Sippy Cups
The Time Machine (Snacker Disc)
release: June 16, 2009
style: kindergarten kiddie pop-rock
similar: The Hipwaders, Recess Monkey
[rating: ***] Be sure not to confuse the Sippy Cups' "kid-rock" with Kid Rock. You know what i'm saying. This group's second outing--inspired partially by their own offspring--is loosely a concept album regarding a Time Machine, though the Cups want you to know that it's not about a Time Machine per se. It's about ourselves and the growth and journey through life. The Time Machine is kid-friendly, parent-approved. Oh wowzer that was so clever of me to type! At live shows they have a guy who juggles and potrays different characters, represented here in songs such as "Seven is the New 14," which is a math lesson that i didn't exactly follow ("6 1/2 is still 6 1/2"). So follow THIS: "Super Guy Saves the Dad" is a quick, lighthearted lesson in anger management to be taken seriously. -Kenyon

www.myspace.com/thesippycups

The Charlatans UK Announce U.S Fall 2009 Tour
Tenth album You Cross My Path out now and in September

What a better band than the Charlatans to post about after two weeks of dead blogging. Remember, blogs are like sharks. Stop blogging and we're dead. So i guess Advance Copy was injured. The irony here is that the Charlatans were around long before blogging, well before digital cameras, and haven't been on any hiatus.


We read about them in British magazines NME and Select and saw their first videos on 120 minutes. I was lucky enough to see them at the Limelight in 1992, when it was a given to crowd-surf at nearly every rock show. Unlike several bands that were spawned from the same heyday of Madchester (Lush, Happy Mondays, Ride, Stone Roses), the Charlatans--although the line-up changed a little bit since 1991--are still around, surviving many storms in the shifty music industry environment and consistently released record after record. They now have ten, which is rather remarkable, considering all factors. I admit i stopped listening to them closely when the third album, the less-inspiring Up to Our Hips, came out in 1994. Since then i've all but ignored them. Now that it's been almost 20 years (!) since their inception, i can honestly say--along with Primal Scream--i've found new respect and love for the Charlatans, even in the wake of vocalist Tim Burgess' sobering up.

Mixed by the one and only Alan Moulder, You Cross My Path was first released last year for FREE in MP3 format. The new album already got physical release via Cooking Vinyl and will get more physical release for us Americans. The video for single "Oh! Vanity" is so 1992, while the band itself stays slick and true to its signature sound. -Kenyon

US FALL 2009 TOUR
Sept 17 - The Casbah - San Diego, CA
Sept 18 - Henry Fonda Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Sept 20 - Double Door - Chicago, IL
Sept 21 - Magic Stick - Detroit, MI
Sept 22 - London Music Hall - London, ON
Sept 23 - The Mod Club Theatre - Toronto, ON
Sept 24 - Les Saints - Montreal, QUE
Sept 25 - Paradise Rock Club - Boston, MA
Sept 26 - Music Hall Of Williamsburg - Brooklyn, NY
Sept 27 - Theatre Of Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA
Sept 29 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY
Sept 30 - Maxwell's - Hoboken, NJ
Oct 2 - Ottobar - Baltimore, MD
Oct 3 - Black Cat - Washington, DC
Oct 4 - The Orange Peel - Asheville, NC
Oct 5 - The Loft - Atlanta, GA
Oct 6 - One Eyed Jacks - New Orleans, LA
Oct 7 - The Parish - Austin. TX
Oct 8 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
Oct 12 - The Detroit Bar - Costa Mesa, CA
Oct 13 - Glasshouse - Pomona, CA
Oct 14 - Bimbo's 365 Club - San Francisco, CA

www.myspace.com/thecharlatans

That's entertainment.
Fischerspooner
Music Hall of Williamsburg May 7, 2009.
With Drop the Lime and a person with a boob exposed singing horribly.

setlist: amuse bouche*, happy, get confused, kick in the teeth, money can't dance*, supply and demand*, danse en france*, emerge, cloud, fucker, sweetness, best revenge* <> encore <> never win, we are electric* . *denotes song on new album, Entertainment.

clicky on photos to make bigger.

quotables from casey:

"madonna is here!"
"electroclash is dead. you should boo us!"
"press space bar"
"you sure you want to hear [emerge]? it's old and tired. that's what the newspapers say. what's a newspaper? the internet made me a star."

Coney Island + Schmiren Fest + Current Status Via Photos
-------------------------------------
2009 Siren Schmest in Coney Island was announced last week.
The initial line-up for July 18 is:

BUILT TO SPILL
THE RAVEONETTES
FRIGHTENED RABBIT
GRAND DUCHY
MONOTONIX
MICACHU & THE SHAPES
more TBA

Built to Spill is a logical choice for headliner, though the Raveonettes are too cool to be subjected to psuedo schmipsters at a free show to see Built to Spill or Frightened Rabbit. Coney Island is not even a place were the elite music snobs hang out on any other day. Not to mention the Village Voice print version has shrunk. It was in the pool. There was significant schrinkage. The exclusive beer sponsor is Budweiser. BUDWEISER. This is very important if you want to get trashed there and irritate people.



It just so happens that i was in Coney Island April 26. There is some confusion about the status of Coney Island's operation. Some of it has closed, though much is still opened. Here is the proof, which includes lights on the rides, stuffed animals in place for artistic photos, and a mannequin vomitting into a toilet. -Kenyon

Pretty Things Peep Show
last nite at Broadway, Amityville
(this is where i DJ yo, come down next friday!)

clicky on photos to make the burlesque bigger.

World Inferno Friendship Society
April 15, 2009 at Crazy Donkey, Long Island

clicky on photos to make bigger.


even though i never listen to them, i have to say they are
one of the best live bands around.

Pet Shop Boys. new album April 21. new video for "Love, Etc".

I know, i know. The Pet Shop Boys haven't been relevant since like 1991. Post the latest Metric video and move onto the next Presets concert. Some of you were only little babies/not born yet when "West End Girls" came out, and you probably know that one song from them. But when you see and hear that video medley of all the Pet Shop Boys singles/hits, you realize they actually had a very impressive career with like 20 great singles while paving the way for accessible disco-pop. The first single from their tenth album, simply titled Yes, sounds very 1993 for them and retains their signature style, which is okay. No harm, no foul. Album releases by Astralwerks on April 21, 2009. -Kenyon

Phil Spector found guilty of murder

from CNN- After about 30 hours of deliberation, a jury on Monday convicted music producer Phil Spector of second-degree murder in the death of actress Lana Clarkson more than six years ago.

but here is the part i love- "Wearing a black suit with a red tie and pocket square, Spector showed no reaction as the verdict was announced. Now 69, he faces a sentence of 18 years to life in prison when he is sentenced May 29." That is such great reporting. Describing his outfit. It makes it seem so REAL!

Wrestlemania 25.
April 5, 2009 via Pay-Per-View at DJ Ravage's house.

a little Irish guy jumping from a huge black guy. that's entertainment!

oh the carnage!

CM Punk wins Money in Bank match second year in row!

yea that's where you belong matt, in a TRASH CAN! you suck!

jeff, don't do this!


619! crazy mask!



HBK after his gospel pre-entrance entrance.



wake up, dead man.



you think WWE is fake?! does this look FAKE to you?!



stone cold 3:16. wowzer, looks like i was actually THERE, right?




whew, what an intense moment! *_*

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

best match- Shawn Michaels vs Undertaker
second best match- money in bank ladder
Jeff Hardy, you don't have to do this moment- Jeff jumping from ladder
Shelton Benjamin, what are you thinking moment- Shelton jumping from ladder
Big waste of time- Kid Rock and women's battle royal
Most predictable- Mickey Rourke punching Chris Jericho in face
Holy crap- John Cena lifting both Big Show AND Edge
Kinda a let down as the last, headlining match- Randy Orton vs Triple H

Reigns
The House on the Causeway
(Monotreme)
release: March 17, 2009
style: post rock/experimental
[rating: ***1/2] One of the more unusual recordings this year, this mysterious outfit from the UK has members under the names Operatives A and B. Look at their friends on myspace and it will explain a few things. They're inspired less by music and more by original great fringe thinkers like Edward Gorey, Harry Houdini and H.P Lovecraft. Awesome. A worthy additional to Monotreme's growing roster, House needs to be heard as a full album to appreciate the threads of piano, half-sung half-spoken lyrics and gothy atmosphere melding with late 70s/early 80s experimental artists. Think of Liars without the noisy bells and whistles and clanks. i am actually surprised i can tolerate this. -Kenyon

www.myspace.com/reignsofwessex

Green Pajamas
Poison in the Russian Room
(Hidden Agenda)
release: April 28, 2009
style: sikey delik indie rock
[rating: ***1/2] The Pajamas have had so many releases just within the last seven years, it's been a non-existent trip to hold steady on the Seattle band's silky post-hippy psychness. Finally, i found i owed it to the band that i listen to a whole damn record of theirs and well before the release date to boot. Poison, a concept album divided into two parts, is a work that can rise above any notion that the band has only been re-issuing old recordings. Yes, Green Pajamas is a very silly name for a band. Even so, describing the band as a flowerchild birthday by early Pink Floyd and the Warlocks is a high compliment. "Any Way the Wind Blows" is especially delightful. -Kenyon


www.parasol.com/labels/hiddenagenda/aha093.asp
www.myspace.com/greenpajamas

Jeniferever: Spring Tides
(Monotreme)
release: April 14, 2009
style: chill indie rock, post rock
similar: Appleseed Cast, Death Cab
[rating: ****] Spring Tides feels real. This Swedish band, who's been under the radar for a decade, delivers emotion-splitting orchestral-like works with a purpose. The atmospheric guitaring (hey, Jeniferever, i can make up words too) melt with lilting vocals that get carried away by whichever space-filling keyboard tone they're using. Something deep is going on. "Sparrow Hills," with its fragile bells/chimes, is the pinnacle of an already consuming album. Can i get a heart? Cool, here's a heart...[heart]. --Kenyon

www.myspace.com/jeniferever

Mazes: s/t (Parasol)
release: March 3, 2009
style: indie pop
similar: Great Lakes, Camera Obscura, Ivy League
[rating: ****] Up till now, Mazes--who owe a great deal to Scottish indie pop bands--was a secret band from a couple of the members of 1900s. Joined by a friend, the trio is only a few shades of green away from 1900s in the indie pop psychedelia spectrum. This project is more fragile musical and lyrically ("you give your love up/give it all up/when i lay in the darkness I doubt"). The self-titled debut is actually not so dark. The bright harmonies are fluent as they decorate the emotions of "Manual Systems" and "Things I Threw in the Well." -Kenyon

www.myspace.com/chicagomazes
http://www.parasol.com/

Frantic Clam: Anatomica EP (Exemplary)
release: February 2009
style: off the road rock
[rating: **1/2] For a band called Frantic Clam, i was expecting a lot worse. While the shrill vocals aren't gonna appeal to everyone, the Austin band does have a modest charm. The band itself actually says "we sound like tinnitus," but i wouldn't go that far, even for "Indiana," which has a melody very similar to the verses of Bowie's "Heroes." Give two of the members credit for serving time in Iraq and half a credit for this EP. -Kenyon

www.myspace.com/franticclam

Weird Owl
Ever the Silver Cord Be Loosed
(Tee Pee)
release: February 17, 2009
style: slowride psychedelia
similar: Dead Meadow, Black Mountain
[rating: ***] Tee Pee has been cranking out the mystical psychedelia, and Weird Owl is no exception. The particular style of this Brooklyn group has more of a 1970s deep classic rock influence than some of the other bands on the roster, though they do get spooky with their turtle-paced sorcery. Ever the Silver Cord is ripe with lyrical charms involving mythology and new age-type things. Whoa, i think he just said "fire breathing lions in skies." -Kenyon

Depeche Mode announce 2009 North American tour dates. Next studio album, Sounds of the Universe, out April 21, 2009.



Friday, July 24th Toronto
Saturday, July 25th Montreal
Tuesday, July 28th Washington, DC
Friday, July 31st Boston
Saturday, August 1st Atlantic City
Monday, August 3rd New York
Monday, August 10th Seattle
Wednesday, August 12th San Francisco
Friday, August 14th San Diego
Sunday, August 16th Los Angeles
Monday, August 17th Los Angeles
Thursday, August 20th Santa Barbara
Saturday, August 22nd Las Vegas
Sunday, August 23rd Phoenix
Tuesday, August 25th Salt Lake City
Thursday, August 27th Denver
Saturday, August 29th Dallas
Sunday, August 30th Houston
Tuesday, Sept 1st Atlanta
Friday, Sept 4th Tampa
Saturday, Sept 5th Ft. Lauderdale