As a cheesy tattoo reality show once said, "Every body has a story." I know at least some of you have studied mine. Can each curve, bump, puffy lip and turn of ankle tell something essential? Is there a side my friends don't see when we get wasted and they watch me stumble towards my ever-solidifying destiny of holy goof-ness?

As I write this, I'm sitting in a motel in Flagstaff, Arizona, downing Emergen-C with my Miller Lite and nursing multiple battle injuries. I'm in the bathtub so as not to disturb my sleeping companions, who've just informed me I go at the keyboard like I have a grudge against it. As always, South by Southwest happened so hard and fast I'm still trying to figure out if I dreamed it all. I threw out my bag of SXSW crap. Pictures glow from the screen, but what I can touch is my body. I see its marks, I feel them, and, when I press on them, they fucking hurt. Maybe they can map a way back into this rapidly receding thing. After all, I'm pretty sure I was there.

Bruise on Top of Left Foot

This happened when I saw HEARTSREVOLUTION at Beauty Bar. Their sexy electro had all the drunks jumping up and down so joyously no one noticed if they stomped on a foot or two, least of all mine. Leila Safai is the ultimate party pixie, packing mondo energy into her tiny frame, then shooting it at you. Am I allowed to quote myself? Oh well, I'm doing it anyway.

Source: The New York Press

The chance to get those tits out came swiftly in the form of a surprise run-in with my old friend Merlin Bronques. Naked in the bathroom at Beauty Bar just like the old days. I almost shed tears of nostalgia, it was such a throwback. Merlin makes me look pretty even when I'm not wearing concealer and haven't slept or put down the bottle in days. Kind of busted but in a hot way, maybe? I love that man.

Scrape on Upper Right Thigh

This happened when I was jumping a fence in an attempt to climb up on the roof of Ms. Bea's to see Health pound out a fitting finale to Todd P's orgy of unofficial rocking. Regular clumsiness worsened by hits off someone's joint, that evil fence caught me in the ass-thigh just when I thought I'd cleared it. It also caught my nice new American Apparel pencil skirt (please send free shit), revealing my purple leopard print undies to all. A good Samaritan helped free me and didn't even stare at my ass, that I know of.

From the roof a panoramic soundscape unfolded. For two minutes, all was sheer noisy bliss, with breezes and crackling sound currents intermingling. Then Todd yelled at us to abort before the scrap wood shanty that is Ms. Bea's collapsed. Like a cat in a tree, I spun all gears puzzling over just how to get down. Unlike that cat, I showed more people my ass before falling unceremoniously into the underbrush.

Bruise on Left Buttock

Followed by:

Assorted Thigh Bruises, Leg Abrasions

It's hard to recall just when and where each of these occurred. I know I woke up with some on Sunday, some Monday, so it's a good bet to say the first group of friends came to me as I floated into the numerous bony people and assorted unforgiving obstacles at the Vice party. When I arrived, Titus Andronicus were playing. Their noisy, anthemic rock with shaky vocals reminds me simultaneously of early Bright Eyes and Bruce Springsteen. I pushed up to the front and went to town. Unlike most afterparties, I didn't feel like shit by the end. This was due to the fact that the only free booze was tequila, which falls out of my mouth like poison, and beer, which I can only drink so much of. Despite missing my old pal whiskey, I sampled a veritable thali plate of Hunter's little helpers, which interfered with one another and cancelled each other out until I was so fucked I wasn't fucked at all.

The next night I went to the most awesomely terrifying party the world has ever seen. Bike punks, fireworks and broken glass spelled F-U-N. More bruising was a given but I counted myself lucky to have escaped with my face intact. I'm a tad neurotic about the ol' shana punim, as I know it'll be my primary dick-bait when I get fat.

Mega Scrape on Left Knee

Somewhere along the line I managed to meet a boy who likes all the same weird things as me. When he asked me to ride on his handlebars (no mustache) I thought my wee heart might pop. We felt it would be best to let Asobi Seksu cloak us in their layered mass of sound, with loud whispers of Cocteau tumbling from Yuki Chikudate's pretty mouth. Afterwards, I rode again with squeals of failing to be serious and coy until an unscheduled date with pavement (no Malkmus) ended it. The blood poured down into my dirty boot but I couldn't stop laughing at its sheer red ridiculousness. It keeps on cracking and sprouting little beads, but I don't mind since I know it'll heal eventually and it helps me remember how much I love that goddamn music festival.



Hunter is a Brooklyn-based writer currently contributing to Vice, The New York Press, Impose, and The L Magazine. If you email her at hunter.suicide AT gmail DOT com, chances are she'd love to add your publication to that list. Seriously, she's got some time on her hands.

Whether it’s just a big tax write-off, some sort of heavy metal promotion campaign or part of a much grander scheme, I could care less why car-manufacturer Scion and Vice Magazine decided to fly out thirty bands to Atlanta, Georgia for a free festival last February. I hear a lot of noise about corporate companies infiltrating the underground scene (come on now, B9), but whoever can throw around that kind of cash and spends it on names like Mastodon, High On Fire, Boris, Converge, Neurosis, and Baroness is pretty okay in my book. We can talk about politics some other time, though.

After mingling with a horde of gorgeous SuicideGirls in Las Vegas for a week to shoot an upcoming DVD, I traveled down south to witness the destruction that was about to go down at Scion Rock Fest. California ragers Trash Talk were set to play a warehouse show in the ATL the night I arrived, so after the chaos that went on there and a stop at a sketchy liquor store the party was definitely on in room 1918 at the Renaissance.

Upon arrival at the Masquerade the next day, the queue outside was insane. Thousands of metalheads had been waiting outside the venue all morning to get into the fest that had everyone talking for the past couple of months. While Trash Talk set up their gear at the Heaven stage (the other two indoor rooms being Purgatory and Hell), I decide to go outside and check out Kylesa. While I dig their records, the Savannah-based sludge metal band isn’t doing it for me today, just as the sound does nothing for Laura’s vocals. However, some of the tracks off their upcoming release Static Tensions are still haunting me in the best way possible.

Back in Heaven, it’s not the first and won’t be the last time I’ll see blood spilled at a Trash Talk show. Even though their line-up this weekend is incomplete (singer Lee is MIA due to a fractured kneecap), the Sacramento hardcore band is solid and as violent as one can only hope for. They are without a doubt the black sheep among this array of doom, sludge and stoner metal, but a fifteen-minute set is all they need to convince their largely unfamiliar audience. I hurry to catch the last song or two of Torche, who have been growing on me for a while now and seem to get better every time I see them on stage. The song Healer is as catchy as a stoner band can get.

One of the bands I have been dying to see today is Baroness, fronted by John Baizley (known for his iconic artwork gracing record sleeves and T-shirts of bands like Cursed, Daughters, Darkest Hour, and Pig Destroyer). The four-piece is sounding heavier and more colossal than ever, I don’t know if their riffs could get any more epic. I kind of want their amps to go to eleven. The same goes for Boris, which is enough reason for the Japanese experimental rock trio to have reached cult-status over the years. Named after a Melvins song, Boris is absolutely one of the most impressive live bands to play at the Masquerade today. Their droning sound is downright hypnotic, largely attributed to guitarist Wata, who by the way is without contest the cutest girl here.

Although I don’t get to see much of Richmond grind thrashers Pig Destroyer, they shred harder than I remembered and sound about as evil as last Summer’s Carcass reunion. Not so diabolical but worshiped by stoners worldwide for the past decade, High On Fire proves to still be unparalleled. Matt Pike (previously of the hugely influential stoner/doom formation Sleep) has an unreal throat that seems to have been created for the sole purpose of fronting this fucking epic band.



Opening with one of my favorite (and most recognizable) songs, Plagues, Boston hardcore band Converge is in excellent shape tonight. With crushing riffs, bone-chilling vocals and ear-shattering percussion, their setlist has been perfected to shut up even the most critical of Converge fans by including Concubine and The Broken Vow, as well as earlier work such as Locust Reign. Creating a sound that has been imitated by many but mastered by few, Converge have yet to fail me.



After witnessing the blood and sweat shed in Heaven, I join the masses outside to a darker and colder space where Neurosis are set to perform. Being the second to last band, they take the main stage to assault my senses with a wall of sound for a solid 90 minutes. The six-headed Oakland outfit effortlessly integrates doom metal with industrial influences to create a truly unique and macabre ambiance. Formed in 1985(!), Neurosis has continually raised the bar in its genre and tonight proves to be no exception.

There is no denying that Mastodon has become one of metal’s leading American heavy metal bands since the release of their 2002 debut Remission, and the Grammy nomination wasn’t a coincidence either. While the Atlanta natives aren’t typically my metallic cup of tea, they conjure an intensity that cuts through flesh and bone and the majority of their peers can only dream of. With three records under their belt and a highly anticipated LP due on March 24, Mastodon is in good company when Neurosis guitarist and vocalist Scott Kelly joins the band to perform Crystal Skull. After nearly two hours of pure fucking metal, Scion Rock fest has officially come to an end and blown my mind from start to finish.

Remember all the fun things I said I was doing instead of having a job? I don't know what's wrong with me but they're getting kind of boring. Maybe it's the melancholy of winter, or that my impending birthday always makes me so sad I need to throw house-wrecking parties and drink 40s and kiss boys and fall over in the snow and almost get arrested just to cheer myself up.

I'm feeling kind of schlumpy. Having achieved relatively little as a 23-year-old besides finding a creative way to get fired, I'm in the career equivalent of a K-hole, and only the sun's rays can bring me out of this hangdog, emo-vampire-hermit state. I think I'm going to hibernate until SXSW, emerging only to eat cake and check on my torrents. I'm also not drinking until my birthday, which gives me a good six days (as of this writing) of sobriety to reflect on things. I love you, New York, but you're bringing me down.



Grizzly Bear

When I hear the name Grizzly Bear, I often think of Werner Herzog's insane film Grizzly Man, about a guy who thought bears were his friends until one of them ate him. But it is an indie folk band that makes damn beautiful music. The other night, I saw them play with the Brooklyn Philharmonic, and their compositions stood trial by orchestra amazingly well. I got to hear some songs off the new album, and they're as lovely, layered and expansive as people are saying. Fleet Foxes' Robn Pecknold called their forthcoming album, Veckatimest. "The best record of the 00s." It makes me hopeful that Animal Collective's Merriwether Post Pavillion was just the first of many great albums to come in 2009, our time to shine.

Unfortunately for Edward Droste and company, Veckatimest leaked far in advance of its May 26 release date, and though they are taking it in their stride, Grizzly Bear are understandably sad that a "bummer-quality" version of their baby is making the rounds. I love Ed almost enough to change into a boy for him, so for once I'll wait patiently for a real copy. In the meantime, you can hear the new songs at their numerous upcoming tour dates.

Grizzly Bear's super sharp "Knife"




Nick Cave Reissues

If there's one band that unites goths young and old, it's Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. Cave was in his forties the first time I saw them, and he rocked my pasty little mall goth face just as hard as he rocked dirty new wave clubs before I was born. Though his music has always defied genre, its darkly misanthropic streak (Christian awakening aside) warms the hearts of death rockers everywhere, if such a thing is possible.

With Mute Records' imminent reissues, fans can re-live each one of Cave's fourteen albums with the Bad Seeds. Each is a shiny new and improved "5.1 surround sound-enhanced remastered" version of its former still magnificent old self, and comes packaged with B-sides, videos, and various and sundry extras, including a series of short films called Do You Love Me Like I Love You? by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. From Her to Eternity, The Firstborn is Dead, Kicking Against the Pricks, and Your Funeral...My Trial are due out April 7 in North America, with the rest soon to follow.

And if that's not enough, the band has a slew of fall tour dates lined up, so go re-live the darkness and/or discover it anew.

'Ver Seeds on Jimmy Kimmel Live with their "Red Right Hand"




No Doubt Reunion Tour

Do kids still listen to No Doubt? I try to stay away from those awful little balls of hormones with their angsty haircuts and lipstick parties and incessant chatting on the AOL. In any case, the mid-nineties sensation will reunite to cover Adam and the Ants' "Stand and Deliver" on the May 11th episode of "Gossip Girl," a teen-targeted television program with which I am not in the least obsessed. (OMFG!)

The appearance will preface a summer tour of ginormous stadiums across the land, thrilling scores of overgrown teenyboppers and finally giving my parents a chance to make amends. You see, when I was but an 11-year-old ska fan (shut up), I won a pair of tickets to see my idols at the Meadows Music Center, but my horrible parents refused to let two eleven-year-old girls go to a rowdy, beer-soaked amphitheater un-chaperoned. I haven't spoken to them since.

Sweetening the deal is the inclusion of a high quality digital download of the band's back catalog with every ticket purchase, which should save lots of twelve-year-olds the ten minutes it would take them to find it via torrents, and me the two hours (my cassette copies of No Doubt and Tragic Kingdom wore out long ago).

The band is also working on a new album, though I'll probably be regressing from an even more advanced life stage by the time that comes out.

No Doubt -- "Trapped in a [Teenage?] Box"


I'm so glad I saved my sparkly lip-gloss and stuffed animal backpack for this! The sad part is, I'm not even kidding.



NIN Farewell Tour?

As if the No Doubt thing weren't enough to rocket me back to seventh grade, Trent Reznor has announced a tour with Jane's Addiction, both bands I was listening to in the summer of '97 when I first grew boobs, painted my nails black, and got a crush on a boy of nebulous sexuality. Only the boobs remain, and my affinity for NIN, so maybe I'll fork over the money my parents save me on those No Doubt tickets. It's Trent's fans' last chance to see him before he goes off to "disappear for a while" (DO IT YOU WON'T!), making this an especially exciting affair, though all NIN shows are guaranteed to turn you into a pool of quivering puberty juice.

I'll be surprised if I can drink anything but alcopops or give anything but hj's after this summer. You will find me with many barrettes in my hair, muttering about the mean kids at school and how cute my fellow cast member in Gypsy is. I should probably get off this website before my parents catch me. See you at prom? Right, that already happened. Well, I hope yours was as totally awesome as mine.





Hunter is a Brooklyn-based writer currently contributing to Vice, The New York Press, Impose, and The L Magazine. If you email her at hunter.suicide AT gmail DOT com, chances are she'd love to add your publication to that list. Seriously, she's got some time on her hands.

Chelsea Girls are kinda like Camp Freddy, but with less dicks and more balls. Indeed the band's chief instigator, bassist Corey Parks of Nashville Pussy, was inspired to put the all-female/all-star cover band together after becoming a regular guest player alongside Camp Freddy's bad-boy residents (Dave Navarro, Billy Morrison, Donovan Leitch Jr., et al.).

"It was so loose and fun, and you got to play all the songs that you grew up listening to and that made you start to want to play rock and roll to begin with," says Parks. A call from fellow like-minded Camp Freddy guest Teri Nunn (of Berlin) prompted Cory to start thinking about her dream XX band. Nunn later dropped out of the project and Cory moved on alone.

"Samantha Maloney [of Peaches and Hole] was my first choice for drummer," says Parks, who, after a false start with the Go-Go's Jane Weidlan, secured the services of Donnas' guitarist Allison Robertson. Robertson then brought in Les Deux's Rock Mondays promoter Tuesdae, who completed the core lineup. Though the least well known of the Chelsea Girls, the Juilliard scholarship recipient, who toured the world as a teen opera starlet, rocks out on vocals like a vet.

The band started rehearsing in early January, and have played just two shows to date. Though their residency at the Sunset Strip's Roxy is in its infancy, already the buzz around Chelsea Girls is as loud as their music, which is a mix of classic, head-banging rock. Heart's "Barracuda", Guns N' Roses' "Welcome To The Jungle", Judas Priest's "You've Got Another Thing Comin'", and Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker" are on their set list, though Parks hopes to expand the band's scope as things progress. Their ultimate goal is simple; "We want to be the greatest rock and roll cover band in the world," says Parks. "We will accept nothing less."

Chelsea Girls are keen to keep their concept live and direct. "It's such a dream situation because we don't have to write a record," explains Parks, who doesn't want to get distracted by the toil of recording and promoting a record. "People have actually already asked us," she says, before quickly dismissing the idea. "Why? Why would we do a record of covers? It's the most absurd thing in my life. We're playing songs that people have heard thousands and millions of times. It would never work. No matter how well we play them you would never listen to these and go 'Oh my god, I love this so much better than the original, I'm going to buy a record.'"

One might beg to differ on that point, since Chelsea Girls have a knack of giving even the most testosterone-heavy songs a steroid edge and an adrenalin high. However, for now the girls just want to have fun, and perhaps show a generation of young women, who've missed out on the likes of Joan Jett and Susie Quatro and have had the Pussycat Dolls fed to them as role models, that "you can learn how to play an instrument and kill it!"

"We just want to have the greatest, funnest rock and roll night," says Parks. "We want to be able to provide people with solid, amazing entertainment -- and we want to show little girls that guitars aren't necklaces."


Images of Chelsea Girls at the Roxy in West Hollywood, CA on February 26th, 2009. Special guests included Carmen Electra and Lemmy of Motorhead. Click HERE to view large image library.

Greetings fellow metal-heads! Welcome to the second edition of my monthly metal column Metal Asylum. I appreciate all of the great feedback from the first article and I hope to continue feeding your metal addiction every month.

I'm sure by now most of you heard that two heavy metal magazines, Metal Maniacs and its sister publication Metal Edge have folded, with just one more issue of each title scheduled to come out. The magazines have been on stands for 24 years and 19 years respectively, and were two of the more popular magazines for the atomically well-endowed genre.

I remember when I first started getting into underground metal, running to the nearest store and buying the newest edition of Metal Maniacs to fulfill my appetite for news of new bands. The horrible state of the economy dealt the final blow to these excellent magazines, which were already suffering from ever-increasing online competition.

Admittedly I have downloaded music as well as gotten my metal news online (one of my favorite sites being Blabbermouth.net). But there is still something I love about the feel of paper in my hands. I buy a lot of the metal-zines, and still consume much of by music by way of CD. I like to see the cover art and read the lyrics while the album is playing (this is especially crucial to the enjoyment of most music I listen to since you can't understand what most of the singers I love are singing about otherwise -- really!). I fear that one day soon all music will just be downloaded from the internet, and that will be a very sad day for hardcore fans like myself that like to physically have an album for their collection.

I have seen too many mom-and-pop music stores, and emporiums dedicated to underground metal, shut their doors. After almost a decade in business, my friend Mark, who owns Metal Haven in Chicago, doesn‘t know how long he can hold on. I cannot adequately express how much that saddens me, so let's just say it fucking pisses me off! I have spent countless hours in stores looking for new bands -- and quality metal conversation. It may be easier to stay at home and hit download, but we fans need to go out and support our local music scenes by actually buying albums (or T-shirts?) from the music stores that support the bands we love.

Onto brighter things. I recently attended the Cradle of Filth, Satyricon and Septic Flesh show on February 11 at the Henry Ford Theater in Hollywood, CA. First of all, I have to admit that I was primarily going to the show to see Cradle of Filth and Satyricon as I've never seen either band live.

When I walked up to the theater I saw that Septic Flesh were playing. What an awesome surprise! I started getting into them last year and absolutely love them. I bolted through the doors to make sure that I didn't miss them. Thankfully, they didn't start the show until almost an hour later.

Greece's Septic Flesh went on first and sadly only got to play a 30 minute set. Indeed their actual set might have been shorter because unfortunately they had some technical problems when they first hit the stage. It didn't matter though, they were FUCKING AMAZING. I love Septic Flesh because like Hollenthon, I can't seem to pin down what they play. They seem to take inspiration from almost everyone and everything. I guess if I had to try to fit them in somewhere, it would be symphonic black metal??? Their sound isn't easy to reproduce live -- they have a lot of symphonic and female vocal elements -- but all things considered they did a great job transitioning their music from the studio to stage.

The next band was Norway's Satyricon. I just got their latest album The Age of Nero last week, and I have been listening to it non-stop. It's similar in sound to their last full length, Now, Diabolical. Live, they put on a very powerful show. They played a lot of songs from the new album, "Wolfpack", "Commando", "Black Crow on a Tombstone" and "Die by my Hand". During the latter song, they had the crowd sing the chorus along with them -- call me cheesy, but I always love it when bands do that. Predictably, the crowd also went nuts when they played their hit song "K.I.N.G." but I was very surprised and very much excited when they ended their performance with an old classic, "Mother North" from '96. I should also mention how awesome it was to see the infamous Frost play. He's an incredible drummer and an icon within the black metal scene. The pitchfork mic stand that Satyr (lead vocals) used, is also worth a mention, and is surely a "must have" for all other metal singers.

Here is the official video of Satyricon's "Black Crow on A Tombstone" for your delectation and delight:



Next and last was the infamous Cradle of Filth from England. I have to be honest here and say that I've never been a really huge fan. The last album I bought was Cruelty of the Beast when I was 16. But Cradle of Filth have a huge following and a very loyal fan base, so can do quite nicely without me added to their number. That said, their live theatrics are legendary so I was prepared to be entertained.

The curtains opened to reveal a huge crucifix laid on its side, with a skeleton hanging from it. Four or five torches also adorned the onstage. Their production value was matched by that of their performance. Frontman Dani Filth has great energy and stage presence. Though I can't get into the high vocal screeching he does, I do like his low gutteral stuff. The keyboardist and female back up vocalist had amazing chops and great stage presence as well. Even if, like me, you're not super into CoF, I would recommend checking out their live show. Hit RoadrunnerRecords.com for tour dates near you.

In the meantime here's a taste of "Honey and Sulphur" from Cradle of Filth's lastest, Godspeed on the Devils Thunder.



Before I go, I want to share some new albums I have been getting into as of late. My current play list if you will. If you haven't already heard these albums, I suggest you do immediately:

Belphegor - Bondage Goat Zombie
Enslaved - Vertebrae
Satyricon - The Age of Nero
Opeth - Watershed
Crimfall - As The Path Unfolds..
Borknagar - For The Elements 1996-2006
Suidakra - Crógacht
Amorphis - Silent Waters

That's it for this month. I would like to hear your current play lists and bands you think I should check out!

Also, make sure to check out my interview this month on SG with Peter Wichers of Soilwork. We talk about his three-year departure from Soilwork, his return to their fold, and what he's been up to in the meantime.

Until next time,
Horns & Hails

Hollee

Hello friends and guess what? I went and got myself cut loose from my jobby-job so I could better focus on eating cereal in my underwear, watching stoner cartoons, and having stupid, 10-hour-long dreams in which all the plants in my hometown are missing and I'm way unprepared for an imminent production of Annie. Nobody wants to hire me to do anything right now, not even make sammiches at Subway (I asked!), so I figure I'll just relax and enjoy my vacation while President Awesome fixes America and everything will be cool again in a few weeks. J/k, I am fucked. At least I still have my irrational commitment to music journalism.

R.I.P. Lux Interior

Clio reported on Wednesday that Cramps frontman Lux Interior passed away last week, and I just wanted to stop and acknowledge the death of one of the last embodiments of punk rock greatness. I've always loved frontpeople who respect that mental third wall and read more as otherworldly creatures than some skinny guy in tight pants who's probably going to walk his dog later; we go to rock shows to be transported out of mundane circumstances. Dude was like a zombie Elvis from hell, and made music more slithery and exciting than anything that's come out since. Of course it's sad that he's gone, but he got to fuck shit up until the ripe old age of 60, which is more than can be said for most legendary punk rockers. I'm pouring some whiskey out for you right now, Lux.

This isn't the best video, but I love his clear affinity for the mental patients:


Live at Napa State Mental Hospital


Lips on the Lam

If you thought a tour of a conservative South Asian country might spell trouble for your favorite band of blues-punk miscreants, well duh. According to their myspace blog, the boys narrowly escaped arrest by the Tamil police and a plot which involved "a mysterious man" and someone who
worked for the band's Indian booking agency by fleeing the country.

In what actually sounds like a relatively tame show for them, guitarist Cole Alexander riled up the crowd by shouting "when I say weak-ass, you say bitch!", exposing his buttocks, tenderly kissing band mate Ian St. Pe, and diving off the stage. For a few days Vice Records had no clue where they were, but publicly stated that they were probably fine. A less exaggerated version of the story appeared on Vice's blog last week, letting everyone know that the band is safe and sound in Germany, working on an EP with kindred spirit in mayhem King Khan. These guys are turning into the rock and roll version of the Road Runner.

Here's some exclusive video of how it went down:




The Pains of Being Pure at Heart

In these strange times of three-second news cycles and blog-based insta-fame, a band can seem like it's been around forever even before releasing a proper album or going on tour. The Pains of Being Pure at Heart is one such band; I've been digging their sweet shoegaze-pop since I first saw them play my friend's house last year, and their debut full-length is finally out on Slumberland Records. They're touring much of the U.S. and Canada in the near future, so you'll have a chance to see what's got everyone so dreamy-eyed. Their music reminds me of hand-holding and agonizing crushes and awkward make-out sessions conducted while my mom slept in the next room, and also sad things like romantic rejection and puppies with casts on their legs. I put at least one of their songs on all the mixes I make for boys I like, and if you buy their albums, you can, too. Maybe you'll get laid! Or just listen alone in your room whilst hugging your pillow (something I have never, ever done). It's up to you.

You can legally download three songs here, and two more here.


Everything With You


Animal Collective=Yes

I know a lot of smart people have already discussed this at length, but the new Animal Collective is way fucking good. As beautifully messy as ever but now with even more pop structure shining through, the album has cracked the Billboard 200's top 20 and is already being hailed as the best release of 2009. If you've got no idea what I'm talking about, now's a better time than ever to jump on the bandwagon, as they're touring extensively, probably to where you live. You can thank me later, once your mind is blown.


My Girls

Also, big props to sofreshsoclean for turning me on to the Frankie Knuckles remix.


Big Moz Strikes Again

I'm not sure what to say. I've gone through my whole life thinking Morrissey's sad, mellifluous voice was unattached to anything so vulgar as a penis, and who knows, maybe it's not. But this picture makes it a lot harder to pretend. Why'd you do it, Moz? You know Rule Number One of our perfect, platonic marriage is we must never see one another's naughty bits. Oh well, I know you all want a peek, so feast your eyes on this (click to enlarge, heh heh). Just know that your imaginary relationship with him will never be the same.


Iran So Far Away

So I just got word that Kyp Malone of the greatest band of our time's side project, Iran, has a new E.P., Dissolver, coming out this month. I'll write more once I've fully absorbed its brilliance, but suffice it to say it features Malone's great pop voice singing catchy tunes swaddled lovingly in that hissy, lo-fi production that made TV On the Radio's early bedroom recordings so beloved.


Hunter is a Brooklyn-based writer currently contributing to Vice, The New York Press, Impose, and The L Magazine. If you email her at hunter.suicide AT gmail DOT com, chances are she'd love to add your publication to that list. Seriously, she's got some time on her hands.

I guess if I'm going to be a columnist for SG, I'm going to have to talk about something I know well. I go back and forth about one particular subject because I don't want to bite the hand that feeds. I don't want to piss people off to the point where they completely stop buying my records, and I don't want to come off as a whiny musician. I love what I do and I love my life but the fact is, the music industry is in serious trouble. In the age of government bail-outs, who is going to take care of the music business? Who is going to bail us out?

For the past 10 years between file sharing online, people copying their CDs for friends, blatant piracy and lesser quality product, the music industry has been taking a massive beating. U2's manager Paul McGuiness said the industry is on its way to oblivion in the next couple of years. It goes down about 20% in volume every year. Even though music is more popular than ever, our industry is failing miserably. So what roles do the audience, the musicians and the technology play in all of this?

Well, the mainstream music audience is acting like sheep. They are fine with three (now four) judges once a week picking out the safest, cleanest singers out there and re-packaging them like in a factory. The audience eats it up, buys the "Idol's" records and turns the reality star into a household name.

If you're an independent, small band, there's no money to invest to go deep into the promotion of your record. It's hard to get a real shot. Even on a major label, it's difficult for anyone who's not a multi-platinum act because you'll only get one chance for a hit single. If you don't catch that break, you'll be sent packing.

During better days, a young Bruce Springsteen released two records at the beginning of his career that completely stiffed. By then, his record company had invested millions of dollars in him, and were committed to him because someone believed. If it were today, they might have given up and dropped him. By his third record, Springsteen got it right and created Born to Run. This kind of investment and commitment by a label will never be seen again. There is no artist development. There is no patience. There is no place for an artist to grow in today's musical climate.

Today, musicians have got to learn how to make records cheaply, efficiently and quickly. In Filter's world, I've learned how to make records for 1/10th of what I used to spend on a single video. And I don't get to pocket all of the money made from sales. I am not alone in this. I have to pay my engineers, producers, band members, managers, agents, touring crew, and many, many more. It's not just one guy sitting with a mic and a guitar. It takes a whole team of people to create, release, and promote an album. I consider myself lucky to see any profit at all. Like you, I'm just happy to keep a roof over my head and put food out on the table for my family.

Advances in technology have made it incredibly easy to make records, which helps, but it's also made it incredibly easy to steal records. You can grab someone's CD, put it in your laptop and burn 100 copies of that very CD. And file sharing? People can find whatever they want on the internet and simply take it. It has devalued music to the point that people do not even believe they are doing anything wrong. Back in my day, if you wanted to steal music, you had to go into a record shop, pick up a CD, fucking punch someone in the face and run out of the store with it-or hide it under your jacket like a common thief. Every time this happens, it gives one less band a realistic shot at greatness, it cuts the salary of an engineer or a guitar player, it perpetuates a very ugly downward cycle that I unfortunately don't see stopping anytime soon.

It is really up to everyone to be decent and responsible, something the majority of society has a problem doing. Can the artists make better financial decisions? Can the fans be more honest about how they get the music? We have to work together to make the music industry work because we aren't getting a bailout anytime soon.


Richard Patrick is the frontman for the rock band Filter. Their latest album, Anthems for the Damned, which features the single "Soldiers of Misfortune," is in stores now. Look out for their greatest hits collection, The Very Best Things (1995-2008), which will be available on March 31. Click HERE for more info.

It has just been confirmed that Lux Interior, lead singer of the legendary NYC punk rock band The Cramps, has died in in Glendale, California this afternoon. He was 60 years old. Lux Interior and his wife Poison Ivy founded the band in 1976, which became an integral part of the emerging punk scene in the 1970s, and had a profound influence on garage punk and rockabilly. The following statement has been released on behalf of the singer's loved ones:

Playlist: R.I.P. Lux Interior

Gone but not forgotten, February 3rd marks the day that rock'n'roll pioneer Buddy Holly died in a plane crash near Clear Lake, Iowa in 1959. The bespectacled singer and guitarplayer would have been 72 years old. Born as Charles Hardin Holley, Buddy Holly became one of the most popular names in rock'n'roll in the 1950s, and had a big influence on world-famous artists like The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Bob Dylan. With chart-topping songs such as "That'll Be the Day" (#1 single in the US in 1957), "Peggy Sue", and "Oh Boy!" (#3 and 10, respectively), the Lubbock, Texas native changed the sound of pop music forever.

As the story goes, New York City's teen idols Dion and The Belmonts, Texan disc jockey The Big Bopper, up and coming heartthrob Ritchie Valens, and Buddy Holly were on the "Winter Dance Party" tour in the Midwest together, when Buddy Holly decided to charter a plane from Clear Lake, Iowa to Moorhead, MN instead of traveling by tourbus. Waylon Jennings of Buddy Holly's band The Crickets gave up his seat to JP "The Big Bopper" Richardson because he was ill and needed rest, and Tommy Allsup (also of The Crickets) flipped a coin with Ritchie Valens for the remaining seat. Sadly, 17-year old Valens won the bet but paid with his life.

While immortalized through his own songs, Buddy Holly's life and untimely death (Holly was only 22 years old) have always been an inspiration to other artists. Friend and fellow rock'n'roll musician Eddie Cochran recorded the song 'Three Stars', as a tribute to Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens, before his own tragic death (he died in a car crash a year later). In 1971 singer-songwriter Don McLean recorded and released the #1 hit song 'American Pie' (later to be covered by Madonna), famously calling the fateful day of the crash "the day the music died". Buddy Holly was in the first group of people to ever be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him as the #13 of the 100 Greatest Artist of All Time.

Playlist: The Day the Music Died.

Preparation (lose the 'h')!
It's almost that time of year again and as I start to prepare myself and my crew for another event at SXSW, I thought it would be a good idea to spend my next two columns throwing out some tips, early warnings, general advice, and usual paragraphs of waffling bullshit you have come to expect from yours truly.

Train for SXSW!
People train for everything. They train for marathons (of course), they train for driving tests, they train for hotdog-eating competitions. Why on earth wouldn't you train for something as huge, dangerous awe inspiring, and potentially rewarding as this? How much money are you spending to go to Austin? Of course you're going to be weak in some areas. You might be a great guitarist, but lack people skills opening your shyness to misinterpretation as aloof standoffish-ness. You might be amazing with people but a crap drummer. Anything (except perhaps the economy) can be fixed. You have time to work on this NOW but first you need to understand that it is possible. Put together a personal plan and a band plan to diligently, incrementally work towards that goal. The first and most vital part of solving any problem area is an awareness of the problem. It is worth sitting down, thinking this through, observing your band mates, taking the time to share your horrifying observations with them, and they will surely, in turn, reciprocate. Don't let the opportunity of SXSW slip through your fingers like the guacamole/tequila/cheap beer/sweet corn'/don't-remember-eating-that vomit surely will on the first crazy night.

Don't bleach your hair the day before!
Although it's always a good idea to destroy hotel towels instead of your own you don't want to drastically change your look right before a big event. The new aerodynamics of your head or some long floaty extensions will distract you.

I cut off my dreads a few years ago before a HUGE meeting with some big wig financiers (and I can't even remember what it was for). I found myself intimidated. The main thing I had going for me was ME and I wasn't me at the meeting. In trying to fit in I had fucked myself.

The night before my first day on the job for the UK government (yes, 1976 or so!) I bleached my hair forgetting that I had put henna in it a couple of weeks beforehand. The result was, basically, fluorescent CARROT TOP -- so, beware. Do hair and body stuff a couple of weeks beforehand.

Bring a portable press kit
I tell anyone in a band or anyone managing a band to do something super-cool with your press kit. However, at SXSW, portability is the key. Put it all on a disc, a flash drive, or a fancy DVD business card thingy. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR NAME, THE BAND NAME, AN EMAIL ADDRESS, AND A CONTACT NUMBER IS ON EVERYTHING - EVERYTHING! Have these with you AT ALL TIMES.

Help someone
Go to SXSW prepared to HELP someone - a band, a random person, a promoter, anyone. At times of high stress and high stakes, people will appreciate it more. A sweaty, damp extended hand is nothing more than germ explosion - unless you are dangling off a cliff; then it's a life saver. It's all perspective and circumstance. And the longer you're in this business, the more you appreciate what goes around comes around, so make sure the karmic shit you put out there is good, and you'll be surprised at the unexpected ways in which you're rewarded.

Do something!
Don't sit in the hotel room watching Righteous Kill or reading Tour:Smart. Get out there and do it!*

Don't buy new equipment the day before you leave
Don't mistake an investment in brand new equipment for actually doing something that might help. At least you KNOW just where to hit your crappy tube amplifier to get it working again. A brand new one acquired a few hours before the first show might have other characteristics you aren't prepared for. Last minute improvements might not be improvements at all. If your equipment is falling apart and it's fucking up your vibe, your show, your hands, then NOW would be the time to get something so that you can break it in.

Talk to other bands
I'm going to hazard an insane guess that you are thinking you want to get signed at SXSW. OK...., well, that's just NOT going to happen. In looking for that one person that you think is going to make a difference don't overlook the fact that this is an opportunity for you to do some concrete, real things to move your career forward:

* Seek out and meet bands from different cities across the US and around the world. Tell them about your show. Quietly hatch a plan to rave about each other's shows or at least SHOW UP and double the size of each other's audiences. Focus on the little things - not on playing to a full venue (you won't) but on NOT PLAYING TO NO-ONE!

* Kick start your band networking right now! Are you emailing bands with whom you are sharing a bill? Are you sharing costs in printing posters? Did you even print posters? There's no excuse to go in blind and unaware - it's 2009!

Shoes
The same philosophy about hair applies to brand new shoes!** You are going to be walking for several miles a day. If you aren't lying in bed at night crying and massaging your swelling ankles and knees then this is a sign that you are not taking FULL advantage of the event! So, the other very last thing you want to discover is that your brand new Doc Martens are really uncomfortable to walk in - BANG! There's a horrifyingly piss your pants blister on the heel of your right foot! You just don't need it. Go with the comfy, worn out shoes you are used to. If they are really bad and fucked up spray paint them black! Have one of those professional shoe people (they were once called cobblers) re-hab your shoes. They can work wonders and are sometimes at the airport. Make sure to tip 'em extra for the horrifying shit you are asking them to deal with.


Add your favorite SXSW tips in the comments section below. I'll send a Tour:Smart e-book to those who submit my favorite ones! And, remember, there's no such thing as obvious or a "no-brainer" when it comes to stuff like this. Don't wait until you're standing on stage in five-day old underwear with your luggage in Hawaii, your audience someplace else, and your brand new guitar shredding your fingers. Get busy now.

Come see me at SXSW - I have my own Tour:Smart event on Wednesday, March 18 at 4:30pm in Room 18.

Here's the wrap up from last year's SXSW:



Before we dive in, a quick shout out to GWAR who I saw at NAMM and also to Slipknot, who were stunning last Friday night.

And, finally, I'm back on the road:

Friday, February 6 - St. Paul MN
Closed lecture for McNally Smith students.

Sunday, February 8 - La Crosse, WI
FREE Tour:Smart seminar at The Warehouse, 328 Pearl St. @ 7:00 p.m.
MANDAORY FOR ALL LOCAL BANDS - SEATS LIMITED!
RSVP NOW!

Monday, February 9 - Madison, WI
FREE Tour:Smart DIY Seminar at the Madison Media Institute, 2702 Agriculture Dr. @ 1 p.m.
SEATS LIMITED! RSVP NOW!

Thursday, February 19 - Tampa, FL
FREE Tour:Smart DIY Summit and Dean Factory tour with Martin Atkins and special guests Josh Malony and Curse Mackey at Dean Guitar Headquarters, 4924 W.Waters Ave. @ 2 p.m.
Registration is extremely limited. REGISTER NOW!

Thursday, February 19 - Tampa, FL
Martin Atkins / Curse Mackey Pigface DJ set at Czar (vodka bar), 1420 East 7th Ave. @ 10:30 p.m.

Friday, February 20 - Tampa, FL
FREE Lecture on the Beijing Underground punk scene with Martin Atkins at University of South Florida, Marshall Student Center @ 3 p.m.
RESERVE your space NOW!

Friday, February 20 - Tampa, FL
Tour:Smart / Martin Atkins book signing and free mini-consultation at Vinyl Fever, 4110 Henderson Blvd. @ 7 p.m.

Saturday, February 21 - Gainesville, FL
Keynote Speaker at the University of Florida Entertainment Law Conference: 12-1 p.m. keynote / 3-4 p.m. Q&A.
Click HERE for more info.

Saturday, February 21 - Jacksonville, FL
FREE Tour:Smart DIY seminar at 331 Café, W. 331 Forsyth Street @ 7 p.m.
Limited Seating - RSVP NOW!

Sunday, February 22 - Orlando, FL
FREE Tour:Smart DIY seminar + FREE appetizers courtesy of Marks Street Music at the Dandelion Café, 618 N. Thornton Ave. @ 7 p.m.
RSVP to reserve your space NOW!

Upcoming events in McComb, IL, Normal, IL, Chicago, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, London, Traverse City, MI, and more on the way!


*Of course, this is a hilarious joke. SXSW is a great time to sit in a hotel room and really get to grips with Tour:Smart. Available now via Amazon.com.

**Unless, of course, you are planning on buying some 6" heels. That's a GREAT idea - stick your legs in the air and send me pics -- NO! NOT you, Brian!


Martin Atkins has drummed with PiL, Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and The Damage Manual, among others. As owner of the now 20-year old Invisible Records, he has worked with artists such as Thrill Kill Kult, Einsturzende Neubauten, Chemlab, Chris Connelly, Sheep On Drugs, Murder Inc, and Psychic TV. Martin teaches a course on Business of Touring at Columbia College in Chicago, IL, and has written a survival guide for touring bands, Tour Smart: And Break The Band, which features contributions from Henry Rollins, Cynthia Plastercaster, The Enigma, the Suicide Girls, Zim Zum (formerly of Marilyn Manson), Kevin Lyman, and various other managers, journalists, venues, agents, sponsors, radio personalities and the like.

New York hardcore icon John Joseph is set to appear in five East Coast cities for his 'Play the Wall' spoken word in February, the singer/writer/hustler announced recently. The Cro-Mags frontman published a stellar 428-page autobiography last year, telling stories of an abusive childhood in foster homes, growing up on the unforgiving streets of NYC, peddling fake acid at rock shows, Hare Krishna scams (Retarded Wheelchair Santa without a doubt being the most outrageous), working as a roadie for notorious DC punk/reggae band Bad Brains, and of course all things good, bad, and ugly about fronting what is arguably the most influential hardcore band of all time. A charismatic story-teller, JJ has been known to share with his audience some of the wildest excerpts from his book, The Evolution of a Cro-Magnon (available through PUNKHOuse), so if you think you know anything about NYHC don't sleep on this.

The Cro-Mags have gained a cult following ever since the release of their record The Age of Quarrel in '86, and paved the way for countless hardcore and metal bands over the years. More than a dozen line-up changes and one of hardcore's longest-lasting feuds later, an all-star incarnation of the Cro-Mags is scheduled to tear up Europe in March, supported by Strength Approach from Italy. The latest line-up consists of former Cro-Mags drummer ('82-'86) Mackie Jayson, Sick Of It All's bassist Craig Setari, A.J. Novello from Leeway playing guitar, and John Joseph on vocals.

Lastly, JJ doesn't like to waste any time, and in between writing vegetarian cookbooks and movie scripts will return to Europe with his band Bloodclot! (featuring members of Biohazard, Merauder and Pro-Pain) this Summer. Hellfest has confirmed that the NYC-based band will be playing alongside '80s heavy metal band Manowar(!), the legendary Pentagram, Kansas City hardcore/metal formation Coalesce, grindcore heroes Napalm Death and about a million other awesome bands at this year's edition of the three-day festival in France.

If there's a thread that links this particular group of artists to explore, it's that they're all storytellers that have carved out their own space and narrative, flipping conventions expected of their culture, class or position into delightful surprises.



Mark Growden Sextet

I encountered the musical stylings of San Francisco's Mark Growden for the first time at a recent "Unholiday Party" for Laughing Squid, a hub intersecting the astonishingly creative tech and art communities of the Bay Area. On this evening, Growden was with his Trio, a truncated version of his Sextet, playing the handlebars - yes, handlebars, as in the ones that grace a bicycle, but this multi-instrumentalist also rocks the accordion, banjo, lap steel guitar and saxophone. Look for his albums on iTunes and watch this live performance of Mark Growden Sextet playing "Coyote," which highlights Growden's melancholic flair for storytelling that seems to come from another era:





Thunderheist

A Canadian duo that met through MySpace of all places, Thunderheist (MC Isis and producer Grahm Zilla) storm dancefloors with a world-wise blend of booty-shaking sounds that borrow from big London rave basslines, risqué Dirty South rhymes and hyperkinetic Baltimore beats. Isis is a fierce woman who isn't afraid to give the boys a taste of their own medicine, flipping what might sound misogynistic in their mouths into something sassy in hers. She's taking back the night, as it were. Check out how the self-proclaimed "Black Kate Moss" and her masked crusading keyboardist get down in "Little Booty Girl":





Free Blood

Brooklyn's Free Blood (Madeleine Davy and John Pugh) prefer their electronic pop on the playful side. Davy and Pugh are microphone marauders, first and foremost, pushing their instrument beyond usual expectations with forays into texturizing and beatboxing. Watch "The Royal Family" and see if you aren't as mesmerized by these noble experiments in the bottom-end, with big beats and arresting vocals:





B.o.B.

Bobby Ray (aka B.o.B.) got a record deal right out of high school, which was barely two years ago, and has been honing his songwriting and performing skills on the road ever since. He is poised to release his debut album The Adventures of B.o.B. in the first half of 2009 via Grand Hustle/Atlantic, the label helmed by multi-platinum rapper T.I. (who features B.o.B. alongside himself and Ludacris on his most recent hit album Paper Trail).

A multi-instrumentalist who can sing, rap and relate to a wide cross-section of people with his subject matter, B.o.B. has drawn comparisons to fellow Atlanta native Andre 3000 of OutKast and has recently been in the studio with 3000's partner Big Boi.

B.o.B.'s latest single "I'll Be in The Sky" rides an infectious piano refrain over his musings about the fragile importance of life:

The song has been given a vibrant, cinematic video by director Gabriel Hart and, of course, B.o.B. himself:



B.o.B.'s got real potential to go far because he isn't limiting himself to the boundaries of the rap world, even though it has been his early adopter. (He even sampled Amy Winehouse for his song "Grip Yo Body.") While his leftfield sensibility might be evident from the official video for "I'll Be in The Sky," another dimension is illuminated through this acoustic version of "Lovelier Than You," which he performed live on guitar last month at Atlanta's "Almost Famous" showcase:





Tamara Palmer is SuicideGirls' New Music Editor. During a decade and a half of DJing and writing about music professionally, she has found particular pleasure in championing new artists and sounds. Her work has appeared in outlets such as the Associated Press, Wired, and SF Weekly. She is a former editor of URB and the author of the book, Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop.

After five years of fronting The Cardinals, indie rock darling Ryan Adams will be leaving the New York City rock band in March, as stated on the band's official blog this morning. The troubled singer-songwriter says no drama occurred, but to be "ready for quieter times" as he is struggling with balance and hearing issues. Unfortunately for followers of his blog, 'Foggy', he also claims in the lengthy entry to stop blogging (yet again). However, forthcoming tour dates in Australia and the US will remain as scheduled and Ryan Adams' last show with The Cardinals will take place in Atlanta, Georgia on March 20.

Originally from Jacksonville, North Carolina, Adams was a founding member of alt-country band Whiskeytown at age 20, and released five solo records (Heartbreaker being the most critically acclaimed to date) before joining The Cardinals in 2004. The band's fifth record, Cardinology, came out on Lost Highway Records in October last year, reaching #11 in the US charts, and #27 worldwide, respectively.

With no mention of future music projects, the self-confessed insomniac seems to be heading in a different direction with writing two new books (his debut as an author, Infinity Blues, will be published by Akashic Books in April this year) and recently interning at lifestyle magazine BlackBook.

Hello, friends. Did you have a good New Year’s? I hope it involved as much missing underwear, mysterious bruising, and filmy residue as mine. I want to tell you about a funny thing that happened to me January 1. Despite more debauchery than one could tickle one’s pickle at, I woke up feeling awesome the next day (and by “woke up," I of course mean “stumbled home”). By some sort of divine intervention, I felt neither pukey nor zombified, but giddy, even downright sprightly. It was as if someone had slipped vitamins into my drink. What could it all mean? Was God giving me a get-out-of-jail-free card in the hopes that I’d take it as an easy lesson? I think not. Clearly, God wants me to party even more in 2009. In the immortal words of Angelina Jolie, Quod me nutrit me destruit (“what feeds me destroys me”), only flip that shit backwards. I've heard my calling, and now it's on me to deliver. In that spirit, here are some bands to which I plan to go off hard and often for the next twelve months.

Team Robespierre On Tour

According to a recent MySpace bulletin, Brooklyn’s Team Robespierre are going on tour to some places March 14-26. Details thus far are as vague as your memory the morning after, but one thing is for certain: they want to “have a dirty sleepover” with America. Oft described as “punk dance” rather than “dance punk,” they’re much closer to what you might imagine “dance punk” to be had you never heard the Faint. Someone took drunk, yell-y, ham-fisted punk rockers, gave them electronic drums and keyboards to bang on, and prescribed them some serious mood elevators. This band was meant to play the type of party that walks a fine line between joyous exuberance and full on destructive orgy. Invite them to play your house, and be prepared for them to love it to pieces. “My friends did this,” you will marvel, as you survey all your broken things the next morning. “People who like me.” You definitely have to be in the right mood/state of inebriation to enjoy TR, but luckily, 2009 is your time to shine, so that won't be a problem. Here’s a video for “88th Precinct,” which manages to get me temporarily psyched about all the things in my neighborhood that usually make me want to blow my brains out.




Powers of Telepathe

Let’s pretend for a second that when I say “party,” I actually mean “take drugs.” If you’re more into swaying and twirling than punching and kicking, this might be the band for you. Folks bandy about terms like “gorgeously haunted dream pop” and “UFO trunk rattlers” when trying to describe their unique mix of breathy vocals, electronic beats, and outer space sounds, but I think my (and, coincidentally, their) crazy ex-roommate best summed it up as “nightmare karate music.” My friend and I put them on while smoking a marijuana cigarette the other day, and subsequently shared one of those special, mind-melding glances that renders speech obsolete. Telepathe's Dave Sitek-produced debut full length Dance Mother is due out later this month on IAMSOUND, with one flawless track already available for download at Pitchfork and a few older ones at Rcrdlbl. Put this in your pipe and smoke it:




The Black Lips

I know I’ve written about them before, but nobody gets down like these guys. On a recent night in Brooklyn, an under-age friend of mine caught a glimpse of their insanity and was inspired to stop going to class so he might better focus on the only worthy goal in life, that of getting money and fucking bitches. They’re taking their dirty SoCo-soaked flower-punk to new heights this year with a new album out on Vice Records (out February 24), as well as an ambitious, insomniac tour that includes dates in the U.S., U.K., and India, during which they'll play several headlining dates of Campus Rock Idols, the indie, Indian version of American Idol(!). When the dust settles after the apocalypse, I predict only these guys, KISS, and cockroaches will remain to fight it out. My money’s on the lips due to Jared Swilley’s magnificent mustache, Cole Alexander’s bone-crushing grille of steel, and their most dastardly of signature moves, the make-out fake out.

Oh, Katrina



Get the Spirit in Ye

This UK group has no major news to report aside from a tour of Germany, though I guess it’s major if you live in Germany, so apologies if I sounded like an asshole just then. Mainly, though, I just discovered them and want to share them with you. Obvious fans of classic British blues-rock acts like Led Zeppelin and The Who, The Duke Spirit do not so much evolve the genre as perfect it. Singer/tambourine player Leila Moss, who bears a striking resemblance, but no relation, to another, more famous but less fresh-faced lady of the same surname, has more than a little Grace Slick in her, which goes well with the music’s more psychedelic elements. I’m putting up this video because it has good sound quality, but to see her really let loose you should hunt down some live footage. Neptune (2008) was a good, polished follow up to Cuts Across the Land (2005), but I hope they move back to a messier sound with their next album, because I think that’s where Moss really shines. Their bluesy, throbbing numbers make me feel like I’m at a mushroom party in the ‘70’s and things are groovy but have yet to get too weird for me to handle.

The Step and the Walk



Because I'm delirious, I will now leave you with this video of my cat, Theodore Brown, who parties harder than all of us put together.

Greetings fellow head-bangers! Welcome to the first edition of Metal Asylum –– your one stop source for all things metal. I felt that the underground metal scene wasn't being represented enough here on SG, so I will do my best to be that voice.

I started getting into metal when I was about 12-years old. At first it was the mainstream metal/rock bands you could find on MTV's Headbangers Ball (when they actually played videos –– ahhh those were the days). I got really into Tool (still one of my favorite bands), Pantera, Alice in Chains, Metallica, Megadeth, Black Sabbath, Ozzy etc. I guess you could say I was a late metal bloomer since I really didn't start listening to underground metal until I was around 17-years old (I'm currently 25).

I remember the day so clearly; it was a defining moment in my life. A friend played a CD of a band I'd never heard of before. What I didn't realize is that band would change my life forever. The band was Sweden's Opeth, the album was Morningrise. I was speechless. It was like nothing I'd ever heard before. It was what I'd been waiting for musically, but had just not realized it. The guitar riffs were so expeditious and melodic. The drums and double bass were fast and steady (in the heavy parts), and the vocals of singer Mikael Åkerfeldt, were powerful and haunting –– depending on what the music demanded of him. That was it for me; I was hooked! Metal was my drug of choice and I was a full-blown addict.


Above: Opeth performing "Advent" from the album Morningrise at the Inferno Festival in Norway.

After I first heard Opeth, I didn't start listening to the typical American death metal bands, I jumped straight into the whole Swedish melodic death metal scene -- bands like In Flames (old) and Dark Tranquility. Some of my other favorite bands at the time included Katatonia, Anathema, Agalloch, Arcturus, Borknagar, Amorphis, and Shape of Despair . Later on, I discovered the epicness that was Norwegian (and Swedish) black metal, with some of my favorite BM bands being: Emperor, Diabolical Masquerade, Old Man's Child, Dissection, Dimmu Borgir, (some) Immortal and Dark Funeral.

You'll notice that I didn't include Dark Throne (a band much lauded by black metal fans) in my list of personal faves. That's because I don't listen to them at all. Never have. I've heard a few songs off Transylvanian Hunger which is supposed to be their "masterpiece" but never understood what all the hype was about –– it's just noise in my honest opinion.

And that's what I intend to do with this monthly column; I intend to be completely honest. But please remember these are only my opinions –– please feel free to voice yours in the Comments section below or message me anytime. I'd be more than happy to hear your defense of Dark Throne and reasons why you think they're Satan's gift to man.

But first, a little more about where I'm coming from: When I first started getting into metal, I was living in California. I moved back to Chicago when I was 18 (where I was born and raised). With this new-found passion, and no one to share it with, all of my free time (and money) was spent at a small music store in the heart of the city solely dedicated to "underground" metal called Nightfall Records. The man that worked there, Tom, was nice enough to spend countless hours talking music with me, playing new bands and music for me to eagerly digest. This store and the music that was held in it helped me through a really rough and lonely time. About a year later, I had successfully rooted myself into the Chicago metal scene, which is actually pretty big and is very much death metal-based.

Eventually, one of my friends and his wife approached me to do the female vocals on their American folk metal project, Earthen, which was influenced by bands such as Agalloch and Woods of Ypres. It was the kind of project that never seemed to be complete, and the band always had a revolving-door membership. I experienced one of the best moments of my life with that band. We played our first live show at the Heathen Crusade II fest in St. Paul, Minnesota in January of 2007. I got to share the stage with some of my favorite bands, Manegarm, Skyforger, Bal-Sagoth, Máel Mórda, and many other amazing Viking/folk metal bands.

That brings me to the metal I am currently most into. About four years ago a friend turned me on to a folk black metal band called Moonsorrow from Finland. I got the same feeling that I did when I first had heard Opeth. Since then, Viking/Pagan/folk metal has been my alloy of choice, though I also love other forms of metal cut from a much wider sheet.


Above: Moonsorrow performing "Jumalten Kaupunki" from the album Kivenkantaja.

My point of this first article was to let you guys know where I came from and how I came into being a hardcore metalhead. I encourage you all to message me with topics and new bands you'd like me to include in my monthly metal round-up. I'd also like to hear all of your stories of how you got hooked on this crazy lifestyle (it's more than merely a genre of music) that we call "Heavy Metal."

Until next time,

Horns & Hails!!

Hollee
holly@suicidegirls.com

Two thousand and nine, so far, feels like the scene in a movie where the guy breathes a sigh of relief –– his monster/zombie/ex-girlfriend/whatever has been slain/defeated/dumped. The problems are over, the fun begins and the credits are just about to roll. That's exactly when the monster/zombie/ex-girlfriend comes back from around the corner, up from the depths of the oil pit/sunken galleon/whatever, waves the bag of pills/secret software/dirty pictures at you, gives you the finger, stabs you, or threatens to cook you (for?) dinner. The horrible ex-girlfriend you were so pleased to see the hairy back of has reluctantly agreed to give you another chance! Rock & roll loves you and won't let go!

This is EXACTLY where we are now. I just did this myself at the gas station. I filled up for less than $100 and danced my way across the AM/PM food court laughing hysterically as if I had won the lottery. The fact is, everything else in the world of touring (and unfortunately the world in general) is still totally fucked. Your audience might now have enough gas in the car to get to your show but what are you doing to get them from the curbside to your side? What's your red carpet made out of?

I guess this is just a reminder to be careful out there. Everything that was going to fuck you the hell up six months ago is still out there, waiting in the wings (not the band, the sides of the stage). Proceed accordingly.

Here are three band resolutions you should try to make 2009 a little smoother on the road:

#1 - To Get More Ca$h

* Have more than one t-shirt design. If you still don't have even one.... I'll wait while you punch yourself in the face....
* Teach yourself to screen print so that you can make your very own "special smudgy thumb printed sorry but it's still wet poster" and loads of different shirts. And screen print your bass amp too!
* Record your shows and manufacture a few discs from each show so you have a variety of live discs at the merchandise booth (and screen print the digi packs you sell them in!)

#2 - To Be Better Onstage

* Play more and pay attention to the audience's body language when you do. People running from the venue means that maybe you shouldn't be trying to hit those Queen-like operatic high notes! People moving closer to the stage means they are drawn to your magnetic charismatic vibe, they like the songs and want to be close enough to touch you, feel your pain, and wipe away a tear - either that or they 're trying to steal your new effects pedal and swipe some of your Jagermeister.
* Put as many people as you can on the guest list - people like to feel special. Don't forget to put the people you said you would on the guest list - people hate to feel small and forgotten.

And most importantly


#3 - Play For Free!

* Do you have enough money to pay to see yourself right now? And buy a few beers?? OK, so why would your fans?

All tried and tested methods for more greatness, sustainability and groovyness gratefully received. Leave comments and I'll respond.

Look out for me on the road. I'll be at NAMM Jan 16-18 at the Presonus booth, at Cal Poly Jan 15, at SXSW and all over the place soon!

Find me on Facebook for more details on all of my upcoming events, or go HERE.

Peace, love and happy touring in 2009.

Martin Atkins
Chicago Illannoys




Martin Atkins has drummed with PiL, Killing Joke, Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Pigface, and The Damage Manual, among others. As owner of the now 20-year old Invisible Records, he has worked with artists such as Thrill Kill Kult, Einsturzende Neubauten, Chemlab, Chris Connelly, Sheep On Drugs, Murder Inc, and Psychic TV. Martin teaches a course on Business of Touring at Columbia College in Chicago, IL, and has written a survival guide for touring bands, Tour Smart: And Break The Band, which features contributions from Henry Rollins, Cynthia Plastercaster, The Enigma, the Suicide Girls, Zim Zum (formerly of Marilyn Manson), Kevin Lyman, and various other managers, journalists, venues, agents, sponsors, radio personalities and the like.

Sadly, it has been confirmed that Ron Asheton of legendary rock’n’roll band The Stooges was found dead in his Ann Arbor, Michigan home this morning. While no official cause of death has been determined yet, reports claim that the eldest of the Asheton brothers is suspected to have died from a heart attack several days ago. Police discovered the guitarist’s body after having been contacted by his personal assistant, who had not been able to reach Asheton for several days.

Together with Iggy Pop, Scott Asheton and Dave Alexander, Ron Asheton formed The Stooges in 1967, releasing three albums between 1969 and 1973, all of which appeared among Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time. Asheton also ranked #29 of the magazine’s greatest guitarists of all time. Having influenced the likes of The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, AC/DC and many more, The Stooges were widely thought of as the forefathers of punk rock.

After the band’s break-up in 1974, Asheton continued playing music in bands such as The New Order (not to be confused with the post-Joy Division formation), Destroy All Monsters, and New Race. The Stooges reformed in 2003, including both Ashetons, and released their fourth album four years later.

Iggy & The Stooges have released the following statement about the loss of their friend and band member:

SuicideGirls interviewed Ron Asheton in 2007, read it here.

Moby stopped by SG Radio HQ to record an interview with SG Radio host Sam Doumit. The pair talked about their shared love of Ian MacKaye and his band Minor Threat, Moby's old Connecticut neighbors (the Bush family), growing up in New York and becoming a punk rocker and straight edge boy, his birthday being on September 11th and being there on the day the Twin Towers fell, deejaying, drinking, partying, raves, music, making music, the industry today, MobyGratis.com (free Moby music for filmmakers), politics, this election, his show with Shepard Fairey and De La Soul at the inauguration of Barack Obama, and being a member of the Board of Directors of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function.

The interview will air on Indie 103.1 on Sunday, January 4th at midnight. You can listen to SG Radio live from anywhere in the world by going to Indie1031.com and clicking on the Listen Live button.

After the SG Radio interview was done, Moby took the opportunity to set the record straight about the wild and wicked orgy rumors in this exclusive video message for the SG Newswire.


You can catch Moby DJing live at Giant Maximus in Los Angeles tonight.

As Tamara Palmer recently pointed out, there were many criminally overlooked albums in 2008. TV on the Radio's Dear Science wasn't one of them. Earning the top spot on lists released by Spin, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, MTV, Entertainment Weekly, and Pitchfork, the band also dominated the cultural landscape with frenetic appearances on Leno and Letterman. Despite many naysayers' past claims that they "don't get" TV on the Radio, the band seems to have outgrown the stigma brought by membership in the explosively trendy, hater-baiting Williamsburg scene of the early 2000s that included other such unfairly maligned bands as Liars and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I've never really understood this; I mean, sure founder member/producer Dave Sitek's production can be chilly, but it's always balanced by passionate vocals from Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, as well as those oft-neglected rock and roll standbys: bass, guitar, and drums. Digging deeper, the lyrics thrill the brain's most basic linguistic receptors with delectable word-sounds while simultaneously giving more thoughtful brain-parts something substantive to chew on.

This has all been true since their full-length debut, Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes (2004). So why are they just getting their accolades now? You've probably read a lot about how the band has changed. As prefaced by Return to Cookie Mountain (2006), Dear Science moves towards a more pop sound while retaining all that makes the band unique. Much like SuicideGirls redefines beauty with hot naked weirdos, TVOTR has presented pop music in a more nuanced, but equally pleasing package. Many fine writers have described these changes in detail. What interests me more at this point is how we ourselves have changed. A generation of young impressionables have grown up along with this band, whether or not they were active fans.

In terms of understanding how great music grows together with a generation, this was one of my first experiences with the phenomenon. It started in 2002 with Ok Calculator, a TVOTR demo not very many people heard. Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, which hit the streets two years later, got the music world buzzing, but TVOTR didn't break through to the mainstream until their major label debut in 2006, and in the two years since, have grown near and dear to pretty much every rock nerd and young urbanite. "Wolf Like Me," their first widely successful single (it was in a videogame and featured on Dennis Leary's Rescue Me TV show), still makes bars full of awkward twenty-somethings do the Snoopy dance each time it plays. It's virtually inescapable, but unlike most pop hits, does not make you want to claw your eardrums out upon the hundredth listen. It also makes people reflect back on 2006, which, although it wasn't that long ago, already seems like a much different time in the world. Where were you the first time you saw it performed? Many Americans were watching Letterman:



I was at Brooklyn's McCarren Pool on a grey summer day, having my heart ripped out by my college boyfriend for the third and final time. Through the rain and the tears, I heard some fucking good music.

Unlike the one-trick emos of my youth, this band reflected the animalistic heft of my emotions without turning it into silly melodrama. On stage were five fully-grown men, reasonably dressed, making music as pathos-laden as it was well-crafted. Of course, I didn't think in those terms at the time; I was too busy seeking shelter and trying to stop my unsightly sobs from ruining my face and scaring everyone around me. But looking back, it was kind of a special moment: I realized you can grow up (and out of a certain ne'er-do-well) without losing the stuff that makes you recognizable to yourself. This seems pretty obvious, but I don't think I really "got it" until then.

I don't know if anyone else got downsized out of someone's life that day, but I'm guessing at least a few of you have listened to TVOTR in the aftermath of a dumping, and know what I'm talking about. Two years later, our word-of-mouth networks and love for the band have solidified, and when Dear Science came along, we were listening.

Then there is the fact that Dear Science says a lot of what Americans, not just young Americans, but all of us, are feeling right now better than we could articulate it for ourselves. It's almost as if TVOTR vocalists Kyp Malone and Tunde Adebimpe had a mental checklist of our current hopes and fears when they were writing the lyrics. Ambivalence about technology? Frustration with modern liberalism? Tentative hope for the future despite all signs pointing to just how fucked we are? Check, check, and check. Like any American with a brain and a pulse, these guys are thinking a lot about these issues, obsessively researching them on the internet ("When [Kyp] was writing his songs for the album, I think he was Googling a lot of things," Tunde told The Brooklyn Rail) and dreaming fitfully of the Apocalypse. And like any good rock band, they've made an album about what they're currently feeling, which is, not by accident, what a lot of us are feeling: uncomfortable malaise brought on by the suspicion that generations worth of "progress" has brought us no closer to peace and understanding than we were back in the Stone Age.

Source

Or, as Tunde says in the soulfully critical rager "DLZ":

At the same time, the single "Golden Age," which claims, "There's a golden age comin' round," indulges our most optimistic impulses. We are a nation tired -- fucking exhausted -- of believing we're doomed by factors beyond our control. A lot of otherwise smart, skeptical people are uncharacteristically giddy about the election of Barack Obama because really, what do we have to lose? We could continue down the same crappy path, or we could take a chance on someone who has promised to get shit done in ways that do not involve killing, torturing, or otherwise denying human beings their basic rights (and he'll be even cooler when he stands up for gay people). Although he doesn't go as far as Tunde in comdenming liberal complacency, he has at least payed lip service to the idea.

And that's another itch this album scratches: it goes where Barack Obama can't. The good thing about being an artist, and not a politician, is that you can explore sentiments like "God damn America!" without fear of career-ending reprisals. In fact, it's an artist's job to do that. We are right to be cynical, and, at the same time, we're right to be hopeful. Dear Science expresses our many shades of honest ambivalence the way no serious politician could. It doesn't just dominate the music landscape of 2008; it is 2008. Top it all off with a heartening song about awesome sex in which no one gets exploited and the female orgasm is celebrated with jingle bells and a full marching band, and there you have it: our collective subconscious in convenient mp3 form. And that's something not even the old fusties at Rolling Stone can deny.

This is the time of year when, if you're reading about music, you'll notice that content tends to be clogged up with Top 10 lists. And we don't know about you, but we're definitely sick of reading about Vampire Weekend, Lil Wayne and Portishead over and over, as interesting as those artists continue to be. So while we're technically participating in the convention of making a year-end list, we wanted to flip it a little and present our Top 10 Criminally Ignored Albums of 2008, many by talented artists who have toiled for years under the radar.


1. The BellRays: Hard, Sweet and Sticky (Anodyne)

Hailing from the Inland Empire area of Southern California, self-proclaimed "rock 'n soul band" the BellRays released their eighth album this year and still managed to avoid the spotlight they so deserve. With her big hair and even bigger pipes, front woman Lisa Kekaula is reminiscent of a young Tina Turner. The video for the single "Infection" is not at all what one would expect from this band's edgy sound: A whimsical and provocative red bear makes friends on the streets of San Francisco, which shows that this band also has an undeniable sense of humor.





2. The Sea and Cake: Car Alarm (Thrill Jockey)

Also on their eighth album is Chicago's The Sea and Cake, but the supremely chilled music on Car Alarm was almost too laid-back to make a big mainstream statement this year. The joy evident in the jangly guitar pop of "On a Letter" or the jaunty drum machine jamboree of "CMS Sequence" probably means that this band, an indie supergroup of sorts that counts members who also play in Tortoise and Gastr del Sol, doesn't give too much of a hoot about that. These visuals for "Weekend" make us long for carefree summers.





3. Kinky: Barracuda (Nettwerk)

Originally from Monterrey, Mexico but now living in Los Angeles, the Kinky quintet provides saucy, bilingual rock danceables with its tongue firmly in someone else's cheek. The band wrote the theme song for the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team, but it got slightly overshadowed because it happened at the same time that David Beckham joined the team. Barracuda features production by Money Mark, the one-man band who has most notably worked with the Beastie Boys, Chico Sonido, a crate-digging DJ also from Mexico. Sonido produced Kinky's single "Hasta Quermanos," a song that has a clever dance video to match.





4. Bauhaus: Go Away White (Bauhaus Music)

Legendary goth rockers Bauhaus came back for a hot minute in 2008 with the sizzling album Go Away White, but it certainly did not receive the red carpet treatment it should have after the band's 25 year studio album hiatus. Even though they recorded this song called "Too Much 21st Century," Bauhaus does not sound stuck in the past.





5. Mugison: Mugiboogie (Ipecac)

Those who adore the individuality of Björk but haven't explored the other gems of that country's music scene should definitely check out Mugison. After developing a quiet reputation as an electronic producer, his new album "Mugiboogie" reveals a fondness for live and acoustic instruments. Here the band perform "Jesus is a Good Name to Moan." Click HERE if you're interested in the reasoning behind the bizarre title of the track.





6. Emiliana Torrini: Me and Armini (Rough Trade)

Yep, there really is something special in the beautiful waters of Iceland, because we also have that country to thank for Emiliana Torrini, who released her sixth studio album Me and Armini this year. She's gotten accolades for work with downtempo electronic groups GusGus and Thievery Corporation and has even written songs for international pop queen Kylie Minogue, but her solo work is full of cute songs like "Jungle Drum," a buoyant delight that references "Ebony and Ivory" and "Dancing in the Street" over an addictive beat.





7. Meat Beat Manifesto: Autoimmune (Metropolis)

Acts as diverse as the Chemical Brothers, Prodigy and Nine Inch Nails owe Meat Beat Manifesto a debt of gratitude. MBM (and its creator Jack Dangers) has a 21-year history that includes a lead architectural role in drawing the blueprints of various micro-strains of electronic music, from industrial and techno to drum & bass and dubstep. Here's a snippet of the band's recent performance in San Francisco, a show that kept my normally sedentary ass moving for the whole time. This clip is worth watching not only to hear "Children of the Earth" from MBM's 10th album Autoimmune, but to see how extraordinary the visuals in the live presentation are, an intricately weaved pastiche of obscure films, television shows and random optical illusions all sequenced to the beat.





8. Tech N9ne: Killer (Strange Music)

Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne parodies Michael Jackson's Thriller on the cover of his 11th independent album Killer by mimicking Jackson's reclined pose while clad in a white straightjacket. This crazy good double album eschews rap's clichés of booty and bling in order to look at these and other concepts from a different angle. "Black Boy" features guest stars Ice Cube, Brother J (of the East Coast rap group X-Clan) and newcomer Krizz Kaliko talks about racial misconceptions and struggles; Cube even takes a not-so subtle dig at Jackson in there, too.





9. Del The Funkee Homosapien: 11th Hour (Definitive Jux)

Also in the realm of hip-hop is Del The Funkee Homosapien. The Oakland-born and seemingly alien bred rapper offers thoughts and beats that are definitely another world from his superstar cousin Ice Cube, who first became famous with his gangster rap. Del created one of the most famous logos in hip-hop with his three-eyed design for his Hieroglyphics collective, and provided the rhymes for Gorillaz' classic track "Clint Eastwood" Ñ both might be his most well-known achievements. After a long absence, his solo album 11th Hour did not receive the attention that it warrants, but that's not due to lack of Del "Workin It."





10. Styrofoam: A Thousand Words (Nettwerk)

Belgian producer Arne Van Petegem made one of the year's most tender-hearted albums about love this year, a work that hearkens back to the sweet electro-pop of early '80s acts like Yaz. Even though it's such a digital album, Van Petegem and his live band no problem making it sound warm and human in person, as Styrofoam does in this Turin performance of the title track, "A Thousand Words."






Tamara Palmer is SuicideGirls' Sound Advice/New Music Editor. During a decade and a half of DJing and writing about music professionally, she has found particular pleasure in championing new artists and sounds. Her work has appeared in outlets such as the Associated Press, Wired, and SF Weekly. She is a former editor of URB and the author of the book, Country Fried Soul: Adventures in Dirty South Hip-Hop.