New Brunswick 3 day Music weekend

I am glad to report the basement scene is alive and well in the Hub City of New Brunswick, NJ APRIL 25, 26, & 27, 2008. When Jim Testa emailed a few weeks ago asking me to comment on basement life in the 90's and some memorable moments i wrote some down and forgot about it until he sent me link of his latest Jersey Beat podcast episode #54 that on listen really took me back. Features infamous bands like: Pleased Youth, P.E.D.,The Blisters and Deadguy among others. I then realized this was a part of something bigger and I got really excited to hear there were three days of weekend shows going on in alternative venues like a yoga studio! Man have times changed. Now, all the bands in his podcast are not playing but he really documented almost two decades worth of music. That is right New Brunswick has been a scene like any other that ebbs and flows in and out of clubs and basements and tail of the cast high-lights band who are playing The Screaming Females, Rapid Cities,full of fancy, and for science; all keeping the torch alive. The New Jersey suburban youth gets it and I can't wait to read the special edition of the Hub City Fanzine. I'm amazed somebody printed something and it is not a lazy web zine. Very cool. I may need somebody to hook me up with a copy or since it is Sunday I'll take baby girl on a little road trip this afternoon to curmudgeon records.Life goes on and remember to support your scene outside the scene.

Best indie music is at WE Festival May 2008

You know this place as the beach town on TV One Tree Hill which is really Wilmington, North Carolina. What these two towns have in common is a love for music. One is made up and one is very real. One of the great cultural events is the W.E. Festival (short for Wilmington Exchange) which has been taking place since 1996! The do it yourself event was founded and enabled by Kenyata Sullivan who has imposed a couple new rules this time around and has alumni curating some of the bills. In the past decade there was a gauntlet review process for bands wanting to play, no sponsors and no major labels bands like at SXSW, CMJ, NEMO, etc. This year local or musician centric and relevant sponsors are being brought in because the playing field has changed in for the music industry significantly and secondly to help pay the bands who are traveling a great distance to perform (gas ain't cheap). Years past the pay was free beer and you'd find a place to stay on somebody's floor. Which is probably true this time around but I recommend one of the affordable hotels or even renting a beach-house for us older folks. Public admission is $1.00 American or 1/3 of a Euro. Which is dirt cheap for three floors of great Indie music from Thursday May 24th to the 28th over Memorial Day weekend. So if you dig music and want to take a rock n'roll vacation. There is no party like this anywhere so pack your vitamins because it is sort of like a sleep deprivation experiment where your ears will be tested. Years past bands like DPlan, Ex Models, Money Susuki and tons other bands from all over the US have played this fun filled fest so check out the schedule. Chances are you never heard of any of them unless they are from your hometown scene. Personally I've played (Aviso'Hara, The Slow Wire) and attended a half dozen times and made some incredible friendships, seen some amazing performances, drank a lot of beer to the point of sobriety and have obviously nothing bad to say other than don't be fool. Plan a road trip today to WeFest 2008.

Wefest Flickr Photo Album

Prosolar Mechanics - Primer single review

mog.com

More about this song

Share

Damn this track is great in so many ways and in particular if the dark parts of neurosis are you thing or basic space travel. If I had to explain to aliens what i thought their music sounded like i would send them this song. Get your free mp3 of "primer" by Prosolar Mechanic's last song of the month series and other nuggets over at last.fm and see for yourself. Heavily influenced by radiohead and an overdose of bleeding layers of guitar music, distorted drums and alla sonic youth.

The Raveonettes lust lust lust review

Ah, the glory of well executed guitar distortion. I can smell the fumes from the hot tubes burning through the tweed of the amps. Sune Rose Wagner and Sharin Foo's Lust Lust Lust pull the sheath off of pop music and juxtapose it against obvious surf rock formula pop songs. The Raveonettes craft alternative soundscapes for the blind and are able to give you that feeling you got when watching lost in translation. The electronic beats are Mo Tucker inspired; as we know all good things reference what is 4/4. I disagree with the pitchdorks review about the volume. If your stereo is shitty you may need to crank this music but on normal headphone volume this music this works. Obvious JMC haircut comparisons aside. This one blips and has that bubble mad scientist reverb sound at times and literally scratches the underside of a chrome jet blasting overhead (paraphrasing my dear old dead friend Ethan Stein's review of pyshocandy here). Listen to "You want the candy". For fast numbers "Dead Sound" and "Blitzed" should satisfy first listeners who have no idea who the Reid brothers are. Get free tracks from the mp3 bloggers of The Raveonettes via the Hype Machine. Get extra tracks for Lust Lust Lust on emusic.

Nude Radiohead single widget

Get your Radiohead stems and create your own remix of the tune, vote and create a widget of the single. Be the cool kid on the block. The Brits still do this single thing but you too can take part in the radio remix shenanigans. This is high fidelity in motion +