Boy Genius Heads to Anchorage

The first thing that strikes me about the music on Boy Genius’ Anchorage is their dynamic use of texture. They have a unique way of combining warm tones and somewhat unusual instrumentation in their songs. In “Eureka” the organ adds a great extra layer to the chorus, and the tremolo guitar/glockenspiel combination that follows perfectly compliments the previous section; it adds a surprisingly pleasant atmosphere to the song. “Marigold” begins with two arpeggiated guitars that vaguely resemble Radiohead’s “Weird Fishes” guitar pattern, but then Boy Genius surprises listeners with a sweet section of glockenspiel and melodica. It is these short spurts of charming orchestration and simple melodies that add something special to Anchorage that you don’t find on a lot of other Indie-rock albums. These simple songs utilize clean sounding instruments yet somehow still maintain a raw edge. Jason Korenkiewicz’s voice sounds casual and honest, and makes you feel that he is in the room with you. His vocals both contrast and blend nicely with Lisa Klimkiwicz’s crystal-like voice. All in all, Anchorage delivers 40 minutes of good songwriting and unexpected twists that are easy and pleasant to listen to.

Download: "Failing Gravity" [mp3]

New Anya Marina: "Move You"

Maybe you've heard her on that Grey's Anatomy show, but I think 2009 will be the year for Anya Marina. I mean she got Britt Daniel, that guy from Spoon, and Brian Karscig from Louis XIV to help produce her new album, Slow & Steady Seduction, Phase II, which Chop Shop/Atlantic will release December 9th. For the record, Daniel made up a bunch of loops and drums beats and mailed them out west to Marina, who then added guitars and her sweet sweet vocals to make a pretty killer record. Is a December album too late to put on a list for the Best of 2008? You decide.

Download: "Move You" [mp3]

New Release Tuesday: Rivers Cuomo

Earlier this year, you might all remember my diatribe of disgust over Weezer, or their sixth album, or the third one commonly known by its color scheme. Never in my life was I ready to just tell Weezer to hang it up, for them to just, um, bow out gracefully (gracefully is definitely not the word I should use here because it's hard for a band to bow out gracefully from an album that is, pardon my french, shit.) So then a few months rolls by, my copy of the album is sold back to my independent retailer for a few bucks, and I go about my life. That is until rumor has it that Rivers Cuomo was going to release a second set of demos and home recordings, titled Alone II, following up Alone, which came out a year ago this week.

Amazon announced it first, and Pitchfork noted it. Then the cover art was discovered: the same alone patch adorning this time a picture of a teen Rivers with some nice teased 1980s metal hair. I wasn't interested - when Alone came out last year, it held my attention for all of five minutes. "This Is The Way" was a god awful song that would not be on Weezer the following year and with good reason, "Blast Off!" and "Longtime Sunshine" were Songs From The Black Hole that I had for years, but could now have in pristine and clear audio quality. I quickly discarded that record, too.

But when they announced the songs for Alone II, my interests were piqued. Why you ask? Because of the songs making up this one actually have a little bit more substance. Songs like "Purification of Water" and "Walt Disney" have been favorites of mine for what feel like several years, songs that pre-date my formative years. The home demo of "Paper Face" is quite fun. Rivers first version of "My Brain Is Working Overtime" is also a half decent gem from around 1999-2000 and a song Weezer would play when they first got back to playing out. And as I listen, hell, even the newer songs demo'd just last year, the piano ballad "My Day Is Coming" and "I Don't Want To Let You Go" make me wonder why the hell is Scott Shriner singing lead on a Weezer album!? A few more songs from the Black Hole emerged, but nothing special, as collectively they make up but two and a half minutes of the disc.

But what might be the gem among all this? Cuomo's take on "I Can't Stop Partying". Written by Mr. Janet Jackson, aka Jermaine Dupri, Cuomo cut the track this year and has a serious take on a song that features the line "I gotta have Patron / I gotta have the E / I gotta have a lot of pretty girls around me". The best part of it all though? The Wurlitzer that's hiding underneath the double-tracked vocals just above the drums.

So what am I trying to say? This is acutally good! And you know why that is? Because it's all in the past. Cuomo says he has enough material to make a couple more of these, which is what he should just stick to. Let your fans peer through the archives, songs that you wrote about yourself, and not about vicarious things like hash pipes and dope noses.

Download: "I Can't Stop Partying" [mp3] // [Buy Here]

Wild Light readies Adult Nights

Easily one of my favorite bands that I was introduced to at CMJ this year was the New Hampshire based collective, Wild Light. It all started as bands usually go - four childhood friends play instruments, start a band, play shows, make music, etc. They then became the it band of CMJ's and SXSW's of the past, were hand picked by some Arcade Fire band to share the stage with them, and have now been picked up by the newly rejuvenated StarTime International to release their full length debut, Adult Nights, on March 3rd.

The 13-track set were written by all four members of the band, who made the album with legendary producer Rob Schnapf. The result is a collection of songs blending Americana pop, melded together by harmonies and intricate playing.

Adult Nights:
1. California On My Mind
2. New Hampshire
3. Canyon City
4. Surf Generation
5. Call Home
6. Heart Attack
7. Future Homes
8. The Party (Oh, My God!)
9. My Father Was A Horse
10. Lawless River
11. New Year's Eve
12. (Surfer's Reprise)
13. Red House

Stream: Various Tracks [here]

Band of the Week: Wintermute

Bloc Party may not have been the band to signal England's sea change into dance rock, but Silent Alarm is arguably not just the scene's best album, but one of this decade's best. In the months leading up to that record, I could sense something pretty special was around the corner, and now I get that same feeling with Leeds' Wintermute.

Their EP, Fun With Wizard Stencils, hints at this greatness, and although their math rock peers, like Foals and Dartz! have produced very good albums, the one that is sure to set this scene on fire is brewing in the heads of this four piece right now. According to the band's Myspace, an album will be out in early '09, featuring the EP tracks, re-recorded old favorites, and some new tunes.

Download: "Spanish Girls" [mp3]

Monday Morning Newsletter (11-24-08)

Weeks after the election, politics continues to cling to rock n roll. Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash has spoken out on gay marriage this week. He released a video protesting Proposition 8 in the state of California. In the video Slash plays The Star-Spangled Banner on guitar in the background while his wife, Perla Hudson, narrates. Unexpectedly California banned gay marriage by ballot in the November 4 election.

Rumor has it that internationally renowned pederast Michael Jackson has converted to Islam and changed his name to Mikaeel. The 50-year-old singer reportedly became a Muslim in a ceremony at the home of Steve Porcaro in Los Angeles. His brother Jermaine Jackson has previously hinted at the conversion. Jermaine converted in 1989. the brothers had been raised as Jehovah’s witnesses.

This week pop heiress Ashlee Simpson and Pete Wentz bore their first child. The couple named him Bronx Mowgli Wentz.The child was named for the infamous Los Angeles Hardcore band “The Bronx”. He was born Thursday night, and weighed in at 7 pounds, 11 ounces. Rumors of paternity abound.

Acid Tiger, the side project of Converge's Ben Koller has posted two new tracks from their impending first album on MySpace. The tracks were recorded at Godcity Studios by Converge guitarist Kurt Ballou at Godcity Studios in Salem, Massachusetts.

Today Capitol Records releases the expanded version of Coldplay's Viva La Vida. The two-disc package includes the Viva La Vida album plus a brand new EP entitled Prospekt's March. The EP includes six new songs plus alternate versions of two album tracks: "Lost +" (with Jay-Z) and a remix of "Lovers in Japan."

Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker is suing the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. The Goodyear Company owned the plane and were responsible for maintenance. Barker's suit claims the companies improperly operated and maintained the Learjet that nearly killed him. He seeks $25,000 in damages and a $75,000 stipend for tattoo removal.

The infamous Cavern Club in Liverpool England has removed Gary Glitter's Brick from it’s wall. Originally management refused to remove the brick for historical reasons. But after complaints and renrewed press on the pedophile, the club opted to chisel it out. It has been replaced by a new brick bearing the name of the Mighty Wah's lead singer Pete Wylie.

SIS Giveaway: Mirror's Edge for the Xbox 360

This week it seems we are getting you ready for the holidays in just the right way. Rather than having you have to add Mirror's Edge, the latest awesome video game from the fine folks at Electronic Arts, to your Christmas lists, we here thought we'd just give you a copy of the game ourselves! Note though we are only giving away one copy of the game for the X-Box 360, and not Playstation 3. Best of luck!

Click here to win!

Ane Brun video: "The Puzzle"

Ane Brun sounds like a Scandinavian folk fairy, or a Dolly Parton and Bjork collaboration. She's been doing good in Scandinavia, with her recently released "Changing of the Seasons" album entering the Scandinavian charts at #1. Her guitar picks while her voice zithers like an autoharp, and critics are praising her girlish but strong tone. There's sincerity in every rise and fall of her voice, and despite their austerity, the instruments that play behind her sound almost strange and foreign to what you might normally hear but amazing melodic and comforting.

Her video for "The Puzzle" plays like a Terrence Malick film. There are well-directed shots of wheat grass by the shore, quaking waters, and a broken guitar with missing strings. All the while, Ane Brun's voice plays in the background with such vocal and lyrical expression that you feel like you're listening to musical folklore.

"The Puzzle" video


Download: "The Fall" [mp3]

El Mariachi de Bronx

Just when you think you know a band they go all mariachi on you. Rumors are abound that The Bronx's 2009 release will be a mariachi album.

The New York borough of the Bronx was named after a patsy. Captain Jonas Joanssen Bronck owned a 500 acre farm in the area below 150th street. He only lived there 4 years. In retribution for a series of Dutch East Indian Company raids on the Lenape, the indigenous people killed Broncks for being blonde in the wrong place at the wrong time. By my measure that makes the Bronx, mariachi or not, the one true Bronx.

Jay Jay Pistolet Releases Birthday EP

Jay Jay Pistolet is an island in the middle of West London. His music is inspired by surf pop, like the Beach Boys, and classic literature from F. Scott. Fitzgerald. He has toured around the world with Katie Melua, Two Gallants, and Kid Harpoon, and has had his music produced by Charlie Fink of Noah and the Whale. His debut EP, Happy Birthday You, was released by Stiff Records this week.

His voice croons and the bells and harmonies he uses are pleasant. There is definitely something quaint and old-time about his music. His video for "Bag of Gold" uses home footage from the south of France and Ibiza in the 1950s, and along with the Beach Boys, Bob Dylan, Serge Gainsbourg, Brigitte Bardot, and Billie Holiday are listed under his influences on his Myspace page. The Pogues are also listed. His approach to music and the image he places himself in is both intriguing and charming.

Download: "Holly" [mp3]

The Stranded Local Q & A: Midatlantic

Veteran fans of the Boston music scene may remember this week’s Local Q & A band as the Bleedin Bleedins, the Boston/Dublin-based quartet.

Like the times, the group’s name changed too, in an effort to reflect the band’s multi-national heritage. The Atlantic Ocean is between the US and Ireland…you get the picture.

Midatlantic doesn’t just throw in the Irish component for some Boston love, they actually are successful in the old country. Touring extensively there for years built them a strong following.

The band’s latest effort, The Longest Silence, is their sophomore LP and follow-up to their popular 2005 debut, Life Without Computers. The tour in support of their first album saw them sharing the stage with The Strokes, The Frames, BellX1 and Fountains of Wayne among others.

So if you like hearing rhythmic rock with an edge, but crafted finely head over to Midatlantic’s website and check out the Weekly 5 with guitarist Barry Kelly


Hailing from Boston makes us better than all those non-Boston bands because:

It’s just a tough town to be a band in. It makes you much tougher and resilient. Our second home is Dublin though, so we have to say being a Dublin band makes us fairly hardy too. Boston is teaming with brilliant musicians and art and there are just not enough places to play, you need to be resourceful to showcase your art here and that’s what make us better than all those non-Boston bands.

Name at least three bands that are still around and touring that you’d love to be on a bill with, and think it fits well:

Supergrass
The Who
The Cure
Riverdance (only kidding)

Your favorite Boston venue to perform in is:
Great Scott and The Paradise

Are there any genres that influence your music conceptually, rather than sonically? (In that you can’t hear from simply listening to the music, but from getting into the structure or mathematics of the song-writing, etc.)

My first musical addiction was The Who, where every boundary was pushed, but songwriting, melody and harmony remained the core. They are the reason I pick up a musical instrument each day. I don’t really think in terms of genres, it’s a weird concept, I believe in good songwriting [in] any genre,.


Your favorite local bar to hit up when not doing the whole band deal is:
Deep Ellum/The Druid

Passion Pit: '09 Tour Dates, Remix Contest

Everything just keeps looking up for Boston's Passion Pit. The video for "Sleepyhead" just got aired on MTV2 last week amidst them wrapping up final sessions for their hotly anticipated full length which will drop next spring. MTV also said they were probably the biggest band at this year's CMJ conference as they packed the club at every performance they had.

The band now hopes to keep the clubs packed with their first tour of the New Year. The band will be playing in cities and venues they have yet to visit, so do check them out on their maiden voyage in to your town. All dates are with Cale Parks of Aloha fame and Paper Route, save for the two remaining dates on their 2008 calendar:

12.05 Brooklyn, NY @ Glasslands
12.31 Allston, MA @ Great Scott
01.22 Montreal, QC @ Divan Orange
01.23 Ottawa, ON @ Zaphod Beeblebrox
01.24 Toronto, ON @ Horseshoe Tavern
01.26 Pontiac, MI @ Crofoot
01.27 Chicago, IL @ Schuba's
01.28 Cleveland, OH @ The Spot at Case University
01.29 Cincinnati, OH @ Northside Tavern
01.30 Columbus, OH @ Summit
02.02 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
02.03 Washington, DC @ Black Cat
02.07 Northampton, MA @ Iron Horse Music Hall

To tide you over, the Pit has teamed up with Fingers on the Pulse to bring you the "Sleepyhead" remix contest. To enter, download these here parts of the song and e-mail your entry by December 2nd with the subject line Passion Pit Remix. Godspeed and best of luck.

Band of the Week: Jean on Jean

Outhud may have been the hook that got me to listen to Jean on Jean, but it's obviously not what has kept me hanging around. The band, fronted by former Outhud-er Molly Shnick, will probably be never heard beneath the flicker of a disco ball, and that's okay. Their self-titled debut is out next month on Kanine Records, and while it may be too twee for its own good, obvious nods to breezy autumn favorites like Belle & Sebastian are all I need to forget about Shnick's old band, if only just a little bit.

Download: "Tonight" [mp3]

Monday Morning Newsleter (11-17-08)

Today is the birthday of Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian folk and country singer. He is 70 years old today and despite releasing 20 bland LPs in those decades no one has put him out of his misery. Happy Birthday greetings to Mr. Lightfoot.

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored Les Paul last week with the 2008 American Music Master award. Hundreds gathered to honor him at the Playhouse Square State Theater in Cleveland, OH. Other Hall of Fame members performed including Duane Eddy, Dennis Coffey and Slash. Way to go Slash, you only look a little out of place there buddy.

José is in mourning this week. Miriam Makeba, the South African, singer died of a heart attack. She performed a full set at an anti-Mafia concert in Itlay then dropped dead. In her heyday she was a badass: in 1976 she addressed the UN to denounce apartheid. The nation of South Africa banned her music and she had to live in exile for over 30 years.

At a concert in Sydney, Australia last week, singer Rihanna suddenly grabbed her stomach and ran off stage. She was in the middle of the song “Umbrella” and was seen to be clutching her stomach moments before the incident. A representative told us that she is not bulimic and is perfectly healthy. José says, lay off the ipecac.

Also ill this week is Mastodon guitarist Bill Kelliher. Kelliher was hospitalized in London for an undisclosed crotch ailment. Doctors will are monitoring his condition which is said to be improving. Mastodon has opted to continue the European Unholy Alliance Chapter 3 package tour as a three-piece.

One-time Jimi Hendrix drummer Mitch Mitchell died this week. He had just completed a tour with the Experience Hendrix project. He is the longest lived member of the original trio, and the only not to die of drugs and alcohol–related causes. He was 62.

You may have read that *NSYNC lip-synch artist Lance Bass has been in cosmonaut training in Russia. On the Tonight Show this week Bass, admitted he is now two inches smaller than he was before he began the program. (Please insert dick joke here) Space suits apply pressure to the body, because of pressure differences. He explained further that his trainers made him a special suit that would contract him in space.

Paula Goodspeed, a Paula Abdul stalker, was found dead near the American Idol judge’s home this week. Goodspeed reportedly died of a drug overdose. Goodspeed actually auditioned for the show back in 2006, and didn’t make it past Simon's wit and gay flamboyance. The police currently consider Paula Abdul a possible suspect.

Rapper Kanye West has been arrested again. This time he “allegedly” assaulted a photographer outside the Tup Tup Nightclub in Newcastle, England. The moody rapper also scuffled with the paparazzi outside the club. Photographer/stalker Terry Blackburn claimed to have been injured in the incident. Police detained West at his hotel but have released him without charge.

The Republic Tigers do Daytrotter

As we approach that time of the year where we start compiling our Top Albums of the Year lists, I keep wanting to revisit Keep Color, that Republic Tigers record I have blogged about 437 times already. Ok, so 437 is a slight exaggeration but I bet including this one that is either the 3rd, 4th or 7th time this year I've written about these Kansas City folks.

So, anyway, as you go on and compile said albums lists, consider this awesome Daytrotter session the Tigers did recently. Their five song set finds them stripping bare the palette of Color, presenting us, the listeners, with some lush and beautiful takes on some of the best songs of this year. Download the session and read up on what the band thinks of these songs right here.

The Blues

Today is about the Blues, and by "The Blues" I mean the blistering post-hardcore outfit from Tucson not the long-dead-and-now-fucked-out musical structure of the 1940s. The Blues have made 6 tracks from their new album Heavy Sci-Fi available online for free download. It might be because they're nice people who want to give back to the community. Or they are crack dealers giving out the good stuff to the new customers so they'll come back next week.They've toured with Torche, Russian Circles, Ed Gein, Rocky Votolato, and Young Widows. They mix a hostility that really is only present in modern hardcore and blend it with a Jesus Lizard approach to noise. The volume dial is cranked to 11, the balls possibly bigger than The Bronx, and by "The Bronx" I mean the post hardcore band from Los Angeles, not the over-hyped-but-still-pretty-bad New York borough.

Download album here: [Mediafire]

Their previous albums Death & Taxes and Snakepit are absolute bone crushers. Their earlier album shad a Breather/Resist almost southern rock tinge that at the time I took for a nod toward eventual sludgedom. They did not go that way. They delved into metalcore, and ended up somwhere to the left of Botch and somwhere to the right of blistering.

Justice releasing live DVD and CD

Extraordinary things always happen when they're unexpected. During the 18 months the Grammy-nominated French duo Justice spent touring following the release of their monumental debut LP, "extraordinary" didn't necessarily mean "amazing", or "epic", (though it sometimes did) but "surreal", "weird", "horrifying", "fascinating", or "fucked up", etc. To cut a long story short, it means that without anyone to film you twenty-four/seven, chances are that no one will be able to really get it.

So as Justice were about to tour the USA for the second time, multi-award winning directors and intimate friends of the band, Romain Gavras ("Stress" director) and So-Me ("D.A.N.C.E.", "DVNO") taped every sultry, hair-rasing second of that 3 week tour that lasted 3 years . This documentary ain't about how cool Justice's live show is (the bonus CD is here for that), but is all about the extraordinary things that can happen when a couple of frenzied frogs get dropped in dreamy America.

This live CD + DVD release will include recordings of Justice's signature headbanging live sets along with show footage and various hijinks captured as the band toured the US in March 2008. Screenings of the film will be held in each city around the DJ sets late October.

The Stranded Q & A: Jesse Dee

A little soul never hurt anyone. Those who know me will probably tell you it’s my favorite “genre” (because soul’s a feeling, it can be in anything, so how is it just one genre, right?). That’s why I’m excited to hit ya with a profile of a soulful dude from Boston. Jesse Dee is the man’s name, and his solo debut Bittersweet Batch is out now.

The Arlington, Massachusetts native is a little different than some of his soulful contemporaries in John Legend, Amos Lee, or Raphael Saadiq in that his sound has a certain warmth to it that’s very reminiscent of the analog days (that’s vinyl records for all the people as young as me). Which is probably no coincidence, as Jesse says he’s likely to be cuing up an old record when you come by his house.

It’s good to know there’s a little bit of soul in Boston in 2008, considering there aren’t many jazz spots left where there once was a mecca-like offering of them. So check out Jesse Dee answering the weekly five, and pick up Bittersweet Batch when you're done.


Hailing from Boston makes us better than all those non-Boston bands because:

We’re more advanced drivers.

Name at least three bands that are still around and touring that you’d love to be on a bill with, and think it fits well:

James Hunter , Susan Tedeschi , Jamie Lidell

Your favorite Boston venue to perform in is:

The Lizard Lounge has been a favorite for quite some time. There’s always such an amazing energy to draw from when the audience is nearly engulfing the stage. It can be completely packed and still feel intimate at the same time.

Are there any genres that influence your music conceptually, rather than sonically? (In that you can’t hear from simply listening to the music, but from getting into the structure or mathematics of the song-writing, etc.)

I think “folk music” conceptually influences my songwriting even though my songs don’t always come across as folk songs. The result is Soul/R & B music with lyrics that are slightly more introspective than one might usually find within the genre. - Or at least that’s what I’m shooting for.

Your favorite local bar to hit up when not doing the whole band deal is:

I usually end up at Toad in Porter Sq . / Cambridge.

Mick Rock, Django James at Morrison Hotel (FREE) on 11/13

Mick Rock is a legend in the realm of rock photography. Of all the times I've seen an episode of Behind The Music that the guy wasn't there, telling stories and sharing photos. Him touring with Def Leppard during the Hysteria days sounded like a total riot. If you're in the NYC area and have nothing to do tomorrow night (Thursday, 11/13 if you are lost on days), stop by the Morrison Hotel Gallery at 313 Bowery for some free drinks, free admission and free music. Django James & The Midnight Squires will perform, and Mick Rock will host the event. Doors are at 8, music starts at 9. See you there?

SIS Gig Review (in Pictures): Johnny Foreigner @ CMJ

10/24/08 @ Fontana's in New York. Photos by Dany Sloan.

Simplifires Contest

We here at Stranded in Stereo know that times are tough. We also know that people love bands. So we sat around drumming up ideas for this week's contest and this is what we came up with: one lucky reader will win a $50 gift certificate to Anna (150 E. 3rd St. NY), a copy of their album Why People Make Countries, and two tickets to see them at SIS Club Night on Wednesday, November 19th.

Click Here To Win

Band of the Week: Loose Lips Sink Ships

Illinois band Loose Lips Sink Ships don't really belong in this time or place. They are a group that exists in their own world, penning tunes that do somersaults over one another, forcing the listener to wonder whether vocals are even that important ina modern indie rock song. Each minutes of each song peels away like the passing landscpe on an expensive highway, with the scenery gradually changing and morphing into something new at every bend. The real challenge is not getting into the band, but it's trying to stop listening to them.

Download: "Meth Is Fun" [mp3]

Monday Morning Newsletter (11-10-08)

The election is over but music and politics met again this week. George W. Bush Jr. appointed country singer Lee Greenwood chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA.) This is as apt a decision as appointing Charleton Heston as head of the Pentagon. Lee Greenwood's main claim to fame is writing the popular but schlocky "God Bless the U.S.A." Greenwood is scheduled to be sworn in Nov. 17.

Jack Bruce of Cream got wasted and unleashed some feisty words from the podium. The occasion was the Marshall Classic Rock & Roll Of Honor and Bruce was to accept the award for Classic Album for Cream’s Disraeli Gears. After “thank you,” Jack added “Fuck off, Zeppelin, you’re crap. You’ve always been crap and you’ll never be anything else. Cream is 10 times the band that Led Zeppelin is.” …But José likes to sit back when geezers talk smack.

Before Halloween Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz and Patrick Stump planned to set a Guinness World Record for record for most Interviews on radio in a 24 Hour Period. José can’t say if that’s a legitimate category or not. But they started at 3 a.m. PST on Halloween and continued until for 24 hours. The previous record was 57 stations in 24 hours. FOB complete 72 interviews. FOB has submitted documentation to Guinness and await formal certification that they are losers.

Chino Moreno recently confirmed that Deftones bassist Chi Cheng has been hospitalized following a serious car accident. Warner Bros. also confirmed his condition in a statement that said Cheng was in "serious but stable condition" Details are limited.

Jack White has had to cancel a few appointments due to injury. On tour with The Raconteurs vigorous head-banging inflamed a disc in his neck. Among the canceled events is his scheduled appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards. José says rock more, dance less.

Rivers Cuomo is set to release another set of home demos this month. Alone II: The Home Recordings Of Rivers Cuomo is slated for release on November 25th. The Weezer-front man is rumored to have cut one song "Can't Stop Partying" with R&B producer Jermaine Dupri. José is entertaining the possibility this will be worse than the Red Album.

None other than Jermaine Jackson has announced a Jackson 5 reunion. At a TV industry function in Sydney, he told attending members of the press that “Janet, Michael, Marlon, Tito, Randy and the whole Jackson family is getting back together. He confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that the fam is already in the studio in preparation for a 2009 tour.

After a year of touring on a 7-inch, Narrows has finished recording their debut LP. The album yet untitled, was mastered by Matt Bayles. It’s due for an early 2009 release on Deathwish. The bands line up sports Ryan Frederiksen from These Arms Are Snakes, and Dave Verellen of Botch. José is pretty peeved that some n00b deleted their Wikipedia page.

SIS Club Night November Edition

November was once known for but one day: Thanksgiving. It's probably my favorite holiday; it's the first time I see my entire family together in several months and I get to watch the Dallas Cowboys typically win their Turkey Day pigskin match. But now this year, we add something else to be thankful for: Stranded in Stereo Club Night. This month, besides all the awesome bands that will be playing, we're ever so thankful to announce that we'll now be holding them at Fontana's down on Eldridge Street. Same price, same amount of fun, all things to be thankful for. Why do I keep seeing thankful so much? Oh well, continue reading on:

SIS Club Night – Wednesday November 19th – 9PM - $3
at Fontana's - 105 Eldridge Street - NYC
B or D to Grand St; F, J, M, Z to Delancey

Boy Genius [9:30 PM]
Boy Genius is an equation between strained but strong vocals, harmonica and horns, standard instruments, unique simplicity, two guys and two girls. While they draw comparisons to Pavement and REM, there's something so much more darling about their sound--and there's something about them that you have to listen to again. Boy Genius engages you before you even realize how much you like them. They're definitely catchy without being raucous, and they're definitely warm without being fuzzy.

Cinema, Cinema [10:15 PM]
Cinema, Cinema is inspired by the titular subject--cinema, and the motion and elements that contribute to it. The band takes this ideology into their music. Loud drums, driven riffs, and passionate vocals contribute to a punk, space-rock movement, scenery, and sound. Their first EP was born out of Headgear Studios, home to the likes of TV on the Radio and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Cinema, Cinema is not just music, but an art.

Simplifires [11:00 PM]
Using the internet, Simplifiers have spread their popularity from Mexico to all over the internet. But their popularity comes from a sound of juxtaposition between the vocals and pure musicianship that bring reminders of U2 and a groove unique to themselves. Their musical connections include Ratatat and a friendship amongst themselves that forces the band to create a synergy between themselves that contributes so much to their great sound.

New Real Tuesday Weld Video: "Last Word"

The Real Tuesday Weld is making headlines with their their newest album, The London Book of the Dead that was just released. Just in time for the day of the dead, this epic album is a real talk of the town, and candy in the mouth of critics.

Don't be deceived by the title of the album, the song are ever so whimsical and humorous. One of the songs off this album that is gaining enormous exposure is “Last Words.” This song is played prominently throughout the new hit film Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist and the band has recently released a video to go with it. Have you checked out the video yet that's posted above?

New Oranges Band, Roman Goes to Romania For $1

I come from a small town in south central Pennsylvania, five minutes from the Mason-Dixon and approximately one hour from Baltimore. In my youth, once I had acquired adult status and an automobile, I traveled down their for many a show. One band I was always seeing was The Oranges Band. I heard them on local radio shows once in awhile, playing classics like "My Street" and "OK Apartment" from their On TV EP and All Around full length, both released on the now defunct Lookout! imprint.

It has now been well over three years since the release of their second album, 2005's summer jam The World & Everything In It, and things have changed. Shifts in line-ups and Lookout! going way of the carrier pigeon made many wonder if the band had just kind of gone away. But they didn't. Since then, the band has played many a show in Baltimore and a few other east coast locales, picking up for GBV guitarist Doug Gillard for occasional shows. They even got Gillard to play the role of weekend warrior, coming down to Lord Baltimore studios to contribute his trademark style of guitar playing on their third album, The Oranges Band Are Invisible.

Invisible will see release sometime in 2009, but those in the Baltimore/DC and NYC/Brooklyn area have a chance to score a copy this month at some pre-release shows the band will be playing. See them here, there, and not everywhere:

11.14 Baltimore, MD @ The Ottobar
11.15 Brooklyn, NY @ Bell House
11.22 Washington, DC @ The Red and The Black

To hold you over, lead singer Roman Kuebler has a side project for you. Named Romania, he has set up the website Every7th.com for you to check out what he has going on. Started back in June, the 7th of every month finds Kubler putting up two new songs, along with lyrics, bonus MP3s and blog posts about the tracks. Each month costs a whole dollar. I know money is tight right now, but now that the right guy is in office, celebrate. Try it on for size by downloading the June 08 goodies for free as a trial - "You Can't Take It With You" is a stellar little jam the likes of which I have never heard before.

Download: "You Can't Take It With You" [mp3]
Stream: "Artstar" [MySpace]

The Stranded Q & A: Coffin Lids

This week’s featured band doesn’t need much of an introduction, mainly because they want to keep it that way. I’m talking about the Boston rock-band Coffin Lids, who take everything you love about the raw, head bobbing garage rock their answers and image imply.

What we can tell you about the Coffin Lids is that they were formed in 2003 and are signed to Bomp! Records. They’ve got two albums out, and tour consistently across the world, going to places like South America.

Coffin Lids don’t come at you like a toned down, refined, 2008 garage band; they unleash an onslaught of raw, vintage rock, reminiscent of the feel of bands like the Cramps and The Buzzcocks.

Just go check it out for yourself at coffinlids.com or the band’s MySpace, and skim through the ole’ the weekly 5 while you do.


Hailing from Boston makes us better than all those non-Boston bands because:

One of the best music scenes in the country in terms of the number of quality bands and the number of venues to play.

Name at least three bands that are still around and touring that you’d love to be on a bill with, and think it fits well:

The Sonics and the Mummies have recently reunited for some short tours. I'd love to have the Coffin Lids on one of those tours, as those two bands may be the very reason the Coffin Lids exist. A third would be Guitar Wolf. Raw, loud Japanese garage rock.

Your favorite Boston venue to perform in is:

Without question, the Abbey Lounge

Are there any genres that influence your music conceptually, rather than sonically? (In that you can’t hear from simply listening to the music, but from getting into the structure or mathematics of the song-writing, etc.)

Rock and roll is simple and not meant to be overthunk. 3 chords, raw, loud and from the heart.

Your favorite local bar to hit up when not doing the whole band deal is:

Do most of my drinkin' at the Abbey Lounge and Plough and Stars

Election Day

Godspeed.

Band of the Week: Lioness

Lioness came together in Toronto in the winter of early 2007, almost in secret, when Jeff Scheven and Ronnie Morris, the rhythm section behind the stomping disco pulses of controller.controller, hooked up with Vanessa Fischer of soul-punk quartet No Dynamics. Haunting off-the-radar locales, playing low-key after-hours sets in dark, sweaty clubs, Lioness generated a noteworthy undercurrent of buzz on the scene. Their sans-guitar sound is like a head-on collision of old and new, as Fischer draws upon jazz, old soul and blues, roaring and moaning over layers of electronic squall and elastic rhythms like a witch in heat. It’s a clash of organic and synthetic, the sound of disco and house music filtered and distorted through the instrumental apparatus of live rock and roll.

Download: "Harder They Fall" [mp3]

Monday Morning Newsletter (11/3/08)

The year is 2008 and for the first time in your crackerass life, a candidate is talking about the future. No news today. Vote motherfucker vote. Vote like your life depended on it.