brutal Knights- Living by Yourself
Hatred Surge- Servant
End on End- Heritage
---
Ingrid- Tryangle
Bob Tilton
Shroomunion- Reloading
Karp- I'd Rather Be Clogging
Timber- Ritual Curse
---
Shorebirds- Off the Street
Frumpies- Malice and Discontent
Saboteurs- Fun Is Free
Tokidoki- Cookie Cutter
PS Eliot- Troubled Medium
---
PARKER
---
Mind Eraser
Cult Ritual- Guiltless
Jenny Piccolo- Pre School
Amalthea- A Valued Landscape
The Birthday Party- She's Hit
---
Lake of Dracula
Antilles- Salvage
Frail- Ideal
Acrimonie
Strikeforce Diablo- Akimbo
---
PARKER
---
Direct Control- Crash and Burn
Tomorrow- Non e Degna Di Umano
The Fishsticks- Suck City
Brother Inferior- The Answer Lies
Libyans- Early Morning
---
Teenage Cool Kids- Write Back Soon
Tiger Trap- Puzzle Pieces
Lemuria- Clean
Slant 6- Poison Arrows Shot at Heroes
Vivian Girls- I Believe in Nothing
---
Red Thread- Double Speak
Spitboy- The Threat
Mother Fucking Titty Suckers- Chinese Eyes
Contaminators- Non Existant Love
Nightstick Justice- Sick and Tired
---
Chino Horde- Song I
By the End of Tonight- I Love Technology, I Love You Too
Zola Jesus- Dog

Failures

I flew home for Thanksgiving last Tuesday, and Mamma Mia was the movie on my plane. After watching about 45 minutes (I don't know how I lasted that long... perhaps all the ABBA my dad made me listen to as a child), Evan's DST documentary provided some very welcome relief.

I expected to have a few packages that I ordered a long time ago waiting for me at home, one of them the Failures LP. I'm not sure what happened along the way, but I was sad to see that it had not arrived. Hopefully I can work things out with Will because this album destroys. I generally can't really put the words together for epic shit, so I'll let Walkie Talkies do some of the talking:

"Sean said it best: "They call themselves Failures when any one of their many projects is more than enough to retire on and look back on." Charles Bronson, Orchid, Ampere, Das Oath, Cut the Shit, Cancer Kids...and that's just the short list. Could we go on? Sure, but what's the point? You know the deal. Failures has a pedigree."

Basically, if you put these bands in a blender, you're guaranteed something good, and Failures certainly do not disappoint. I tend to make sweeping statements and overuse the word "favorite," but I think it's safe to say this is my favorite hardcore album of the year. Look for it tearing up the Record Hospital charts.

Failures- s/t
Get it from Clean Plate

Sorry to be such a neglectful blogger as of late. Something real to come soon- I promise. My hard drive is kind of fucked, and school has been busy. I got a new hard drive, but the old one is not very responsive, so I'm having trouble transferring all of my music. If anyone has any tips for rescuing data from an external hard drive, it would be greatly appreciated.

Anyway, some details obscured on the poster, but for those of you I go to school with, get pumped for this Saturday. Dan will be deejaying, and you can email me with any music requests. Some of the details are obscured... let me know if you want them. All ages, no booze in the Artspace.

Cheeky

This afternoon I went with Colette, Adrienne, Karen, Tammy, & Mary to the Prop 8 protest, and then we walked up to the North End and got some gelato.



Anyway, it's time for a pop punk weekend...

Because all I've been listening to lately is Cheeky. I was listening to a ton of Little Lungs, which led me to them (Angie is in both bands). Cheeky are an awesome four-piece from Brooklyn/Long Island. Feminist pop punk that I can't get enough of. They're goofy, they're silly, but mostly they're just awesome.



They released their EP Choke on a Cheeseburger digitally on Quote Unquote on Christmas of last year and then as a 7" on Freedom School in June. Six tracks of cheeky (yes, their name is fitting) punk that tells it like it is.



Cheeky also put out a 7" as part of Art of the Underground's singles series. I love all these things, but my favorite may be an acoustic version of "Get Outta Here" on If You Make It's Pink Couch Sessions. Watch it here. They've got a tour coming up (headed south though), so check their schedule and get out and see them! They'll also be releasing a full-length next year.

Download donate Choke on a Cheeseburger + donate at Quote Unquote
Get the 7" from Freedom School

LAST NIGHT

The show last night went really well. Got into a little bit of trouble with the security guards because of fire hazards and had to turn some people away at the door because it was too crowded (sorry), but the show itself was awesome. I only really got to see Walls because I was at the door most of the time, but they were certainly worth all the work. Walls set turned into a Cold Sweat reunion, which was great, especially because everyone was so into it. I was also able to pick up one of the few tour 12"s they had available for the night. Go check the rest of Walls tour if you get the chance.

WALLS

COLD SWEAT

November 14, 2008

Timber- Beginning
Clikatat Ikatowi- Identity Crisis
JR Ewing- 1st Class Suicide
Christopher Robin- Brother
Loser Life- Mocking You
---
Walls- Same Guy, Same Story
Scapegoat- Hemorrhage
Cult Ritual- 8-9-69
Conniption- Gun Shy
Terminal Youth- Money and a Name
---
Little Lungs- Loft Coffin
Phantom Pregnancies- Suiciderama
Hey Girl!- Always Be My Baby
Teenage Cool Kids- Awkward Kind of Girl
Talulah Gosh- Talulah Gosh
---
PARKER
---
Libyans- Losing Our Rights
Dahlia Seed- Milk
Heavens to Betsy- Me & Her
Pink Razors- Too Obvious
Ingrid- As Long As It Didn't Hurt
---
PARKER
---
Cheeky- Get Outta Here
Shorebirds- Tinctures Are 90% Alcohol
Autistic Youth- I Don't Believe We Are Protected by the Police
Canadian Rifle- Man Shall Not Feel
Palatka- Rate x Time = Distance
---
Trifle Tower- Criancas de Rua
Deformed Conscience- Defense Mechanisms
Coleman- Dunce Cap
William Martyr 17- File Thirteen
Turboslut- Dry
---
Faithealer- Disgusting
Reach Out- Gadfly
Rudimentary Peni- Cosmetic Plague
Point of Few- Scarred for Life
Religious As Fuck- Maple St. Is Not Unique
---
Graf Orlock- A Shocking Interrogation
Red Thread- Walk Home
P.S. Eliot- Broken Record
Dead Uncles- City of Village Idiots
Rambo- All the Assholes Are Heroes Now
---
Tigershark- He's Not a Bartender, He's an Artist

WALLS this FRIDAY

Get into it.

Walls are members of Iron Lung & Cold Sweat. They'll have a new 12" on tour with them and released one last year on Pain Killer.

Iron Lung's Sexless//No Sex was released last year by Prank Records. Twenty songs & twenty minutes of unrelenting assault.



Iron Lung- Sexless//No Sex
Get It from Prank
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Then on Saturday...

PROPOSITION 8 PROTEST
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15TH, 1:30pm
BOSTON CITY HALL*

Join the Impact is a group that is organizing a nationwide protest against Proposition 8, the measure which banned gay marriage in California last Tuesday.

People will be gathering in cities across the country this Saturday, November 15th at 1:30 (EST) to protest the passage of this discriminatory proposition.

Join us for a protest to show your opposition to Prop 8. This is not just a California issue! This is an issue of equality for all Americans!

For more information about Prop 8 protests, or for other protest locations, visit the website www.jointheimpact.com.

November 7, 2008

Sorry for the lack of updates this week. Election craziness & school called. I have my computer back, but it's being kind of weird for my hard drive, so listening to things/uploading stuff from my computer is still not totally functional. Anyway, here's a playlist from this week.

Cult Ritual- Guiltless
Elizabeth Herz- Easter Island
Devoid of Faith- Commodified Faith
Bloody Phoenix- Blasting Media
Faithealer- Pointless
---
Montcalm- I Stopped Believing in Existence
Rodan- Milk and Melancholy
Antilles- Salvage
The Republic of Freedom Fighters- Circle High Blood Sniffer
---
Little Lungs- Atlantic Bridge
Frustrations- Evil Twin
Kicking Giant- Alien ID
Sinks- Out of Control
Pink Razors- Too Obvious
---
Ingrid- What Makes You
Tribe 8- Manipulate
Margaret Thrasher- Next Best Thing
P.S. Eliot- Like How You Are
Des Ark- The Subtleties of Chores & Unlocked Doors
---
Lucy played 5 songs
---
Libyans- No Chances for an Orphan
Health Hazard- Head Room
Get Destroyed- Dirge
Hitler SS- No Solution
Turboslut- Too Little Too Late
---
Wasteland- River
Bleed- Mr. Elliott
Timber- Beginning
Logs- Tourniquet
Prevail
---
Red Thread- Gasm
Nostril- Bewdong Canoe Start
On the Might of Princes- The Water vs. the Anchor
From Monument to Masses- Sharpshooter
---
Religious as Fuck- Standing Still
Robocop 3- Fuck You, Doc Holliday
A Trillion Barnacle Lapse
Universal Order of Armageddon- Painfully Obvious
Autistic Youth- Victim
---
Glo-Worm- Travelogue
Cheeky- Deal with It
Shorebirds- D.O.A.
Vivian Girls- Where Do You Run To?
---
MV & EE Medicine Show- Harvest
Tent City- Drought
Raincoats- Lola
---
I played about an hour more of stuff to because Kit the fucking dilettante did not show up for his show. Fuck that.

VOTE NO ON PROP 8

Don't be an asshole.

Tiger Trap

So today is my first anniversary and 100th post! The name of the blog if you didn't already pick up on it is a Tiger Trap song.

The song is on their self-titled LP and is one of my favorite pop love songs of all time. They formed in Sacramento, released their LP and a 10" (Sour Grass) in 1993, and were over by the end of that year. They also have a 7" (Supercrush"), a split with Bratmobile, one with Henry's Dress, and they contributed to a few comps. Please trade or sell me anything other than the LP & 7"!


The LP with my thumb

I think I love Tiger Trap so much because of the pace and energy of the pop they played. On our record in the station, spare wrote that they were the first American band that got what Heavenly was doing, which I completely agree with. They sped up indie pop, verging on a pop punk sound sometimes. Rose Melberg's girly vocals along with the often childlike subjects, however, keep their sound on the pop side.



Rose continually vies with Amelia Fletcher for my favorite lady of indie pop award. After Tiger Trap parted ways, she played in Go Sailor, the Softies, Gaze, and did some solo stuff. Maybe I'll post the interview we have with her at the station, but I think whoever the guy was did a pretty lackluster job.

Anyway, fall in love with "Puzzle Pieces" and Tiger Trap like I have!

Tiger Trap- self-titled

Chugga Chugga

I feel like this blog has devolved to complete wimpyness lately, and I vowed to post something heavy soon. I have a couple coming up my sleeve, but without my computer, my being able to post them involves remembering to bring my hard drive with me when I go to the computer lab, so I've been going with some things I already have upped.

Anyway, this may up some recent levels of wimp... I didn't really know much about Chugga Chugga until Noa sent a request out over the cookiecutterYEAH email list. I stumbled upon some of their recordings and fell a little bit in love.



They were a duo (Katie & Jean) originally from Michigan who met in high school art class. They made their first CD in 2004 before they moved to the DC area (Maryland). Chugga Chugga broke up in 2006, but I think you can catch them now in Turboslut (a bit of a change of pace). It may be obvious they were in high school when they started and they may be dated by the fact that their main website was a livejournal.

Their self-titled 7" shows off their super cute pop songs. My favorite is "Xtian BFF." Pretty self-explanatory what it's about, but it always reminds me of this girl in third grade who was one of my best friends, who I didn't realize until high school that she's an Evangelical Christian.

Chugga Chugga- self-titled

October 31, 2008

I didn't even realize it was Halloween starting this show otherwise I might have done something themed. Both turntables were working though, so my theme was quality air for the first time in a while.

Little Lungs- Loft Coffin
Queen Mab- J Is for Jesus Christ
The Bayonettes- We're Doomed
Life Partners- Ace of Spades
Mika Miko- Sex Jazz (extended)
---
Libyans- The Price We Pay
Bones Brigade- Never Meant Much
Former Members of Alfonsin- Devil's Vocabulary Test
Rabies- Zombies Ate My Neighbors
Red Thread- Double Speak
---
Wasted Time- I'm Surrounded by Winners
Rot Shit- Full Retarded
Nine Curve- Shoot Sign
Faithealer- Bound and Chained
Tragedy- Call to Arms
---
Trifle Tower- Criancas da Rua
Defeatist- White as Scars
Iron Lung- Future Corpse
Struggle- Culture
Turboslut- Dry
---
Fire Party- Jerk
P.S. Eliot- Entrendre
Witches With Dicks- How to Cook for 40 Humans
Vivian Girls- All the Time
New Bloods- Doubles
---
Autistic Youth- Smash and Kill
Torrington- Choke
Rosenbombs- Deficient
Coke Bust- Fumigation
Apeshit!- Hamster
---
Timber- Ritual Curse
Plunger- Swallowtale
Shorebirds- D.O.A.
Brain Handle- Oblivion Crud
Conversions- Basement Escapism
---
Flowers in the Attic- Ode to the Six Foot Hole
Econochrist- Passed On

Ingrid

Before attempting to see DST & Sinaloa this evening with Christa & Jim and failing miserably, driving around the park for about an hour before giving up, Karen, Tammy, & I crashed a speaker event for our campus's anti-choice group. After the speech, there was a Q&A/discussion and adoption was brought up as an alternative to abortion. I brought up adoption by same-sex couples, and this old guy muttered something under his breath about gay people having "general neuroses." I was kind of in a state of shock, obvious just outraged/terrified that someone would still think this (it sounds exactly like the reading I was doing today talking about military views of homosexuality during WWII) today and also kind of just thinking it was hilarious. In the spirit of those goddamn neurotics...



If Mass Movement of the Moth became a two-piece, lost the synth, and exploded with a queer bomb, Ingrid would be the result.



The DC-based band is Ashley Arnwine (Des Ark, Mass Movement) on drums & Joey Doubek (Mass Movement Of The Moth, Danke, Bear And The Butterfly) on guitar, switching the roles they filled in their prior collaboration.



They're giving away the mp3s on their website, so I figured I'd zip it up all nice and send it out. Get the tape though for the best artwork I think I've seen all year. The covers were made out of old record sleeves and individually silkscreened. You can't tell from the scans, but the insides are screened a little bit too. Oh yeah, and the music is cool. It really does sound almost the same as Mass Movement.

Ingrid- Tryangle
Get it from Cosmic Debris

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I just dropped my computer off with computer services because it won't turn on. Luckily for me and for puzzle pieces, all my music is on an external hard drive. I'm trying to keep up on all this shit, but things might be a bit shoddy for the next couple days.

And my whole plan to dress up as Sheri Lewis & Mr. Rogers with Charlie has failed, so if you've got any recommendations, give a shout.

Gentleman Jesse and His Men

Evan came to visit this weekend. He's been doing a great job with his weekly Walkie Talkies updates. One band that he's gotten me into lately is Gentleman Jesse and His Men.



Gentleman Jesse and His Men are a power pop band from Atlanta who have put out a 7" and an LP on Douchemaster Records. "Gentleman" Jesse (Smith) plays bass for the Carbonas but switches over to guitar for these efforts. The drummer, Dave Rahn, is also in the Carbonas and plays on Baby Shakes' The First One (the most recent Douchemaster release), which I also got when I ordered Gentleman Jesse and His Men- total bubblegum.



Their self-titled LP came out earlier this year after being recorded last December. Like related projects, it hearkens back to another era while staying fresh. It's impossible not to tap your foot and sing along to this shit.

Gentleman Jesse and His Men- self-titled
Get it from Douchemaster

P.S. Eliot

I originally started this blog to post my playlists, and this is the first week I'm not posting one. The right turntable is still broken, so I still can't do what I want, and I was in a really shitty mood last night and probably played a terrible show.

I love pop punk... obviously. I proclaim it regularly, own it, etc. I obviously love fuzzy girl punk as well. When the two intersect, well, you can imagine that I get quite excited.



P.S. Eliot are a four piece from Birmingham who put out a demo earlier this spring. After that, they did a mini Southern tour, to which one of the members (Katie) said:

"so we have a demo that we made in my basement last weekend. its got 5 songs, out of about 8 that we have written. some people might think that it's a little naive of us to tour on 8 songs and a shitty van and little experience/money/etc. but i consider it kind of necessary. we have the time and we have this sort of super-zealous, enthusiastic outlook on doing a lot with what we have right now, so why not?"

Maybe they'll translate that ambition again and come all the way up North? They're headed up to Philly right before New Year's, but it doesn't seem like an actual tour.

Seriously though, check them out. Fuzzy pop punk with clever rhymes.

P.S. Eliot- Bike Wreck Demo

Sadie Benning

Anyone who actually knows me has probably listened to me complain for the past two weeks about the presentation I have to for on feminist art today for my hist & lit tutorial. Despite all my whining about all of the feminist art I hate, I really like Sadie Benning. She used to be in Le Tigre, but way before that, she was making videos on her Fischer-Price Pixelvision camera. This one's called "Me and Rubyfruit." She made it in 1989 at age 16. I liked "Girl Power" a lot too, but that one was on a tape in one of our libraries, so I don't know how to put it up. This is my first time putting on a video, so hopefully it'll work.

Dig Me Out

Friday and Saturday were completely weird days. I spent my entire Friday listening to Des Ark and then decided on Saturday that I needed something a bit emotional enough but also kind of upbeat. Corin Tucker's voice has always resonated with me, and I found just was I was looking for in Sleater-Kinney's Dig Me Out.



I kept dragging the needle back on "One More Hour," which always slays me. The song was written by Corin and Carrie Brownstein about their break-up. Dig Me Out is their third album and came out in 1997.



A past interview in Give Me Back with sound engineers pointed out that Sleater-Kinney used a different engineer on each of their albums- I think you can always notice their different textures.

Sleater-Kinney- Dig Me Out
Get It from Kill Rock Stars

A few housekeeping things

Boring post alert. If anyone's been going to this site through the puzzlepieces.tk address, the real one is humpypuzzlepieces.blogspot.com. It's easier to use the shorter one when on air (plus Milli would always make fun of me for announcing the latter). I always use the blogspot address, but I use the .tk one the other day and realized it makes things look really squished and ugly. Also, you can subscribe to the blogspot one.

More exciting news is that I'm going to start contributing to icoulddietomorrow. So look for me there too. The link is always on the side.

Also, look for Eunuch this Friday live on the Record Hospital.

October 17, 2008

Sharp Knife- The Unbearable Lightness
Embassy- Beyond Bridges
Turboslut- Dry
Cardiac Arrest- Fool Me Once
The Freeze- This Is Boston, Not LA
---
Timber- Beginning
Asthma Attaq- You'll Need a Shoehorn
Life At These Speeds- Younger Monkey
Antlers- White Fur
Des Ark- The Subtleties of Chores & Unlocked Doors
---
Get Killed- Use That Razor for Your Wrist
Antischism- The Web (of War)
Punch- Semantically Challenged
Lack- Zur Genealogue des Modernen Menschen
Off Minor- To an Ex
---
Vivian Girls- Where Do You Run To?
Om- (Version)
Tsunami- Water's Edge
Twin- White Eyes
Mass Movement of the Moth- Riddle Me 666
---
J Church- Bomb
***Shirley helping out***
Misfits- Hybrid Moments
Gang of Four- Damaged Goods
Schneider TM- The Light 3000
***end Shirley***
Life Partners- Ace of Spades
---
Bratmobile- Love Thing
Cheeky- Deal with It
Baby Guts- Shark Teeth
The Raincoats- Lola (Shirley again)
Silver Daggers- We Didn't Pay
---
Frustrations- Evil Twin
Sissies- Stand Up
Tranzmitors- Teenage Tragedy
Pink & Brown- I'm Tired He's Dead
Blotto- Hunchbacked Cat
---
Tracy + the Plastics- Hey Rubella
Hey Girl!- Always Be My Baby
Gentlemen Jesse & His Men- Attention
Heavenly- Cool Guitar Boy
Screeching Weasel- She's Giving Me the Creeps
---
Human Mess- Uncaged Animal
Navio Forge- A Hole Into
Walls- Calming Down
Funeral Diner- The Wicked
Libyans- I'm Done
---
Pocahaunted- The Weight

Milli + Meneguar

I'm in a very weird hangover-y disconnect mood right now, and Des Ark is my oxygen. Late nights with Shirley and Jim and probably not the best plan the night before a big 21st. Today is Milli's 21st birthday, so this post is for her.

Things that start with M include one of her favorite bands- Brooklyn-based Meneguar. They don't really need much of an introduction at this point... see also Woods (Family Creeps), Woodsist, etc.



I Was Born at Night was their first album, released in 2005 on Magic Bullett and in 2006 on Troubleman Unlimited. Part power pop, part indie rock, all fun. I cannot write right now... maybe I'll do this more later. I will actually post album art later. My computer is failing me, and I am failing at life at present.


The TMU artwork perched on my failing computer before I cleaned by room/desk.

Meneguar- I Was Born at Night

More Vivian Girls

I just got my absentee ballot in the mail today. I'm sure you've heard how important it is to vote in this election, so I'm not going to go on too much about it. If you're voting in California like I am, be sure to watch out for Propositions 4 & 8. Prop 4 is parental notifcation for abortions for minors, and Prop 8 is attempting to reverse the court's discussing regarding same-sex marriage. Voting NO on both of them is really important (votes against parental notifcation and against a ban on gay marriage).

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I'm attempting to put together a last minute show for Little Lungs this coming Sunday. They're really awesome pop punk from New York/New Jersey, and if you can help out in any way (venue-wise or band-wise), it would be greatly appreciated.

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On Saturday night, KJ & I took some of the compers and met up with Christa & Jim at the Life Partners 7" release show. It ended up getting shut down, and everyone but Life Partners got to play. We only saw Eunuch (Boston's only all-female, interracial power violence band featuring members of Libyans, Red Thread, & General Interest) because we went down to get Chinese food and got locked out and came back up to a bunch of cops outside the locked door.

After interviewing Fucked Up with Dan yesterday (I'll post that soon), I went to see their show with Vivian Girls with Mary, Izzy, & Meg. We didn't end up staying for Fucked Up, but I heard their set was good from Christa & Dan.

Vivian Girls played a solid set, and I now have the biggest crush on Kickball Katy.



They're coming again in November, and we'll hopefully have them in for a set/interview then.

They were selling a CD-R of a live set on WFMU which I picked up. It's mostly songs they've recorded before with a few that are unreleased otherwise. Even though it's live, it sounds almost the same as their other recordings. Definitely pick it up if you can though I doubt it'll last through the tour (only 150 made), and be sure to see them if they make their way to your town.



The reissue of their self-titled LP is now available from In the Red if you missed it the first time around. They've got a bunch with them on tour too.

Vivian Girls- Live on WFMU

P'Haunt + the Go Team

I just got my new Pocahaunted record in the mail from Teardrops. They continue to deliver as usual. Get it from Teardrops or Not Not Fun. Any time you describe something as "post-rocky grooves, shoegaze drama, drugged funk, and Fleetwood Mac," I'm sold.

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The Go Team were a super group of Pacific Northwesterners before they were stars. They started in 1985 in Olympia and were done by '89 but managed to release a couple cassettes, a nine month series of singles, and tour the East Coast.



Calvin Johnson was already making waves with Beat Happening and K Records. The other main player was Tobi Vail, who would soon write about angry grrrls and play in Bikini Kill. The rest of their rotating crew included Billy Karen (who also went on to Bikini Kill), Lois, Donna Dresch, and Kurt (credited as 'Kurdt' on the July single) Cobain (who was swooning over Tobi at the time).

The Go Team released Archer Come Sparrow as a cassette in 1989 (I think on K). It's nice outside, and I don't really feel like writing more about this right now, but good pop. I'll probably post something heavy soon to balance things out.

The Go Team- Archer Come Sparrow

October 9, 2008

One of the turn tables is still broken...

Loser Life- I Want the World
Los Crudos-Levantate
Out Cold- Doomsday Guy
Waco Fuck- Stuck in the Past
Punch- Convenience Store
---
Stop It!!- Amen and Boys
Young Widows- Lucky and Hardheaded
In First Person- Shades of Gray
Off Minor- Everything Explicit
Yum Yum Tree- The Ballad of Jeb and Darla
---
Domestik Doktrin- Lower Class Blues (350 Years Reminiscent)
Finger Print- In Words
Timber- Ritual Curse
The Shakespeares in Love- Sonnet 36
The Cancer Kids- Let's Get Excited
---
Baby Guts- Tiny Cuts
Grabass Charlestons-Double Ding Dong King Kong Sing Song
God Is My Co-Pilot- Out in the Streets
Cat Party- Jigsaw Thoughts
Stereo Total- L'Amour a 3
---
Ringers- 1st Time Long Time
Off With Their Heads- Keep Falling Don
Career Suicide- Cherry Beach
Cloak/Dagger- Kamikazes
August Spie- PCD
---
Turboslut- Road Kill
George Moshington- 177 Fuck You
Harpoon Guns- Cannibal Eyes
Libyans- No Chances for an Orphan
Sentai- Age of Information
---
Vivian Girls- I Can't Stay
The Go Team- Treasure Hunt
The Spinanes- Hawaiian Baby
Holly Golightly- Virtually Happy
Hey Girl!- Teenage Retard
---
Constantine Sankathi- Husniyah
Waste Management- Strangled
Downcast- Schedule
Pissed Officers- Skate Punks Eat Shit
The Measure (SA)- Union Pool
---
Dear Landlord- High Fives
Talbot Tagora- Taking Out the Trash to You
Night Pleasure
The Two Funerals- Hit the Ground
Neon Nazis- Plastik City
---
Heroin- Indecision
Pygmy Lush- Asphalt
Des Ark- The Subtleties of Chores & Unlocked Doors
Second Story Window- Targeting Precision
... Who Calls So Loud
---
Acts of Sedition- The Trial
Jolt- Let It Go
Coachwhips- Extinguish Me
Meneguar- The In Hour

Bikini Kill

Hooray for women's spaces, and thanks to some really awesome girls for putting this together!

In that spirit... here's a classic.



Bikini Kill- Revolution Grrrl Style Now (demo)

Dolly Mixture

I'm feeling kind of disillusioned with a lot of things musically related right now. At first it was a couple assholes complaining about the amount of kids at the noise show we put on... these kids are putting on your show, so shut your fucking mouth. While I definitely would still consider myself a kid, these people were complaining that everyone was "like twelve." Again, STFU. Then a couple nights ago I went to see Closet Fairies with Christa. It was in their practice space, which had all of this broken glass and shit lying around. People kept smashing things, and I got hit by a bottle someone threw. The show was supposed to start at 9, so I sort of expected it to start at 10. The first band went on around 11:30. They were ok but nothing special, and we had to leave right after that to catch the subway (last train leaves around 12:15). Apparently the Closet Fairies didn't even play and now maybe broke up? Unclear. The show supposedly got shut down, ambulances involved or something. I'm not really surprised as everyone there was being really fucking stupid. The other thing is that the turn tables at the station still are not functioning entirely properly. Basically, I can't play the kind of show I really want to... I also now have to do two and a half hours rather than two plus no more Alex.
Ok, rant over. Onto sunnier things.


At the Fenway practice space

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I was listening to Dolly Mixture a couple days ago and was thinking about writing my WGS paper for the semester on interpretations of girl groups throughout the decades. I think I'm going to do something on teen magazines (drawing inspiration from How Sassy Changed My Life) in the '50s instead as the whole girl group thing really falls a bit later, but they're probably my favorite from the late '70s/early '80s nonetheless.



Dolly Mixture gained fame partly as the girlfriends of the Damned. When Captain Sensible went solo, they served as his backing band and played with him on top of the pops or whatever that English show is called. Aside from this though, they put out some really great records on their own.

Their name comes from a Scottish confection and was indicative of their attitude. They were twee before it was trendy or played out, preferring knitted cardigans to their boyfriends leather.

Demonstration Tapes was originally released as a double LP in 1984 on the group's own label, Dead Good Dollys Platters. It combined recordings from 1979 to 1983. It was later rereleased as a CD.



Dolly Mixture lie somewhere on the spectrum between the Shangri-Las and Talulah Gosh, nearer to their fellow Brits. They sped up pop, taking that punk influence on the classic girl group sound. They harkened back to old times with songs like "Will He Kiss Me Tonight?" and brought some serious sass with ones like "How Come You're Such a Hit with the Boys, Jane?"

Dolly Mixture- Demonstration Tapes

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I'm working on figuring out how to record from my turn table to my computer. Right now I can record it, but it sounds really fuzzy, horrible, and quiet. Hopefully I'll have time to work on it this weekend or get someone to help me or something.

October 3, 2008

Libyans- I'm Done
Curll- Woolen Soldier
16- Door Prize
Elder- Golden Flower
Concrete Facelift- Wasted Again
---
Shank- Witch Hunts Work
Ninja Death Squad- Disciples of the 36th Chamber
Anti You- Breaker of the Oath
The Stakeout- No Way Out
Threatener- Antlers in the Throat
Dynamite Arrows- Quality of Life
---
The Fall- Leave the Capitol (request)
Violent Society- I Wanna Know
Fun Bug- Seventeen
The Measure (SA)- Portland
Unnatural Helpers- Dirty, Dumb, & Comical
Milemarker- Sex Jam Two: Insect Insest
---
Vivian Girls- I Can't Stay
Dolly Mixture- How Come You're Such a Hit with the Boys, Jane?
The Automaticans- Audrey
Dahlia Seed- Milk
Nitwits- Captain America
---
Crimpshrine- Rearranged
Blotto- Hunchbacked Cat
Dub Narcotic Sound System- Industrial Breakdown
Girls at Our Best- Pleasure
The Sonora Pine- Cloister
---
Off Minor- To an Ex
Anomie- Avorter N'est Pas Tuer
Danse Macabre- Ein Leiser Tod
China Pig- Christened by a Dead Cat
...Who Calls So Loud
---
Noothgrush- Useless
Sex Vid- Cleansing
Guyana Punch Line- Cracked
Deathreat- Elementary Course in Prison Economics
Turboslut- Too Little Too Late
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Kolya- Idiatrod
Cinemechanica- Brain Tarp
Thumbnail- Sore Throat
The Shakespeares in Love- Sonnet 18
Pygmy Lush- Hard to Swallow
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Off With Their Heads- Wrong
Hey Girl!- Always Be My Baby
The King Cobra- March on Pompeii
Rager- Pimpin' Ain't Easy
Brainbombs- Slayer
---
Tubers- Coconut Thunder
Maximillian Colby- Sifelaver

Plunger

It's raining right now, and I really don't feel like doing much other than sitting in my bed. I'll probably finish Fun Home after this (thanks, Dan) and then move on to reading I'm actually supposed to be doing.

The show went pretty well on Tuesday although we got shut down just before the end. We probably won't be doing many more noise shows, but hopefully the punx will keep going. Definitely looking forward to Walls' tour (Quincy Cage, November 14). I'm also already looking forward to Little Lungs and Closet Fairies at the Platonic Sleepover House on October 19 (not our show, but stoked nonetheless). I'm also excited about the next Libyans show in town (October 23). Aaron dropped off their new record at the station last night. I enjoy it of course, and the art is pretty sick- the cover has a screened acetate insert.

One of our turntables in the studio is broken right now, so last night/this morning's show was quite a change of pace. Most of my show is usually vinyl, but without two functioning turntables, I couldn't really do that, so I played almost everything on my computer. Without having to cue up a bunch of separate things, I could actually listen to what I was playing. I felt lazy, but it was kind of nice.

I had only listened to a couple times through before, but I really enjoy what I played off the new Grouper. I listen to it a lot more and always love it, but I was digging Plunger even way more than usual last night.



Plunger formed in 1993 in Crofton, Maryland (outside of Annapolis). They were gone within a couple years (played their last show in '96), but they managed to release a demo, a 7" EP, a couple splits (one with William Martyr 17, whom I also love), and contribute to a couple comps. After they broke up, Plunger's self-titled LP put together a recording session from 1995 and their final one from 1996. It was released in 1997 on Planaria.



Someone put together a solid tribute myspace page for them here. It has lots of cool fliers for shows & album art.

I guess they're pretty stereotypical of the '90s emo sound I always love. Both Moss Icon & Tsunami are listed as influences (I've been listening to both of these a lot lately. Especially, Moss Icon + screen printing = golden)... That Tsunami is listed is perhaps a sign that they can be quieter at times. Lots of variation in tone/intensity/speed though as you'd expect.

Also look for them on the We've Lost Beauty compilation, in memory of Christopher Horne of William Martyr 17 (also with Cap'n Jazz, Julia, Ordination of Aaron, and many more).

Plunger- self-titled
Planaria seems to have some left

September 26, 2008

Harvey Milk- Motown
Bolt Stein- Judas
Acid King- Electric Machine
Deformed Conscience- At a Loss
Balboa- Dixie Jam
---
Libyans- No Chances for an Orphan
Antichris and the Raped- Anneke
Bookburner- DEA
Human Mess- Uncaged Animal
Aspirin Feast- World of Shit
---
Best Friends Forever- My Head in Front of Your Head
The Casual Dots- Clocks
Better Looking Brother- Richie Sherwood
P.S. Eliot- Like How You Are
Turboslut- Emotion Sickness
---
Bitch Magnet- Navajo Ace
Admiral- Horns Lay Silent
Breakfast- Breakfast? Eat Rice
The Measure (SA)- Portland
Bipolar Bear- Cuzco
Circle Takes the Square- Same Shade As Concrete
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Pocahaunted- Time Fist
Bellafea- Seasons
Deer Tick- Diamond Rings 2007
Baba Yaga- Sparrow
Barn Owl- Dirt Road Blues
---
Chugga Chugga- Xtian BFF
Teenage Cool Kids- Awkward Type of Girl
Kickball- Beard
Screaming Females- Henry's Embryo
Bridge and Tunnel- Rubrics
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The Ergs!- 2nd Foundation
Glo-Worm- Travelogue
Fat Tulips- Nostalgia
Get the Hell Out of the Way of the Volcano- Girl in the Sky
Grouper- Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping
High Places- Golden
---
A.N.S.- Propaganda Machine
Formaldehyde Junkies- NBSD
Infect- Sociedade Masculina
JFA- Beach Blanket Bongout
Ambassador 990- Nothing in Return
Dynamite Arrows- Blowin' It
---
Algernon Cadwallader- Some Kind of Cadwallader
Breathing Walker- Moth
Class of 84- Bent
Plunger- Swallowtale
Des Ark- Eloise
---
Foot Village- Narc Party (Let's Make It Fucked Up)
California Love- Legacy
Call the Cops- Easy to Break
Chronic Seizure- Ancient Wound
Concrete Facelift- I'm Not Done
---
Vomit Bomb- Profile Me
Discount- Half Fiction
Meneguar- We Own We Sell

Final line-up for Tuesday

This got kind of messy due to all the changes at the end.
Ryan from Dreamhouse added! Secret Abuse & Earth Crown will be playing together as Earth Abuse.
Be on time- we're starting close to 7.

Pink Razors, DST, Walls, etc.

New Pink Razors tracks are up on their myspace! Two so far ("Not the Wrong Son" and "Too Obvious"). I've only listened to them a few times so far, but the band continues to deliver (especially after quite a long break). These are their first recordings with Erin Tobey (a favorite of mine, mainly as part of Abe Froman but also through her solo stylings). "Not the Wrong Son" takes advantage of her presence in the band, juxtaposing male & female vox in a way that always pleases me. I think "Too Obvious" sounds more like their other releases, with Erin only in the chorus backing vocals. I'm not complaining about Jeff's usual singing. These tracks are hyping me up for their new album, Leave Alive, which comes out mid-October on Houseplant Records (Erin & Jeff's label). Jeff & Erin both moved to Bloomington, Indiana, which means my plans for Fest '09 might be foiled.

No albums to post for now... I've been listening to the new Shorebirds this week courtesy Roxana. More pop punk goodness, but maybe not quite the glory of their 7" (which is being reissued on No Idea).

I saw Daniel Striped Tiger again on Friday at a house in Somerville. Glad they're playing a lot recently. The basement was really small, and I was afraid the guy from the first band was going to hit his head on the ceiling. I think it was the Big Bucks, but I'm not entirely clear. They were pretty good, but stoned & sloppy. It was definitely way different than the show at the Middle East, if only because of the venue. I prefer the smaller atmosphere, but playing at a bigger venue does offer the advantages of better sound mixing, etc. I'm kind of pissed that I don't think I'll be able to see their next show because it's at the Church (21+). I also really want to see Young Widows.

I'm kind of sick right now and am hoping for a speedy recovery. Off to reading, but get ready to destroy yourself:


and don't forget: SECRET ABUSE + more on Tuesday. Scroll down for more information. Get in touch at girlyshtcambridge@gmail.com for directions/questions

September 19, 2008

Viva Knievel- Boy Poison
Archers of Loaf- Wrong
Abe Froman- What's Your New Address
Turboslut- Dry
American Cheeseburger- The Kid
---
Neurosis- Pain of Mind
Human Mess- Uncaged Animal
Ice Nine- Endangered
Elder- Golden Flower
Books Lie- Adobe
---
Chia Pet- Hey Baby
Des Ark- The Subtlieties of Chores & Unlocked Doors
Closet Fairies- Union Suit
Team Dresch- Hand Grenade
Bridge and Tunnel- Call to the Comptroller's Office
---
Frumpies- Malice and Discontent
Vivian Girls- I Can't Stay
Magic Johnson- A Ver Que
Sissies- Stand Up
Social Junk- Bog Blast
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Life Crisis- Church State
Furnace- I Rest Easy, Your Ship Has Sailed
Brainworms- For Want Of
Death Squad- Summer of Arson
Kurt- Franklin
---
Pygmy Lush- Asphalt
William Martyr 17- File Thirteen
Rye Coalition- Cigarette for a Drag Queen
Blank Stare- Suicide
Off With Their Heads- 1612 Havenhurst
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...Who Calls So Loud- Resonant Grain Silo
Kilara- Wishing
Off Minor- Everything Explicit
Neanderthal- Mind Eraser
Anti You- Ask Me If I Give a Fuck
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Battery- In Our Hands
Night of Pleasure- Hipster Downgrade
The Insurgent- Miles to Go
Flake- Deluca
Mr. Highway- Invisible Cricket
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Pink Razors- The New Justin (I Wanna Be)
Heavens to Betsy- Axemen
The Fisticuffs Bluff
Meneguar- Let Us Decide

Finally Punk

This is a request, but I figured it was fitting for several reasons:
1. I had my Finally Punk shirt on earlier today.
2. They have a bunch of new shit coming out.
3. They're an awesome band, and I had intended to post this at some point anyway.



Finally Punk have been hyped a lot probably mostly because Tobi Vail said, "This is the band Bikini Kill was trying to inspire with all that riot grrl stuff. Four girls from Austin, TX playing their own style of punk that sound like equal parts Mika Miko, Lungleg and Meltdown. Hilarious, true and liberating. This is just as fresh-sounding as those Kleenex 7"s you are hunting for, and it's happening today!"
They also got a pretty stellar review from MAXIMUM ROCKNROLL.



Tobi doesn't do it, but I've seen others compare Finally Punk to Bikini Kill, pretty much just because they're a girl band. They may carry some of the themes of original riot grrrl bands (mostly the silliness) and draw inspiration from them, but that doesn't warrant the name-dropping. Tobi's got it right comparing them to more chaotic acts... I'd throw in Phantom Pregnancies too, and probably say they're closer to the Frumpies than to Bikini Kill.



Some of these are gone now, but they have a s/t CDLP (if seventeen & a half minutes counts as an LP), two seven inches (Primary Colors & s/t), and a live tape. I only have the tape & CD with me (media mail can be slow & some of my 7"s are in transit right now), but I'm pretty sure most the the tracks from the CD are on the self-titled 7". The CD & the self-titled 7" are now sold out (from the band although you might be able to hunt them down in a distro), but you can still get Primary Colors and the cassette.

I don't think they're still on hiatus now because they seem to have a West Coast tour coming up, but they were for a while (save the occassional SXSW performance and the like) because Elizabeth was (is?) in Providence for grad school and some one moved to California, where she joined up with some ladies of Mika Miko to form Finally Bomb Squad or Teenage Moms or whatever their name is now (they were always changing it for a while). They also seem to have a European tour planned for next summer.

Finally Punk's long list of upcoming releases includes a 7" called Hypertension on M'Lady's Records, a 10" & enhanced CD with new recordings on ABL Records, and another 7" on Germs of Youth for that Euro summer 2009 tour.

Finally Punk- self-titled
Buy their shit

Air this semester

I'll be on from 12:30 to 3 am eastern Thursday night/Friday morning, so check it out. I'm going to keep posting the playlists here but sans mp3 files for individual songs 'cause that just takes way too much time.

Brenda Lee

I shopped a class today called "I Like Ike But I Love Lucy: Women, Popular Culture, & the 1950s." There was a short survey with a question at the bottom about ideas for a final project. I of course thought about some awesome ladies of the '50s... perhaps more so venturing into the 1960s. I've been listening to a lot more '60s girl groups lately, but I still wish I were more well versed in that area.

When I was home for the first time over the summer, I bought a couple cheap Brenda Lee 7" on a lark. The A side of one is "Dum Dum," which I kept dragging the needle back to the beginning time after time. She does this thing where she drops down her voice in this ridiculous way. Kathleen Hanna tries describing it as a "sexy hiccup" in this video, but I think you really just have to listen to it to really understand.



She started out in the '50s (when she was only eleven), which is why I thought of her for that class, but she really hit it big in the sixties... she had more charted hits than any other woman. She went more country later on, but you can even hear that in earlier songs like "Jambalaya" (a Hank Williams song originally). This probably gives the best example of the hiccup Kathleen is talking about.

Brenda Lee- Greatest Hits

Inaugural girly shit show!

SECRET ABUSE (upcoming LP on not not fun)
EARTH CROWN (on night people records/arbor)
ZOMGRUL OCTIM
BOHOTHAHR (Harvard's only boys of noise)

September 23, 7 pm (early show!)
Adams K-Space (enter at Bow & Linden in Harvard Square)
email girlyshtcambridge@gmail for directions/with questions

Archers of Loaf

I love the '90s. I often long for them. A time when everything seemed simpler. Maybe not really, but certainly in the world of indie rock. Things didn't need to be so dressed up; they could just be what they were.

Clearly, the early/mid '90s were one of my favorite times for music... all my riot grrrls, indie poppers, and great emo. I just wish I had some sort of time portal because, as hip a five-year-old as I was, I some how didn't make it to any Tiger Trap shows. I also rediscovered my love for indie rock from the era this summer.

I was going through a particular phase with Archers of Loaf while in London, when a review of Oxford Collapse came up on Dusted:

"Oxford Collapse is a throwback – to a time when indie rock didn't involve harps and trumpets, to a time when indie rock performers were smart people but not necessarily very good musicians, to a time when you could write pop songs that people liked and yet not really have any idea, yourself, why they worked. Oxford Collapse doesn't sound like any one band in particular, but they do sound like the sort of band that might have been popular in the 1990s, only to disappear in the new millennium, as if the Y2K bug had snarfed them or something. Think Archers of Loaf, or Boyracer (who are actually still around), or Superchunk. You could go back further – to Husker Du, or Mission of Burma, or occasionally even the Clean – but you don't really have to. If you were in college radio in the 1990s, Oxford Collapse will be wholly familiar."

While I don't particularly care about Oxford Collapse, this pretty much summed up my thoughts. Indie rock could just be simple; it didn't have to glam itself up. It was straight forward but great.



Archers of Loaf fit perfectly into this category. On Icky Mettle, they churn out some serious hits. They have the perfect balance of wit & angst and what Alexandra called "semi-ironic sincere longing." "Wrong" is probably my favorite example. It and this whole album are definitely '90s indie classics.



Out of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Archers of Loaf formed in 1991 and released Icky Mettle as their first full length in 1994 on Alias. They released a few more albums before calling it quits in 1998. Alias also released a live album in 2000.

Archers of Loaf- Icky Mettle

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I saw Daniel Striped Tiger last night at the Middle East (upstairs). Luckily they were on first and started promptly, so I could attend to my busy social life afterwards. Solid set- their first all together since April. Free DJ tickets are the best. Hopefully going to see the New Monuments, Heathen Shame, & others at Nom D'Artiste tonight.

I kind of wanted my first post back at school to be something ripped from vinyl, but I haven't had the time yet to figure out how to do that (luckily the regular preamp part functions though). Moving up to the sixth floor with no elevator is not the most enjoyable thing.

I'll be back on air (that's why this blog started although it kind of took on a life of its own) some time next week.

Teenbeat 100

I ventured to the Valley a couple days ago to get some supplies for tie dye. While I used to have to drive there every day of high school, I tend to avoid it now. As Johnny Drama recommends on Entourage, it's wise to avoid the Valley during the summer. I had to stop by Pagliacci’s for some of my favorite frozen yogurt since I was in the area.




Tie dye was accompanied Mario Kart- highly recommended on wii.



I had another flashback while going a bunch of old CDs in preparation for my trip to Amoeba… I sold a bunch back to finance my record purchases today. Mostly lots of indie rock from high school, but I did hang on to a couple. One of my favorites is Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville. I still love this album and could listen to it over & over. My biggest Liz phase was junior year of high school when I drove two sophomore boys to school. I would make them listen to “Fuck and Run” over and over at very high volumes. They loved me, needless to say.

Anyway, one of my favorite finds at Amoeba today was the Teenbeat 100 7". It was put out by the Washington, DC label in conjunction with its eighth anniversary celebrations in 1993 (March 18 to be specific). Ten songs, one minute each, ten minutes total.



Super '90s indie rockers featured include Tsunami, Unrest, Eggs, & Bratmobile.



TeenBeat was started in 1985 by Mark Robinson (of Unrest). Its last release was in 2005.

Other favorite Amoeba finds include the Simple Machines Inclined Plane comp (with Rodan, Tsunami, Unrest, & Superchunk), Glo-Worm & Belmondo 7"s for 50 cents each, Tsunami's Deep End, Meneguar's I Was Born at Night, and Shark by My Sexual Dad (third release on Not Not Fun).

I'm headed back to school on Sunday and will be moving in next week, so I'm not sure how much/if I'll get around to posting. If anyone has any tips for shipping back a large quantity of records, give a shout.

Teenbeat 100