Cursive Sat April 19 Meow Meow Dashboard Confessional’s music is the sound of dying, and most modern emo is only slightly less boring than the Pope giving a three-hour mass (in Latin). So what are you supposed to do if you’re an emotionally valid artist–you’re dramatic and wrought, but not forced or full of crap–and […]
Julianne Shepherd
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Gentle Beatings
The Notwist’s Electronic Tenderness
The Notwist Wed April 16 Berbati’s Pan Not many bands start out playing scrappy hardcore punk, and end up playing emotive electronic pop. But sometime in the early ’90s, The Notwist made this exact turnaround–and transitioned gracefully. “It was mainly because we changed our taste in music,” explains vocalist/guitarist Markus Acher. “We still like all […]
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The Edge of Urgency
Skeleton Coast’s Thoughtful Punk
Skeleton Coast Thurs April 3 White Eagle Simply put, Portland’s Skeleton Coast plays a kind of dual-vocal melodic hardcore/punk. It lands in the musical ballpark of a lot of bands these days: there’s dramatic vocal interplay; driving, yet intricate guitar melodies; a passionate delivery. Most of all, this five-piece accelerates on the kind of tension […]
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Eternal Golden Void
Subhumans’ Sublime Dissatisfaction
Subhumans Fri March 28 B Complex “No, I don’t believe in Jesus Christ,” begins the Subhumans song “No,” off their 1982 record The Day the Country Died. “No, I don’t believe in religion; I was forced to go to church, I wasn’t told why!” And so captured was the perfect, impenetrable nadir of my preteen […]
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My Band Is Hot, Seriously
Tips For Making a Good Promo Picture
Promo photos are super-important, ’cause they let people put a face to the music. Here are some tips on how not to look like a creep in yours. 1. Pay attention to band photo clichés. Are you standing in front of a brick wall, sporting an ironic T-shirt and/or leather pants, lined up in a […]
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Rebel Girls
Dominatrix are the Queens of My World
Dominatrix Sun Mar 9 Meow Meow & Tues Mar 11 Reed College On its own, the music of Dominatrix is remarkable. Consisting of sisters Elisa and Isabella Gargiulo (guitar and bass, respectively), Flavia Dos Santos (guitar), and Deborah Biana (drums), the quartet reaps a seamless, melody-heavy, hardcore punk rock, bubbling with molten energy and intensity. […]
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Dance Club: The International Phenomenon
If There’s One Thing a Hardcore Show Needs, It’s More Booty Dancers
It was my first night as a member of Dance Club. The theme was “French people,” and I was outfitted in a striped T-shirt and beret. “Dawn,” I said worriedly, “I don’t think I look very French.” “Oh, don’t worry; none of us look very French,” Dawn assured me. “We’ll draw on moustaches when we […]
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America’s Sweetheart
115 Reasons to Love Ted Leo
Ted Leo/ Pharmacists Sun Mar 2 Blackbird Hearts of Oak, the new album by Boston’s Ted Leo/Pharmacists, is another punk rock record in the tradition of Leo’s peers and heroes: Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg, Fugazi. It doesn’t preserve their sound so much as their approach–Leo is an articulate rebel with ethics and a pack of […]
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Concept Party
Mike Ladd: The Father of Apres-Bling
Majesticons Beauty Party (Big Dada/Ninja Tune) New York rapper Mike Ladd has released several records under his own name, but in 2000, he introduced the Infesticons and Majesticons–fictional dueling hiphop groups who battle for hiphop’s fate. Infesticons debuted with Gun Hill Road, repping for the underground and all things pure (and dogmatic) in hiphop. Now, […]
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In the People We Trust
Viva Castro!
Fidel dir. Estela Bravo Opens Fri Feb 14 Clinton Street Theater Most Americans have strong feelings about Fidel Castro. The U.S. government has certainly done a good job of trying to defame him, due to its mortal fear of all that threatens the corporate powers that be. And Fidel– having led a willing Cuba to […]
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Dead Prez’ or Dead Pres?
A Fun Game for All!
Dead Prez Wed Feb 19 Fez Dead Prez means “Dead the Fucking President.” On M1 and Stic.Man’s newest release, Turn off the Radio (billed as DPZ, on the label Holla Black), machine-gun and warrior-holler skits intersperse between revolution-ready, hardlining bounce, as the duo indicts the president (“George Bush is way worse than bin Laden is”), […]
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Hot Underage Lesbionic Russians
And Their Profoundly Engaging Music Video
As of this writing, the music video featuring the young singing duo t.A.T.u has just made its debut on MTV’s Total Request Live. It depicts hot, underage, Russian lesbians freaking it in the rain. MTV is a curious home for such a feat of cinematic and cultural brilliance. You might ask, “How can a music […]