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September 22, 2004
Rock and Roll Week
Only 10 more days until the Pixies make their triumphant return to Lincoln. I've heard nothing but good things about their tour so far and it's a good sign that they've been touring almost non-stop for 9 months now and Kim and Frank haven't killed each other. A new album is the next step.
Two days later, The Faint will be back in their hometown of Omaha for a really big shooow on the heels of the release of their new album Wet From Birth. I don't know if I'll make this one since it's on a Monday night. I've only heard a little bit from the new record but it sounds pretty good. There's also a lamely written article about them in the new Spin.
I haven't been listening to much new music at all lately. The Thrills, who will be opening for the Pixies in 10 days, have a new album out, Let's Bottle Bohemia, which I should probably hear before the show so I'm not totally bored waiting for The Pixies. I also havent' heard the new Kasey Chambers album, Wayward Angel, either. Maybe I'm afraid it won't be as good as her first two. I don't know.
The one I'm really looking forward to is the new Le Tigre album, This Island, which drops on October 19. A lot of noise has been made by the self-appointed indie rawk police about their jump to a major label after so many years of eschewing the mainstream a la Fugazi, but I say "more power to 'em."
Kathleen Hanna has been putting out records since 1991, first for Bikini Kill (I heart Riot Grrls), and then for Le Tigre. Why not grab a little of that cynical corporate cash now that there's a new emphasis on signing indie bands? Sure it won't last, but if the new single "TKO" is any indication, they should at least get some MTV play. Poppy synth-punk is the new garage band.
I remember seeing Bikini Kill at a little all-ages club that is now a bar for deadheads and Phish fans back in 94, not too long after Kathleen made her MTV debut as the cute dancing grrl in Sonic Youth's "Bull in the Heather" video. It was one of the most fun shows I've ever been to. Kathleen's energy was infectious even though no one else did cartwheels through the crowd like she did. I chatted with her a little bit after the show and she was very engaging. My crush on Ms. Hanna has subsided a little bit over the years, but her band's music just keeps getting better.
Posted by Half-Cocked at September 22, 2004 02:17 PM
Comments
I'm going to a show this weekend with The Violent Femmes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Echo and the Bunnymen, etc...should be very fun!
Posted by: energy spatula at September 22, 2004 04:15 PM
Ooh, sounds good. I'm jealous. So much more to do in those TVPNWM's.
Posted by: Steve at September 22, 2004 05:03 PM
Energy, love the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I used to see the Pixies all the time around Boston in 1986, usually on the same bill as Throwing Muses. And now they're a nostalgia act. Man, I'm old. I'm also the son of a motherfucker. I'm just sayin'
Posted by: Rufus at September 22, 2004 07:58 PM
Rufus, what about the Blake Babies?
Posted by: Steve at September 22, 2004 09:12 PM
Blake Babies!! Many times, as well as the Lemonheads. I also slightly knew Freda, and I had a girlfriend who several years after she dumped me went out with John (I think that was his name) and took the photo on the back of the (I think) second record (Earwig?). Oh yeah, I briefly worked at a record store in the Garage in Harvard Square with Tanya from Throwing Muses, but I got fired. Yup, Boston rock scenester. Now I'm a lawyer for an insurance company. I think I need to go kill myself now. Sob.
Posted by: Rufus at September 22, 2004 09:36 PM
Oh yeah, I also have some King Missle connections, but now I'm just name dropping.
Posted by: Rufus at September 22, 2004 09:42 PM
I suppose you were Lou Barlow's roommate for awhile, too.
Posted by: Steve at September 22, 2004 09:56 PM
That would be really cool. But no, I don't think I knew anyone who knew the Dinosaur, Jr. guys. They might not have ever lived in Boston. I think they were from Amherst in western Mass. The King Missle connections go way way back to high school in the 1970s. You know that John S. Hall is a lawyer now? His firm has a web site, and he's doing pretty well.
Posted by: Rufus at September 22, 2004 10:05 PM
Ha! I didn't know that. I like that his practice area allows him to play up King Missile in his bio. The part where the bio explains the use of "germinal" instead of "seminal" in describing King Missile as the "the germinal* spoken word-with-music band" is kind of funny.
Posted by: Steve at September 22, 2004 10:25 PM