Continuing on with my Noise Pop reviews, can I just first ask all of San Francisco to shrink down by about three inches? I’m 6’2”, and Friday’s shows proved to be another convention of tall people, all obstructing my view for most notably A Place to Bury Strangers. It’s cool though: by then end of the night I had eaten two great burritos, so everything is more than good.

Here is, if anyone cares, my thoughts on the evening:

1) The Builders and the Butchers - Sure, they’re from Portland, and sure, I’ve seen them a half dozen times, but it doesn’t matter: this is the next Portland band to make it big. If you don’t think so, you’re insane. It’s one thing to watch them in their home town with a bunch of rabid fans who are most likely their friends, but it’s a whole different beast to watch them completely win over a crowd of people who have never seen them before. I recommend trying the latter: it’ll make their greatness all that more prevalent.

2) A Place to Bury Strangers - Believe the hype! Noise, noise, and more noise, but done so in the most pop sense of the term. Their ear-shattering, mind-blowing set was pretty phenomenal. They managed to clear the uncomfortably-packed room both during and after their set, proving they are both too abrasive for the casual listener yet great enough to make people leave before the almighty Holy Fuck.

3) Holy Fuck - The band has played Portland twice in the last month, and if you haven’t managed to catch either show, I’m sorry. Seriously, this is a freaking live band. Quasi-dancey, yet totally experimental, they managed to recreate their record pretty true to form, which for a band with that much going on is no small feat. I’m always impressed with people doing live sound manipulation though, and these guys have it locked down. Hopefully they’ll be back soon, and hopefully you won’t miss it (like I had managed to do thus far) this time around.

4) Wale - Every time I think I like hip hop again, I see a live show and realize that I’m actually over it. I’m not super familiar with Wale’s material, but he had a DJ that pressed play on a laptop and then he managed to rap over what was clearly his own album, vocal parts and all. Even karaoke nuts perform more than this. Granted, I only caught a song and a half, but that was more than enough for me to not care.

HEY GRANDPA! GRANDMA WANTS HER SHIRT BACK!

While the paper this week recommends the New York Dolls shows tonight at Berbati’s, I’m going to have to go ahead and put a spike in that. This show is pure and total cash-in garbage. Watching David Johnason mince around the stage like grandpa before bath-time is a goddamn joke.

For some time I’ve had a saying: Kill Mick Jagger.

Blashemphy, you say! Hang on, hang on. Allow me to explain: I love the Stones as much as anyone, but they just need to stop putting on ruinous legacy tarnishing geriatric, lukewarm Superbowl performances and the like. Such amazing artists should know better. Show some class! And for gods-sake we don’t need to hear “Satisfaction” for the 8-millionth goddamn time. You think John Lennon would be licking corporate boot were he alive today? Hell no, he’d know better.

And so should the New York Dolls know better. Disagree with me all you want about my poorly explained Stones-theory (I haven’t eaten yet and just feeling twisted up in general… so this whole thing may be a stream-of-conscious mess) but at least their important members are ALIVE! Good goddamn… When will people learn? When the most important members of the band kick the bucket, LET THEIR MEMORY REST IN PIECE! ALL THINGS MUST EVENTUALLY END, EVEN IF YOU HAVEN’T YET.

And Jesus, Glam, of all musical styles, does not lend itself to a bunch a wrinkly old coots strutting around the stage as if they’re on the forefront of anything…. Give me a break. Knocking on Death’s door is only cool if you’re young.

I saw the Dolls on OPB recently (yeah, PBS, how fucking crazy punk rock is that?). It just made me cringe. I couldn’t even laugh. It wasn’t funny. It was sad.

So find a new band to see tonight, rather than pretending tonight you’re seeing a vital one. Johnny Thunders would be proud.

Check out this infectiously danceable new single from Gnarls Barkley entitled “Run”—which also happens to have a great video cameo from your heartthrob and mine, Justin Timberlake! All together now… EEEEEEE!
Even better, Timberlake plays the host of a Kid ‘n Play era dance show, which features some of the sweetest moves and bounciest booty I’ve seen since… well… the Kid ‘n Play era!

Yesterday, we posted a clip of “Sick as a Gun,” from Weinland’s new album. Here’s what singer/songwriter Adam Shearer said about the making of this song:

I had the guitar part, so we just recorded that. We were almost done with the whole record, and I hadn’t written a single lyric or a single melody and we were already mixing all the other songs. It was, like, we have to put vocals on this song or we’re fucked. We didn’t have money to do extra days [in the studio] or anything, so I just asked everybody to leave and I drank some whiskey and just wrote some stuff, and people came back and gave me feedback on my ideas, and we just laid it down and that was it. It was like, we’re gonna try this and see what it is, so out popped “Sick as a Gun,” which I think is one of the better tracks on the record. But that was very much, the whole song was recorded and done before I’d even written a lyric.

MP3:
Weinland - Sick as a Gun

La Lamentor comes out Tuesday, March 4.

Weinland plays a CD release show this Saturday, March 1.
w/Death Songs, Musee Mechanique; Doug Fir, 830 E Burnside, $10

Video not from last night…

As I mentioned earlier, I’m down in San Francisco at the Noise Pop music festival. There’s a ton of stuff going on, but I wanted to give you the rundown of what I managed to catch last night.

1) Throw Me the Statue - I was really excited to see these guys, especailly since they won’t be playing Portland any time soon. However, while the Great American Music Hall is a pretty venue, it wasn’t the right setting for the band. The space was too big and their sound echoed quite a bit, and it really didn’t do their electro-pop any favors, which is too bad because their new record, Moonbeams, is incredible. Might I suggest the Doug Fir, guys? You would kill there.

2) Bodies of Water - Without a doubt, these guys were the best of the night. The above video is of them performing live, just so you can try and get a taste of what they’re like in person. Stripped down to a four-piece of bass, drums, guitar and keys, all four members sang and often all harmonized together. Occasionally they didn’t hit the notes, or had to stretch outside of their range, but it didnt’ matter at all because they just passionately went for it. You’re going to be hearing a ton more about these guys post-SXSW and once their new record comes out, for sure.

3) Or, the Whale - Totally great Americana band from San Francisco. With seven people on stage they fell somewhere between Ryan Adams and Drive-By Truckers, and with a bit more experience under their belts, they’ll definitely be blowing the hell up.

4) The Dodos - By far the show I was most excited about, and by far the biggest let down. Not to say that the band was bad: they just weren’t great. On record, it’s their percussion that gets me every time, yet live it was totally subdued, not mind-melting like I was expecting. Plus, it probably didn’t help that both guys in the band (plus a mysterious third member) spent most of their time sitting down, and it seems like San Francisco has an exceptionally large number of tall people that all managed to be at this show, and all managed to block my line of sight. Boo for tall people!

The lone Spoon member to mess with Texas and relocate to Portland, Britt Daniel, has just taken part in the popular Black Cab Sessions. Below, Daniel performs “I Summon You” while riding in a cab and blatantly ignoring British seat belt laws.

Where are the Bobbies when you need them?

Want to know all the shhhhhhhhhh! information about the Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks MySpace secret show?

Well, it turns out that I’m “friends” with this guy named Tom and he told me (and only me, since we’re such close friends) that Malkmus and the Jicks are playing Tuesday March 4th at Satyricon.

Damn.

To get into this all-age (and free) event, read the details after the jump.

INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO GET INTO THE SHOW

You will need a wristband to get into the show. Writsbands will be available for pick up at Music Millennium's location between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M. on the day of the show.

Music Millennium is at 3158 E Burnside. The telephone number there is (503) 231-8926. They will also have the band's new album, Real Emotional Trash, on sale for $11.99.

Hey, the show is free, so maybe you should buy a copy, right?

ALSO, wristbands will be available at the club at the normal door times. However, THIS SHOW IS FIRST COME FIRST SERVED, so get there early and stay in line.

Sometimes I want to pull my hair out over how white and indie-rock End Hits can be. We are from Portland, but it’s no excuse. I will say, however, that in the last few weeks I haven’t caught wind of any exciting rap albums (have you? Post a comment below, if so).

So today we’re going for something a little different. It’s not indie rock, but it is white (though it sure don’t sound that way).

Without further ado, I present to you Eli Paperboy Reed (check “The Satisfier” on his Myspace, I couldn’t find a good video of it). Reed’s a throwback soul-singer from Massachusetts with baby face and one hell of a voice. Sure, he looks like a jazz-class nerd, but just get over that.

As well as the soul angle, Reed and his solid band take on doo-wop and early rock and roll. All in all, quite a satisfying mixture. Following perhaps in the steps of Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Reed and his group are releasing 45 record singles. And just like Jones and the Dap Kings, something tells me that Reed’s music really shines live.

There may not always be a reason to put a throwback album on the turntable when you can listen to the real thing, but when it’s up, sweating, shaking and blaring in front of you, there’s really nothing better. Soul music is just so timeless—as fads come and go, it’ll always remain.

Well, there’s not much to be said for terrestrial radio at this point, but Little Steven (aka Silvio) sometimes plays some choice nuggets on his Underground Garage show. In the most recent episode, he pays homage to the birthplace of garage rock, i.e. the Pacific Northwest. The show’s highlights are tunes by bands from the ’60s that hailed from Portland, Tacoma, Seattle and Vancouver—including the Wailers, Paul Revere & the Raiders, and the Kingsmen—so if you’re looking for something to listen to today, you can check it out here. Warning: you’ll probably also hear Pearl Jam, Hendrix, and a shamelessly self-promoting Springsteen tune.

CHOW NASTY, VELELLA VELELLA, THE GOMORRAN SOCIAL AID & PLEASURE CLUB, THE BEAUTY (Holocene, 1001 SE Morrison) The jury is still out on San Francisco’s Chow Nasty. Granted, they seem like an act that is a blast in the live setting, but their glutinous frat-funk seems a bit too ironic to be taken completely seriously. Meanwhile, Seattle’s Velella Velella are the real deal, an intelligent dance outfit that masterfully utilizes live band warmth alongside bumping synths that beg to soundtrack some intense dance floor grinding. Fresh with a new EP, Fight Club, which—if you don’t mind me breaking the “The first rule of Fight Club is: You do not talk about Fight Club” mantra—showcases a natural evolution of their thick indie grooves and soft spoken/sung vocals. One of the few non-Portland Hush Records acts, Velella Velella have masterminded a style that is entirely their own. Here’s hoping more folks catch up to what they are throwing down. EZRA ACE CARAEFF

NEW BLOODS, AGENT RIBBONS, THE VAGINALS, ALAS ALAK ALASKA (Dunes, 1905 NE MLK) Punk’s not dead, but it’s not as obviously alive as it used to be. Today’s punk is crafty and sometimes quiet, discovering itself rather than acting as a liberty-spiked counterpoint to a mainstream that has seen it all. Think No Age. Think Mika Miko. Like some sort of thin, new branch of modern dance music, punk is again in its budding infancy; growing toward a light only it can see. Portland’s New Bloods are a barely electric example of this organic rebirth—sawing imperfectly at a violin, tapping out virginal ska beats, harmonizing about mountains and oceans. The female trio’s forthcoming Kill Rock Stars debut, The Secret Life, grows memorable at a steady clip. “Fast Asleep” and “Eyes” could be Operation Ivy-thick, but with players possibly reared on Erase Errata and the Aislers Set, they sound more sustainable. MIKE MEYER

RISK VS. REWARD: FIST FITE, STARFUCKER, DJ TOBIAS, DJ METRONOME, PAPERBACKS (Rotture, 315 SE 3rd) For such a puddletown, Portland sure does love to get d-o-w-n. From soul nights, to hiphop, to bhangra, and on and on, we seem to have grown an overabundance of dance parties, and with them, a reinvigorated love for reckless booty shaking and general dance floor mayhem. To that end, Risk vs. Reward joins the pack with a lineup that includes the mishmash of careening death-punk and electro beats of Fist Fite, alongside the delicious (almost guilty pleasure) undertones of Starfucker, who strike the perfect balance of musical smarts and pop twists. DJ Tobias, DJ Metronome, and Paperbacks round out the night with, well, whateverthefuck they feel like. Dance on, Portland! “Genre Anti-Genre Dance Party,” indeed. HANNAH CARLEN

We’ve harped on and on about our fanboy obsession with the Gutter Twins, but we haven’t said a peep about their tour partners Great Northern. Their debut recording Trading Twilight for Daylight is an absolute gem, a grand throwback to (guilt-free) ’90s radio alt-pop that has, naturally, garnered many a spin locally on 94.7fm.

In honor of Great Northern, we are giving away a pair of tickets to see them (along with the sensitive crooners, Dulli/Lanegan) on Monday, March 3rd at the Wonder Ballroom.

As always, the rules are simple. Just comment below and explain why you deserve the tickets to see Great Northern more than anyone else does. The best comment by this Friday at 5pm will win the tickets and be the envy of all their petty friends.

MP3:
Great Northern - Telling Lies

VIDEO:
Great Northern - Home

Know what the kids are listening to these days?
The Higher, that’s who.

While I don’t condone the underage gambling in the video below (they aren’t 21, right?) or the singer’s delicate locks, it’s hard to deny a band that sounds like Maroon 5 for the kiddie emo set. Anyway, the band will be melting teenage hearts here at the Hawthorne Theatre (with Sherwood) on Saturday, March 22nd and we are giving away a pair of tickets.

To win, just comment below on why you deserve the tickets.
That’s all. The best comment by next Monday (March 3rd) at 9am wins. Good luck, kids!

The Higher - “Insurance”

In about an hour I’m leaving for San Francisco to attend this year’s Noise Pop music festival. And while I’m super-excited to eat one of these and shop here over the weekend, what I think I’m most excited about is seeing The Dodos.

Above is the video for “Fools”, the first single off their new record Visiter, which is shaping up to be one of my favorites of the year. I can’t quite yet label what I find so engaging about them, but the fact that they remind me of an unpretentious Animal Collective isn’t hurting their case any. I can’t wait to see how they manage, as a two-piece, to translate their music to a live setting. It should be good, since the percussion is only going to be that much more mind melting in person.

Visister comes out on March 18th on French Kiss Records.

Another Mercury music section to read while you sip your morning tea and take a gander at the new Abu Ghraib images (NSFW!) that have appeared online. Yay America!

Mark Lanegan and Greg Dulli on the same stage? At the same time? Together? On purpose? Oh dear lord, this Gutter Twins thing is going to get dirty.
MP3:
Gutter Twins - Idle Hands

Not all of the New York Dolls are kicking it in Glam Rock Heaven, a few of them are actually still alive, and touring.
MP3:
New York Dolls - We’re All in Love

The new album from Weinland feels like a soft kiss, followed by a blunt punch to your very soul. It’s a really interesting combination of delicate pleasure and pulsating emotional pain.
MP3:
Weinland - Sick As A Gun

Sole is easily in my top five favorite emcees from the Coconino National Forest. Okay, top three.
MP3:
Sole & The Skyrider Band - The Shipwreckers

Gutter Twins photo courtesy of Sam Holden

Well, we gave you a Panther remix just a short while ago, but now here’s Portland’s own 8-bit superstar Copy getting his knobs all mussed up with the crazed soul shriek of Charlie and Joe.

Panther, Copy. Copy, Panther. Oh, who am I kidding? You guys know each other!

MP3:
Panther - On the Lam (Copy remix)

In other Panther news, 14kt God just came out on Kill Rock Stars, and they’re trekking to some little music thing-a-ma-jig called South by Southwest. (I hope people show up!) What’s more, they’ve just announced some California dates with the Gossip. But not before they play a hometown show at Holocene on Thursday, March 6!

Since it’s such a gorgeous day, let’s perk up the mood ’90s-style with this feel-good song about the importance of good dental health. Watch if you will Shanice’s 1991 hit, I Love Your Smile, and try not to be overcome with the goddamn cuteness of the whole affair.
The best part of this video: 1) Shanice is as cute as a freaking button. 2) I wish everyone still danced the way they do in these dance sequences. 3) When Shanice says “Psych!” you don’t want to punch her in the face. 4) And my favorite improvised line from this song, which I use on nearly a daily basis: “Blow, Branford, BLOW!”
The worst part of the video: 1) The photographer dude, and how he looks like a stalker, and that guy from C+C Music Factory. 2) The photographer dude taking still pictures of a dance routine. Get a video camera, idiot!

By the way, I love YOUR smile, too.

Check out this retro-tastic video from Brooklyn’s A Place to Bury Strangers. I am not sure what is happening here, but I like it. It’s a blissed-out, stoned take on ’70s sci-fi flicks, complete with forbidden interracial love, bad costumes, and horses racing on the open plain. Also, there are exploding volcanoes and some old dude with awesome shoulder pads leering into the camera.

My reaction to A Place to Bury Stranger’s music depends on my mood. Sometimes it seems overly noisy, and I am not always patient enough to give it the attention it deserves. But if I give it a moment, and sift through the effects pedals and blurry white noise, I find melodies and emotions as potent as those of the Jesus & Mary Chain (an easy reference point). It’s bubble gum wrapped in static and aluminum foil; this video is the perfect illustration of how APTBS’s music sounds like it was beamed from a far-off planet, and we’re only getting invaluable artifacts and fragments of the transmission.

A Place to Bury Strangers plays tonight with Holy Fuck and the Upsidedown. Doug Fir Lounge, 830 E Burnside, 9 pm, $12 at the door

Hatcham Social know the way to my heart. It’s a pretty easy path, actually. All it takes is:

1) Some jangly guitars
2) A pinch of distortion
3) Twee as fuck lyrics
4) A video that looks like a Liquid Television throwaway

Their new album So So Happy Making comes out on March 3rd, and if this single is any indication, I’ve just found myself a new band to love.

In honor of his upcoming Colin Meloy Sings Live! release on Kill Rock Stars, here is an MP3 of Colin Meloy.

Singing.

Live.

The record, out on April 8th, is pretty charming, as Meloy takes on old favorites, plenty of covers (including a medley!), and chuckles it up with the crowd. He also just wrapped up Colin Meloy Sings Sam Cooke, a new tour-only covers EP (previous cover EPs have been in honor of Shirley Collins and The Smiths), and is hard at work on Colin Meloy Sings Smashmouth* and Colin Meloy Sings UGK (R.I.P. Pimp C)* as well.

MP3:
Colin Meloy - We Both Go Down Together (Live)

PRE-ORDER:
Colin Meloy Sings Live!

* total lie.

There is a fair amount of local music news out there, here is a rundown (complete with handy bullet points):

• Carrie Brownstein (formerly of Sleater-Kinney and avid Rock Band player) blogs about seeing Blitzen Trapper’s performance at the Artistery this past Saturday, plus her fear of catching scabies at the venue. That’s nothing, does anyone remember the dilapidated sofas at the old Meow Meow? I wouldn’t sit on those couches if I was wearing one of these.

• Want to hear Real Emotional Trash, the excellent new record from Stephen Malkmus and The Jicks? Want to do so while you look for that totally free $500 Macy’s gift card? Well, you can stream the entire record at his MySpace page (Malkspace! Trademark™ that shit!), which should hold you over until its proper release next Tuesday. Now if only he would play a secret show that night (more on that later)…

• Now that pledge week is over (Do they really need to broadcast the sound of every phone ringing?), the folks at OPB’s Think Out Loud are running a program devoted to Portland music. Guests will include Ron Blessinger (Third Angle), Terry Currier (Music Millennium), Icelandic doom metal enthusiast Kristian Foden-Vencil and Courtney von Drehle (3 Leg Torso). The program airs today at 9am (OMG! Hurry up!!), and will also be archived online on their site (oh, never mind then).

• Just a reminder: Please please please email the OLCC regarding their Minor Postings Amendment. You can get more information, and an email template, right here.

This’ll jump start your evening.

Billy Preston became much more famous in later years by playing keys for the Beatles. Did you know he could move like that? Did you know ANYBODY could move like that?

Hot damn. And I haven’t even mentioned the suit.

Don’t worry music fans! Those brilliant old white men behind the big desks in Hollywood have a plan! What plan, you ask? To hire that jackoff Perez Hilton to do A&R! That ought to do it. Forget any real restructuring—that Soulless Purveyor of consumer culture will do just fine.

At any rate I guess the industry decided that cheap thrills and ringtones will one day triumph over meaningful art. (Sad thing is they’ll succeed in making it true. Whether or not they are SHOULD is another thing…)

WAIT JUST A DAMN MINUTE

I challenge YOU, record industry, to double down! I too am a snarky internet blog writer (plus I’m way better looking than Fatso there! And we all know how Tinseltown feels about looks). I’ll go toe to toe with Hilton any day on music, writing, IQ, basketball, dexterity, balance, shouting, puking, you name it. Let’s throwdown, motherfucker! I’ll beat you at ANYTHING except a popularity contest, which is gross and I reject the notion of popularity as any indicator of actual worth (do you?).

SO SIGN ME, THE VENERABLE ANDREW R TONRY, TO AN A&R JOB!

I’ll do it for half of what you’re paying Fatso. All I’m really interested in—other than hearing and sharing good music—are righteous expense and travel accounts. I know I could bring you home some serious projects. They may not sell a lot of ringtones, but if we get lucky we’ll back something that, 20 or 40 years down the road, people will still be talking about.

Go for it! Get some balls and set me free!

(Disclaimer: I don’t believe in collagen injections, boob jobs, spary on tans, Hollywood, velvet ropes, Mickey Avalon, Paris Hilton, class, cars, status, trophy wives/boyfriends/girlfriends, Von Dutch, faux-hippies, corporate sponsors (except when the booze is free), Laurel Canyon, the Movie Industry, Beckam, etc… oh, and being on time. Not super good at that either. But hey, down in L.A., who is, right?)

I’m sorry. Crystal Castles are still 10 days away from playing here, but I needed to post this song right this very second.

MP3:
Little Ones - Lovers Who Uncover (Crystal Castles Remix)

No song can step to this right now.
And although I have a feeling that the Castles’ live show will be just that, a live show, and not a DJ set, I’m still looking forward to it. Regardless, this remix is absolutely adorable, and sounds like the “Send Me An Angel” of the indie-dance generation.

If you see me at the show, say hello. I’ll be the one on the Huffy dancing with Uncle Jesse’s wife.

In this post Ezra mentions being thankful YouTube doesn’t have a play count feature. I am also thankful, because I really don’t want to know how many times I’ve watched the above clip for Teenage Fanclub’s “Everything Flows”.

This has long been my favorite Teenage Fanclub song (with a serious handful of runners-up, including “God Knows It’s True” and all of Bandwagonesque), and, as the start to 1990’s A Catholic Education, is easily one of the greatest opening tracks on any album ever.

I am a bit befuddled by the voice over at the beginning calling them “many people’s favourite new noise outfit” though, because noise and Teenage Fanclub are never words I use in the same sentence. I guess it makes a bit of sense though, because they ultimately destroy “Everything Flows” in the above clip. Like really destroy. And Jesus if that crowd isn’t eating up every bit of it.

Our pal Andrew has already sung the praises of the anti-folk genius Jeffrey Lewis, but I need to chime in as well.

My first exposure with Lewis was the video below, which absolutely seized control of my life minutes after watching it. Thank god You Tube doesn’t monitor how often I view a clip, because if they did I’d be embarrassed how many times I’ve watched it. Same thing with this video as well, but that’s another story.

Jeffrey Lewis - “Williamsburg Will Oldham Horror”

There are so many amazing lines in that song that it’s a little staggering to digest them all in one sitting. Few songs sum up the struggle and compromise of living an artistic lifestyle like Lewis does here, plus it warns listeners that confronting a Will Oldham lookalike inside a subway car is probably a bad idea.

After you become obsessed with Lewis—like we all have here—you’ll probably want to watch this crude live performance of “The Chelsea Hotel Oral Sex Song.” Lewis pens an entire song based on Leonard Cohen’s most famous lyric, but unlike Quebec’s finest singer, he didn’t get any action on that unmade bed (“First get the oral sex, then write the song after”).

Jeffrey Lewis opens for the Mountain Goats tonight at Doug Fir.

I recently did an interview with Panther and we spent time talking about the difficulties of being—or trying to be—a working musician. From the “people need to buy albums” angle, the touring tolls and costs, and so forth.

Then I read this great story about aging jazz musicians who can’t afford health insurance by Nate Chinen, and it really hammered things home. Also be sure to check out cancer afflicted Andrew D’Angelo’s blog (one of the story’s subjects) where he writes often about the ordeal. It’s heavy, very sad, but also enlightening. An excerpt:

I’m very angry today. I’m incredibly upset, depressed and not in a good place because of the news I received at my meeting with the neurologist yesterday. (Actually, I think he’s a ‘neurooncologist’ or however you fucking spell that). Anyway, FUCK CANCER SHIT!!!!! AND FUCK THE TREATMENT OF THIS BULLSHIT!!!!…

So, I have been prescribed to take radiation treatment for 6 weeks, 4/5 days a week starting as soon as possible… Now I have to take puke fucking toxic bullshit…

It’s not all that combative, so take a look. And if you can, make a donation.

Searching for a solution to this, I hit a wall. How do we support the people in our lives that, through music, make them worth living or at least tolerable?

Then it hit me. It’s so simple (well, at least the healthcare bit). THIS COUNTRY NEEDS UNIVERSAL COVERAGE! So, if you’ve got a few more bucks to spare, maybe you should give them to this guy. And stick one of these pins on the ol’ guitar strap or messenger bag.

A new all-ages venue has opened up in Salem, bringing a solid line-up of shows to our capital city. They’re hoping to be a haven for music, art, and progressive culture, and have already kicked things off with a bunch of shows over the past couple weeks. The Space is at 1132 NE Broadway (on the corner of Broadway and Belmont) in Salem. Click on the jump to view their current schedule.

All performances are $5 and are ALL AGES.

FALCON REUNION! with Monotonix from ISRAEL
Tuesday, February 26th @ 7pm

Chris Jones and Ronan Baker
Thursday, February 28th @ 8pm

Love Machine, Black Eyes and Neckties (Bellingham)
Friday, February 29th @ 7pm

The Nodding Tree Remedies & Plants
Saturday, March 1st @ 8pm

Mae Starr art opening party: with Kalaloch, Moodring and Paint & Copter
Wednesday, March 5th @ 7pm

Barracks of Afghanistan, The Blacklights & guests
Thursday, March 6th @ 7pm

Rock and Roll with The Buttfrenchers, Phantom! and Magic
Friday, March 7th @ 7pm

Soylent Sons, Miss Massive Snowflake (PDX), The Nextdoor Neighbors (Olympia)
Saturday, March 8th @ 7pm

Justin Bennett, Whiskey Priest & guests
Thursday, March 13th @ 8pm

Umber Sleeping, Reverse Dotty and The Candy Cane Shivs (PDX), Omegatone
Friday, March 14th @ 7pm

Mark Lemhouse, Mickey Bare, Timmy Myles
Sunday, March 16th @ 7pm

Moothart, A Pack of Wolves (Santa Rosa, CA), Quirk Monarch
Wed, March 19th @ 7pm

The Worrynauts, Modernstate, Bo Monro
Thursday, March 20th @ 8pm

The Navy, The Stone Soldiers, DemiLemon
Friday, March 21st @ 7pm

Speed Pigs (ex Righteous Animal) , The Awful Din & guests
Saturday, March 22 @ 7pm

Quaker vs. Computer, Digital Lov (Utah), The Mystechs (Chicago)
Tuesday, March 25th @ 7pm

Sister Ray, We Are Street
Wednesday, March 26th @ 8pm

The Coast (from Toronto), Fast Pace Slow Race & guests
Friday, March 28th @ 7pm

Breviamor, Insects & guests
Saturday, March 29th @ 8pm

Sabbath Bloody Sabbath- Metal brunch with The Thrones, Pussygutt & Tecumseh
Sunday March 30th @ 3pm

Dear Every Other Album of 2008 That Isn’t From the Valley to the Stars:

You just got your ass handed to you.

Love,
Rob

Rush rush rush rush RUSH your ass over to Myspace right now. For reals. Sarah Assbring, aka El Perro Del Mar, has posted her entire new album From the Valley to the Stars for your listening pleasure!

Who knows how long the entire thing will available, so grab your headphones, turn on your out of office auto reply, put your phone on do not disturb, and enjoy the hell out of this thing while you still can.

The Sasquatch Music Festival has just announced the line-up for the 2008 Festival, to take place Memorial Day weekend, May 24-26.

It’s a good-looking line-up: The Cure, the Breeders, the National, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks, Beirut, Destroyer, and Throw Me the Statue are just a few of the names to get excited about.

Tickets go on sale Saturday March 8th at noon.

Complete list after the jump!

R.E.M. / The Cure / The Flaming Lips U.F.O. Show / Death Cab For Cutie / Modest Mouse / M.I.A. / Flight Of The Conchords / Rodrigo Y Gabriela / Michael Franti & Spearhead / The Breeders / Built To Spill / The Hives / Tegan & Sara / The Presidents / Ghostland Observatory / Ozomatli / The New Pornographers / Blue Scholars / The National / The Kooks / Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks / Cold War Kids / Beirut / Rogue Wave / Okkervil River / Fleet Foxes / Kinski / Mates of State / Crudo (featuring Mike Patton & Dan The Automator) / Sera Cahoone / Battles / Destroyer / Dyme Def / The Blakes / Pela / Jamie Lidell / The Cops / Dengue Fever / Siberian / Say Hi / White Rabbits / David Bazan / The Little Ones / "Awesome" / Dead Confederate / The Heavenly States / 65daysofstatic / Grand Archives / Vince Mira with the Roy Kay Trio / Joshua Morrison / Throw Me The Statue / J. Tillman / Thao Nguyen with the Get Down Stay Down / The Cave Singers / Matt Costa / The Shaky Hands

Some very sad news to report, influential musician (and the “Father of Christian Rock”) Larry Norman passed away yesterday, he was 60 years old.

Norman, a resident of Salem, rose to fame as the frontman for People!, and then later was known for his fantastic solo work. While unfortunately saddled with the “Jesus Rock” title, Norman’s music recklessly broke from the church on most all religious issues, and instead offered radical views on global politics (especially Vietnam) and his own personal strife. Never a cheerleader for the faith, Norman was a very complicated individual whose unconventional beliefs often alienated him from the church, while his religious content scared away secular music fans.

His music has influenced everyone from Paul McCartney to Pete Townshend, and was especially important to Frank Black, who often went out of his way to speak highly of Norman’s work.

MP3:
Larry Norman - I Love You

Larry Norman - I Am The Six o’ Clock News

His brother Charles wrote a nice memorial, it’s after the jump. Also, Norman’s work was about to receive it’s first proper retrospective treatment, courtesy of local label Arena Rock Recordings, it will be out on May 27th. It’s very sad that he did not live to see that.

Hello everybody.

Our friend and my wonderful brother Larry passed away at 2:45 Sunday
morning. Kristin and I were with him, holding his hands and sitting in
bed with him when his heart finally slowed to a stop. We spent this past
week laughing, singing, and praying with him, and all the while he had
us taking notes on new song ideas and instructions on how to continue
his ministry and art.

Several of you friends here got to come and visit with him in the last
couple of weeks and were a great source of help and friendship to Larry.
Ray Sievers, Derek Robertson, Mike Makinster, Matt Simmons, and a few
more. Thank you guys. Larry appreciated your visits very much. And he
greatly appreciated the thoughts, wishes, support and prayers that came
from all of you Army members on a daily basis. Thank you for being part
of his small circle of friends over the years. Yesterday afternoon he
knew he was going to go home to God very soon and he dictated the
following message to you while his friend Allen Fleming typed these
words into Larry's computer:
________________________________

I feel like a prize in a box of cracker jacks with God's hand reaching
down to pick me up. I have been under medical care for months. My wounds are
getting bigger. I have trouble breathing. I am ready to fly home.

My brother Charles is right, I wont be here much longer. I cant do
anything about it. My heart is too weak. I want to say goodbye to
everyone. In the past you have generously supported me with prayer and
finance and we will probably still need financial help

My plan is to be buried in a simple pine box with some flowers inside.
But still it will be costly because of funeral arrangement,
transportation to the gravesite, entombment, coordination, legal papers etc.
However money is not really what I need, I want to say I love you.

I'd like to push back the darkness with my bravest effort. There will be
a funeral posted here on the website, in case some of you want to
attend. We are not sure of the date when I will die. Goodbye, farewell,
we will meet again.

Goodbye, farewell, we'll meet again
Somewhere beyond the sky.
I pray that you will stay with God
Goodbye, my friends, goodbye.

Larry
________________________________________

Thank you to all of you who were so nice to my brother over the years.
Kristin and I will post funeral information in the next day or two.
Right now we're not able to function very well, but the whole family is
here... our mother Margaret, our sisters Nancy and Kristy, Mike Norman
and his new wife Tiffany, and Silver.

We miss him beyond words. Thank you for everything.

Peace to you all in Christ,

Charles Norman