...this is just utterly, utterly horrifying. Dear God. And maybe it's the Dad in me being all super-protective or something, but there's something really disturbing to me about the sight of a little girl dancing, Britney Spears-like, surrounded by a bunch of buff older (than her, anyway) guys. Hell, at least Hannah Montana's dancers are her age, right? I know, I know -- I'm sure at least 3 out of the 4 guys in the video are gay as all get out, but still, it just seems freaky to me.

Labels: Random Rambling, Things To See

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 1 comments

Just a quick note to let you know that this next week's installment of the Grey Ghost CD-R series is gonna be ever more supremely badass than it usually is -- it's reportedly one eleven-minute Hell's Angels clusterfuck entitled "Hawg!", by none other than the Linus Pauling Quartet, who thanks to their latest album All Things Are Light have lately swooped on up to sit on/near the top of my personal heap of Cool H-Town Bands. No, I have yet to hear the new(?) song on GG #48, but I have no doubt that it'll be something special (although which definition of "special" you'd care to use is totally up to you). Get on up to Domy this coming week to grab your copy before they're gone forever.

Labels: H-Town News, Musical Crap, Things To Get, Things To Hear

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Been meaning to mention this for a while now, but I wasn't actually sure what the deal was -- it's a little hard to plug/describe, seeing as the participants are, well, pretty much anonymous (although ADR over at Skyline seems to know who's gonna be playing from time to time, via his vast network of spies and informants). There's a new show series going on called Secret Saturday Shows that takes places each Saturday (rain or shine, apparently) up at Shady Tavern in the Heights (1206 W. 20th St.).

'Til yesterday, that was literally all I knew about this quirky little thing -- heck, I'd even kinda been avoiding listing the shows in the show listings, since, hey, who the hell's playing? -- but then yesterday I got an email from the SSS organizer that explains it a bit better:

hello there. i have started a new series of shows every single saturday called Secret Saturday Shows. its every week at the shady tavern in the heights. each week there is 3-4 bands that play between 2 and 5. the bands dont know who they are playing with or what time they play till they show up. the genres are always mixed. anyways i was hoping i could get you to put the shows on your show listing. again, it is every saturday so you know dec 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd so on till bands quit being involved but right now we will be going till at least feb. there is always vegetarian food for donation and beer and wine is sold.

It sounds pretty neat, really, as an attempt to get honest-to-God music lovers to come out and see somebody play, whoever it is. (In a lot of cities, that's what's known as a "music scene," believe it or not. Go fig.) It's a grab-bag of bands -- you never know what you'll get, and going by the list of past performers so far (incl. The Factory Party, Sabra Laval, Perseph One, Thane Matcek(!), & a bunch more good local folk), odds are that they'll be damn good.

Anyway, I'm gonna try to make it out one of these days, although being as I live way out in the Meyerland 'hood, it ain't as easy as I'd like to drive on up to the Heights at noon on a Saturday. sigh. One of these days, though, I swear. Hopefully the SSS folks will keep it going and bands will keep playing 'til then...

Labels: H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Got an email the other day from SCR contributor Creg L., who happened to run into ex-Sprawl/-Middlefinger/etc. frontman Matt Kelly (who lives in Austin these days, I believe, or at least somewhere between H-town and there) at the Meat Puppets show a short while back. He got to talking to Matt and one of the other Sprawl guys (not sure which one), and they told him that they're making a record and "they're gonna play as much as possible."

Let me repeat that second-to-last bit again, with a bit more emphasis: they're making a record. A Sprawl record, that is, a new album from the band that launched countless H-town ska bands and helped define a whole freakin' era in Houston music. Hell, they were one of the reasons yours truly ended up here, after seeing an article about this bunch of crazy Rice kids who started this wild ska-funk-whatever band. Oh, and not only are they reportedly doing a new album, but they'll be playing more shows? Holy shit.

Ever the skeptic, I wondered if maybe Kelly was talking about his current band up in Austin, Lick Lick, but Creg waved me off: "The Sprawl record is Sprawl. Lick Lick is Lick Lick." Hot damn, I hope this one truly comes to pass...fingers crossed, y'all.

Labels: H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 1 comments

Y'know, I'm to the point with my cynicism that I almost expect to get screwed, on some level, by big corporations. I figure that if there's a way to get my money and not give me what I thought I paid for, they're gonna go for it. I've been burned before by a few companies/restaurants/car dealers, and even if I didn't eventually get my $$$ back, at least I could take comfort in the fact that hey, it's The Man, right? He's keeping everybody down, so at least I'm not alone.

What I don't tend to expect is when little indie music people screw me over. I've been fairly willing in the past to plunk down $10 via PayPal for Random CD I've Never Heard X by Band Z, partly because I really, truly like supporting indie artists directly (w/o filtering their dough through a record label, that is) and partly because, well, I figure they've got a pretty serious interest in actually sending me the CD.

Apparently that's not the case with local indie hip-hop guys Studemont Project, unfortunately. Waaaaaaay back in May, I ordered a copy of their Avenue of the Observatory CD, even asking 'em to send it to the casa so I didn't have to bother with the P.O. Box. I paid my $6.50 on PayPal and sat back to happily wait for the CD to arrive -- I'd wanted to hear these guys for a long time but, being that I don't get out as much these days, hadn't ever managed to see/hear 'em. So I was looking forward to seeing what they sounded like.

At the same time, though, I ordered the disc as part of a bit of an online CD-buying bender; right around the time I ordered the Studemont Project album, I'd also ordered the (utterly awesome) disc by Listen Listen, an EP by The Watermarks (also good), and The Church of Philadelphia's incredible CD. And since I tend to get a ton of CDs flowing across my desk, well, I kinda lost track of the SP order.

After a few weeks had passed, I remembered the order and emailed Gilbert, the guy listed on the PayPal details. No response. A few more weeks stretched into a month, and I emailed him again. I also tried to email Studemont Project at a "band" address I found somewhere (looks like their non-Myspace Website's down now). Nada.

I got busy with stuff at work again after that, so it wasn't 'til another couple of months later that I was able to try to contact the band or label again. Still no response. I filed an official complaint through PayPal, but neglected to read the fine print on the mediation stuff and let the time expire for the complaint. Argh. In an effort to give these guys the benefit of a doubt, I emailed 'em one last time, just a week or so ago. And again...nothing.

I've tried to contact these folks five times now over the past six months or so, with zero response, and that really, really pisses me off. It especially sucks because I'd heard Studemont were a great band, and I'd liked what I heard on their Myspace page. Like I said, I was looking forward to hearing the full-length. Now, however, I'm pretty furious. So fuck 'em. I tried this the cordial, relatively friendly way, but they didn't go for that, apparently. So I'm taking this a bit more "public," so to speak:

To the Studemont Project crew & the Esthetic Noise label: y'all, what the fuck? You happily took my money and then ignored any questions about the album I'd ordered; is this really how you treat your (at least prospective) fans? I sure hope I'm the only person you've screwed this way, 'cause it's really damn uncool. As a result of your lack of any kind of response on this, I now no longer give a shit what you sound like and am absolutely planning to avoid giving you any more of my hard-earned $$$ by catching your shows. You've lost a fan in me, that's for damn sure.

To the Houston-music-buying public at large: let the buyer beware when dealing with these people. I'm not passing any judgments on the music these guys make -- since, thanks again, I never got to hear it -- but if you decide to buy a copy of the Studemont Project's new(-ish) album any way other than in person, think twice. Don't get stuck like I did. I'm a big boy; the $6.50 isn't that big a deal to me at this point in my life, and I've already pretty much written it off. Not everybody has a decent day job like I do, however, so if you can't spare that money, you might consider carefully whether or not you want to give it to these folks. 'Cause if the way they've treated me is any indication, you're bound to get ripped off.

Labels: Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Random Rambling

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 4 comments

Ah, dammit. I'm surprised I haven't seen something else about this 'til now (haven't checked the Press blogs lately, though) -- Matt Sonzala of the way-more-in-the-know-than-I H-town hip-hop blog HoustonSoReal, the Damage Control radio show on KPFT, and a metric ton of cool local rap shows posted last week that he is moving the whole shebang up to Austin next month.

Actually, that's not strictly true -- he's not taking Damage Control with him but has instead left it in the hands of his able compadres, apparently (and may be back to guest from time to time). HSR will survive, per Matt's post, but it'll be a subsection to Matt's new blog, which is all prepped and ready to go and looks suspiciously like the original: AustinSurreal. Check back there after the move, and I'm guessing there'll be actual content & such.

I can't fault the guy for leaving -- he got offered a real-live job working for SXSW, and who in their right freakin' mind would turn that down? Plus, it sounds like he's gotten pretty burned out on a lot of the hip-hop world in general, which is fairly understandable. But it makes me sad, nonetheless; him leaving is gonna leave a big-ass empty hole in Houston rap scene (not to mention in my pathetic knowledge of it, since most of what little I know I get from his blog & radio show). He swears he'll be back regularly, but...I dunno. New city, new life, new job, new house -- I hope Matt'll still be deep into the Houston scene, but you never can tell what'll happen when your life shifts like that, y'know?

Anyway, he's having one last bash to say goodbye, another "punky reggae party" up at The Proletariat on Sat., December 8th. Grimy Styles will apparently do a set, and Matt and Witnes will DJ. Get on out and tell the guy "thanks" for all he's done for this city over the many, many years.

Labels: H-Town News, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To See

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Argh. Sometimes, I really, truly hate the holidays, mostly 'cause they totally fuck with my schedule of Stuff I Really-Really-Really Want To Do/See/Hear/Etc. There's always some Christmas party to go to, some office thing, some trip out of town, some pile of lights and ornaments to put up. It's totally non-conducive to getting to do cool stuff.

Case in point: at 8PM on December 7th up at Aurora Picture Show, the crew from FOUND Magazine will roll through H-town. Mag founders Davy and Peter Rothbart are on their "There Goes the Neighborhood Tour," going town to town all 'cross this fair land and spilling tales of weird, strange, creepy, funny, depressing things they've dug up over the years since the last ish of FOUND came out (they're on issue #5 now). Here's the deal from the FOUND Website:

Dang, you knew it wasn't safe. And you were right. To celebrate the release of FOUND #5 -- The Crime Issue -- our madman duo of Davy & Peter Rothbart are back on the road this fall on a 65-city, 36-state, 3-month rampage! At each show, Davy will share a trunk-load of sparkling, brand-new finds, and Peter will blast you with his new jams based on notes from FOUND #5. From November 12th to 18th and November 30th to December 5th, we'll be joined by our partner-in-crime, PostSecret's Frank Warren. Can you kick it? Yes you can! Come on out and join us for these parties!! Please bring your finds to share, and please let your friends in other cities know that we're headed their way!!

If you've never read the magazine, it's utterly mind-blowingly awesome, seriously -- crazy love letters, random detention hall scribblings, lunatic rants, and all manner of funny, weird shit that contributors have stumbled across in their daily journeys. (My personal favorite out of the issues I've read/seen was a little note with one big line hand-printed on it: "TOOK SOME HOES TO GET SOME BURRITOS".)

Sadly, when FOUND comes to town, I will not be there. I will instead by winging my way westward to the rugged wilds of Tucson, Arizona, to do The Family Thing and visit my one remaining grandparent while we she's with us. Which is cool, of course, but still: fuck, I need a time machine. Or clones. Clones would do the trick, I think.

I don't think I can even tell the wife about the show, by the way -- the fact that we're gonna miss this will break her heart...

Labels: Arty Shit, H-Town News, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To See

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 1 comments

Following a recent discussion over on the Hands Up board, I figured it'd be a good time to post this. Pretty much everybody in town who likes music knows KTRU, the Rice University radio station that lives at 91.7 FM -- whether you love it or hate it (and people seem pretty much to fall in one camp or the other), if you're at all obsessive about music, you've probably heard it.

What you may not realize, however, is that while KTRU's primarily student-run, they do have non-student DJs. And yep, you too can be one of 'em. The station's currently accepting applications, and while they prefer Rice students, H-town residents at large are eligible to apply, as well. Obviously, if you're a newbie you certainly aren't gonna get the cream evening slot or anything -- in fact, you're likely to get a 1-7AM shift, at least at first -- but hey, that's how it works. The people who've paid their dues get the good shifts. For more details on what to expect, look here.

Of course, since school's still in session, there's a good chance that the schedule will be all filled up by either existing DJs or newbie student DJs, but what the heck, it's worth a try, right? Doesn't cost a thing. It's usually somewhat easier to apply for the summer session, by the way, since that's when most students aren't around. I'll try to post here when they open that up in late spring...

You don't need to be some kind of obscure-music genius/elitist who sneers at all things rock and only listens to Can or Javanese gamelan music, either. Hell, I was a DJ for several years there, both during student-hood and after, and I think I put both Pearl Jam and the Red Hot Chili Peppers down as two of my favorite bands. (It was the '90s, before the RHCPs really started to blow.) The only real requirement is that you need to be open to all different kinds of music.

Anyway, if you're interested, just fill out an application and turn it in sometime between January 7th and January 28th at 5PM up at the station (the Rice student center, 2nd floor; once you get to the student center, just ask a friendly Rice student where it is). You have to go up there in person -- they don't take emailed applications -- and sign up for an interview when you turn it in.

That's about it. I had a blast DJing up there, myself, and I'd highly recommend it. And to all the KTRU-haters out there, remember: if you don't like the way something is and you don't at least try to get in there & change it, that means you're just a whiny-ass little bitch.

(No offense meant to any HUH posters, mind you, as they were all very cordial and curious about how the station works; I'm just addressing the seemingly large "KTRU Sucks!" chorus that rears its ugly, spiteful head every few years. Put up or shut up, fuckers.)

Labels: H-Town News, Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 2 comments

Hey, all -- hope everybody out there had a good Turkey Day and didn't get too festively plump in the process... I know we already did one update this week, but we've got a few more new reviews up, including one for new holiday-ish movie This Christmas, one of the new (and surprisingly good) odds-and-ends disc from Copeland, and one for NY rockers Moment Theory, so we figured we'd pop back in & say "hey." And so, here we are. Hey.

We also wanted to mention that in addition to the gonna-be-awesome Stadium/The Mechanical Boy/Ethan Durelle/Earnie Banks show tonight @ Fitzgerald's (downstairs, reportedly), there're also a couple other very cool shows you might consider checking out if you can drag your ass away from The Fam and have some fun tonight. Locals Balaclavas are having their CDEP release this evening @ Notsuoh, along with the every-entertaining Rusted Shut, Laws (who're also releasing a tape(!(!)) tonight), and The Freed. Then there's The Flamin' Hellcats up at The Continental Club and Felix da Housecat with hometown boy Damon Allen @ Rich's (2401 San Jacinto).

Oh, and probably the show of the night -- no offense to the aforementioned shows, mind you, which're all gonna be cool -- is Peter Bjorn and John playing up at Warehouse Live. I know some strange, somewhat misguided souls have been crusading against the band (um, kinda), but I just can't help it; every damn song I've heard from PB&J has dug its claws into my brain & won't let go. Besides, they've got H-towners Peekaboo Theory (who I have yet to hear, sadly, but want to) and The Besnard Lakes (whose new CD, The Besnard Lakes Are the Dark Horse, is pretty great so far) opening for 'em. Trust me, damn near every hipster in town will be at this show (take that however you will).

Movie Reviews: This Christmas.

Reviews: Copeland; Moment Theory; The Cape May; Jon Fritz; & the Music for Moving Images comp.

Labels: Reviews, Things To Do, Things To See

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Put up two new reviews this afternoon, so they'd be up & readable & all in time for the especially neat bands in question to hit H-town this week (more later, hopefully)...

First, tonight we've got Georgia boys Moros Eros playing tonight (Tues., 11/20, if you're keeping track) up in Spring at the ever-lovely(?) Javajazz Coffee House. The band rides this weird line between Killers-esque New Wavery and all that old-school emo/screamo stuff (think Braid, in particular), and even if the lyrics are a bit doofy, eh, the delivery more than makes up for it. I honestly wanted to not like this disc, believe it or not, just 'cause I was feeling grouchy when I put it on, but dammit, I couldn't. Anyway, the band's playing with two other bands I don't know, The Stiletto Formal & The Ax That Chopped The Cherry Tree, which has to be one of the dumbest band names I've ever heard of. Don't hold that against Moros Eros, though. Check out the review here, then head on up to Spring, eh?

Next, on Friday, 11/23 you can drag your gorged self on up to Fitzgerald's (the downstairs area, I believe) to check out local boys Stadium (see the to the right), who are ex-Little Compass, ex-The Record Time, ex-The Belle Curve, ex-The Maria Project, ex-etc., etc., and are, as evidenced by their new EP Change of plans, we're coming home, utterly awesome. Sure, they're not breaking a whole lot of new ground here, mining the whole Jimmy Eat World/The New Amsterdams vein of sweet-voiced emo-pop that I, at least, happen to like so damn much. The band does a damn fine job, though, bringing to mind the best moment of bands like Mae, The Get Up Kids, & Armor For Sleep but also throwing in elements of early-'90s post-hc. You can read the review here, then mark your calendars. Oh, and they're playing with The Mechanical Boy (who we're intrigued by), Ethan Durelle (who we like), and Earnie Banks (who we think sound promising as all get-out).

More later in the week, barring attacks by flesh-eating zombie turduckens...

Labels: Reviews, Things To Do

gaijin || Link || E-mail || 0 comments

Okay, what the fuck, man. Is there like an organized music gear theft ring operating in this damn city & targeting our hard-working indie-rock bands? Thanks to the Free Press blog for getting the word out on this one -- Melissa of Sharks and Sailors has apparently had her trusty Fender bass swiped out of the band's Francisco's practice space.

This is really getting irritating. Look, you asshole thieves, the people you're ripping off aren't Metallica or Brooks & Dunn, but happen to be day job-working, non-rockstar, regular folks just like you who -- unlike you, apparently -- saved up their hard-earned cash so they could buy some nice gear & do what they love. And then shitheads like yourselves come along and take that away. Seriously, congratulations for proving yourself/selves as being the biggest dick on the planet.

Making matters sadder is that given that this was apparently one of only two things stolen from S&S (the other being an external PC sound card), logic would suggest that, hmmm, maybe it was a fellow bassist? Ya think? Unfortunately, that probably means the bastard's NOT going to try to pawn that bass or sell it online somewhere, but will cling to it themselves and pathetically pretend they're one-fiftieth the bassist Melissa is.

Anyway. If you do run across anything suspicious, like your bandmate suddenly appearing at practice one day with a sweet-ass '62 Fender Jazz Bass he didn't have last week, get a hold of the band via their Myspace site or email us here at SCR at "gaijin" at "spacecityrock dot com". There's a reward, according to the FP folk, but I dunno how much it is.gaijin || Link || E-mail || 2 comments

Dang it, I'm later than I'd hoped to be...ah, well. Sorry, I didn't get this posted in time for those poor souls who didn't make it out of the house on this wet, freakishly un-cold night to check out Rustler, The Dead See, & Bowel up at Walter's, see Carrie Ann and the Apocalyptics at Dan Electro's, catch Translations, Nectarine, & Thomas Ayresol at Bohemeo's, or see Glass Intrepid headline at Javajazz. Just doesn't work out that way, sometimes... In the meantime, I've tried to look a week or so further ahead than I normally do (yeah, like this is anything regular), so check it out below.

Bit of bad news, by the way: seems the folks in Mount Eerie have had to cancel their show up @ Notsuoh on 11/29 due to a family emergency-type deal. Damn shame -- what I've heard of 'em so far has been intriguing, at least, even if it's not all strictly my cup of tea. No word on whether or not Listen Listen, Eat Grapes, or Elaine Greer are still playing, though...

Anyway, here's what looks good to me in the upcoming couple of weeks:

Sun., November 18:
The Mathletes/!Alarma!/Giant Princess @ Dean's Credit Clothing (free)
Dammit, I still need to see the Mathletes. I will, I swear, someday soon. Plus, I've heard good things about !Alarma!, so... (And hell, it's free. What more do you want?)

The Dwarves/13th Victim/Whorehound @ Rudyard's
Y'know, the Dwarves are one of those bands that I know I know, but my specific memories of 'em are pretty sketchy. I still think fondly of the earlier incarnation of the band, though (I'm told they're a lot poppier these days), and hopefully they're as crazy and fucked-up as I vaguely remember 'em being. Plus, I mean, how fucking terrifying must a band be to get booted from Sub Pop, the label behind Nirvana and Mudhoney?

The First Annual Jerry Lightfoot Memorial Show/Benefit for Pete Mays, featuring Carolyn Wonderland, Texas Johnny Brown, Trudy Lynn, Tommie Lee Bradley, Rock Romano, Charlie Prichard, Tommy Dardar, Mean Gene Kelton, George Kinney, The Blue Threads, Janet Z, Steve Krase, The Shadowcasters, & more @ Fitzgerald's
Not real familiar with Jerry Lightfoot or Pete Mays, unfortunately, but there're a ton of awesome bluesy, rockin' musicians playing -- Carolyn Wonderland, Mean Gene Kelton, Texas Johnny Brown, all those folks. Check it out.

Tues., November 20:
Circle Takes The Square/Faithealer/By the End of Tonight/B. @ Walter's on Washington
I feel stupidly, tangentially connected to By the End of Tonight, mostly 'cause my wife taught one of 'em in Art class when they were all attending Alvin H.S. These days, though, they're probably H-town's most prominent indie-rock ambassadors to the world, and are well worth seeing. And then there's fellow Alvinites B., who are apparently pretty awesome in their own right.

The Misfits/Black Math Experiment @ Fitzgerald's
Yes, it's the Misfits. No, it ain't Danzig. No, I don't think that's really a major loss, given the colossal case of Little Man Syndrome ol' Glenn apparently has. Congrats to Black Math Experiment for fightin' their way onto the show, by the way; it's gotta to be incredible to be opening for your musical heroes like that, seriously.

Moros Eros/The Stiletto Formal/The Ax That Chopped The Cherry Tree @ Javajazz Coffee House (Spring)
Don't know most of these folks, sorry, but I've got the Moros Eros disc sitting on my desk, and it's damned interesting.

Wed., November 21:
Turbojugend Humpday, featuring Born Liars, Welfare Mothers, The Monocles, & Black Black Gold @ Rudyard's
Okay, will somebody please explain the whole Turbojugend thing to me? I've got no freakin' clue what it it, but whatever the hell it's about, there are some badass local garage-y punk bands playing, esp. Born Liars and the very cool Monocles.

Thurs., November 22:
Ryan Scroggins and the Trenchtown Texans @ The Continental Club
Yes, yes, yes. These ex-Skarnales guys are great; hell, between the Trenchtown Texans and Umbrella Man (haven't heard the Carnales yet, sorry), the breakup of Los Skarnales may well prove to be the best thing to happen to ska in Houston in years...

Fri., November 23:
Peter Bjorn and John/The Besnard Lakes/Peekaboo Theory @ Warehouse Live
Oh, man. I may need to see if this show's sold out or not... Everything I've heard from Peter Bjorn and John (PB&J, to the cognoscenti) makes my jaw drop, and the teeny-tiny bit I've heard from Besnard Lakes (hopefully we'll have a review up soon) is cool, too.

Balaclavas (CDEP release)/Rusted Shut/Laws (tape release)/The Freed @ Notsuoh
Rusted Shut! Woo! Balaclavas I need to see, & The Freed and Laws (or is it L.A.W.S.?) I've heard good stuff about.

Deguello/Hell City Kings/Hell's Engine @ Rudyard's
Two out of three of these bands I know zip about, but Hell City Kings are good shit.

The Mechanical Boy/Stadium/Ethan Durelle/Earnie Banks @ Fitzdown
Y'know, we here at SCR dissed The Mechanical Boy a while back, and I've been feeling pretty bad about that, esp. since I happened to see 'em play at the last Westheimer Block Party -- they were surprisingly good, even given a totally apathetic crowd & a stage that was totally exposed to the H-town sunlight. On the other hand, I'm already totally sold on Stadium (again, review soon, I promise!), and I've liked what I've heard of Ethan Durelle & Earnie Banks.

Sat., November 24:
The Tontons (CD release)/The Riff Tiffs/Studemont Project @ Bootleg Warehouse (2301 Commerce)
I'm a bit pissed at Studemont Project at present (more when I get the time), but fuck it, this is still gonna be a great show. The Riff Tiffs are absolutely amazing pseudo-psych rock, and I'm real curious about The Tontons, to boot.

Hearts of Animals/Oculous Sinister/Wicked Poseur @ Rudyard's
Saw Hearts of Animals at the Westheimer Block Party, too, and, uh, she was pretty great, reminiscent of all the old-school, Jesus & Mary Chain-esque dreampop I loved back in college (and yes, still somewhat love now). Mlee warned me that her "night" shows are totally different, though, so take that for what it's worth...

The Jonbenet/Tanari/This Year's Tiger/Sons of Evel @ Walter's on Washington
Hot damn, I like The Jonbenet. I'm still not real keen on most of their brethren, but for some reason when I listen to these guys, I find myself enjoying it. Been curious about This Year's Tiger, as well.

Afternoon Benefit Show, featuring Econo, Electricks, The Delta Block, & The Squishees @ Super Happy Fun Land
I'm sadly a bit unfamiliar with most of these folks, although the guys from Econo are damn nice people & I did like the pre-name change Slurpees/Squishees. And hey, it's a benefit -- I think -- for the strange-but-neato people who run Super Happy Fun Land, who have been recently given notice of their impending eviction from the venue's current location. They need serious $$$ to relocate & keep things going, folks, so help 'em out.

The Grangers @ The Sandbar (Clear Lake)
I haven't seen 'em live, but head Granger Bob Wall it's a friend & an all-round great guy and a darn good songwriter...

Sun., November 25:
Ghostface Killah/Rhythm Roots All-Stars @ Warehouse Live
Not real surprisingly, I think this is one of those Scion deals, so if you wanna go, you may need to RSVP or something real quick & then get there at like 5PM. Given that Fishscale is one of the best damn hip-hop albums of the past five years, though, that doesn't actually sound that unreasonable.

Mia Kat Empire Showcase, featuring Hollywood Black, Buxton, The Ride Home & Oui @ Walter's on Washington
I know, I know -- we've had some conflicting opinions on Hollywood Black in the past. Sorry 'bout that, y'all, but that's just how it goes. Whatever we at SCR think of HB, though, we definitely like the Mia Kat Empire crew, and I dig Buxton & The Ride Home. Plus, this is (I believe) the 2nd-ever show organized by new booking crew Waste No Buffalo, who definitely seem to have their collective heart in the right place, so y'know.

Tori Amos/Yoav @ Jones Hall
I've only seen Tori Amos once. My gf at the time dragged me to the show, me having never heard Amos before, and I left a fan. Hell, we even hung out at the backstage door to the old Tower Theatre afterwards so we could meet her & get her autograph. She gave me a hug and sang Pearl Jam's "Jeremy" to me (yeah, it was that long ago). It was awesome.

Mon., November 26:
Streetlight Manifesto/Suburban Legends @ The Meridian
Dunno Suburban Legends, but I enjoy the gangster-themed ska-punk of ex-Catch-22 boys Streetlight Manifesto more than I probably should.

Tues., November 27:
Charalambides/Alasdair Roberts @ The Orange Show
This is gonna be good for several reasons: A). The Orange Show is neat. B). Alasdair Roberts is cool. C). ex-Houstonians (and people I looked up to as a wee DJ at KTRU) Tom & Christina Carter of Charalambides make some freaky psychedelic music. I'm damn glad they're still around & playing, even if it's mostly up in Austin.

Wed., November 28:
Avenged Sevenfold/Operator/The Confession/Black Tide @ Warehouse Live
A7X, I just want to say "thank you" for pretty much reintroducing me to metal. If it weren't for the full-on stomping, twin guitar badassery of City of Evil, I probably wouldn't have even bothered with Killswitch Engage, Mastodon, Pelican, or Between the Buried and Me.

Electric Six/The Willowz/We Are The Fury/Ladyheat @ The Engine Room
I'm up-and-down on the Willowz, but I'm trying to remain hopeful, esp. since we just got their latest disc in this weekend. We Are The Fury ain't bad, and those kooky kids in Ladyheat seem pretty entertaining. Worth a look/listen.

Thurs., November 29:
Melt Banana/Dizzy Pilot @ Walter's on Washington
No, Melt Banana doesn't do much for me, I'm afraid. Dizzy Pilot, on the other hand, are rather cool. Nice to see 'em on the show...

Fri., November 30:
Two Star Symphony Orchestra @ Jones Hall (Univ. of St. Thomas campus)
ADR's got the detailed info on this one over at The Skyline Network; I'm just gonna say that I think it sounds freakin' cool.

Carolyn Wonderland @ McGonigel's Mucky Duck
Oh, I know she no longer lives here, but I can't help but think of her as still being a Houston musician. Either way, she's one of the best modern blues/rock musicians this city's ever produced.

The Texas Sapphires/The Umbrella Man @ Rudyard's
I don't know The Texas Sapphires, but Umbrella Man are another splinter off the ol' Los Skarnales tree, and they do some neat, somewhat ska/reggae-like stuff.

Damon Allen/Fixture @ Rich's (2401 San Jacinto)
I'm still a little stunned that Damon Allen, former hardcore/straightedge/indie-rock guy (ex-Refuse To Fall, -Celindine, -That Gospel Sound, and probably a half-dozen other bands) is now a high-flying local DJ & show organizer. Weird the way the world works. But heck, who'm I to judge? It's a cool thing when somebody can reinvent themselves like that -- more power to him.

Bonsfire/Brian's Johnson @ The Meridian
No, they're not really AC/DC, but they're probably the closes thing we're likely to see anytime soon.

Ta-ta for now...

Labels: Pseudo-Reviews, Things To See

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Argh...meant to post earlier, but had to run out to eat & then do all the daddy stuff, I'm afraid. If you run/drive fast, though, you might be able to catch it -- there's a very cool art opening going on tonight up at Sound Exchange as I type this, and I'm really wishing I could be there myself right now. sigh.

The artist in question tonight is punk-rock photographer Theresa K., whose show Unguarded Moments looks to be pretty fascinating -- if you can name a punk/New Wave scene icon, chances are that Ms. K took their picture Way Back in the Day, from Belinda Carlisle to Darby Crash. The pics aren't the typical posed, band-looking-tough-against-a-brick-wall crap, either, but are candid shots of your heroes (and mine) looking like -- gasp! -- actual human beings, having conversations, screwing around, laughing, the whole shebang.

At any rate, sorry for the lateness of the notice, but get on out now if you can. Local folks L.A.W.S., The Sporatics, & Welfare Mothers are playing, as well (probably right freakin' now, in fact), and I've heard good things about all three...

Labels: Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do, Things To See

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A little late for this week, I know; what're you gonna do, eh? Anyway, we've just posted a real-live interview with H-town-by-way-of-Katrina prog-metal outfit Rustler -- they haven't been in town long, really, but they've already made quite an impact, and their debut EP, Phonetic Whips, gets me frantically air-drumming and head-banging every time. Plus, the band's playing tonight up at Walter's, with Bowel & The Dead See, so I'd say it's as good a time as any. Get on out, 'cause it's gonna be a good one.

Of course, we've got a whole slew of new reviews up, too, including ex-Silkworm/Seam/.22 deal Bottomless Pit, Richard Hawley, the sadly-defunct Challenger Deep. Check 'em out -- here's the list:

Interviews: Rustler.

Reviews: Bottomless Pit; Richard Hawley; The Challenger Deep; Auralift; Camarada; & Mad Caddies.

Keep watching for more...

Labels: Interviews, Reviews, Things To Do

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I'm not going to pretend to have a clue what the hell's going on, but damn, this is too freakin' funny. Ah, Technoviking, you make me proud of my somewhat sketchy (long story) Nordic roots.

Labels: Cool Web Junk, Random Rambling

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Yep, thanks to those crazy I Heart U people, tonight @ Notsuoh you can go witness the awe-inspiring, floor-punching hardcore fury of ex-Minor Threat/Fugazi guy Ian MacKaye's new band with Amy Farina (ex-Warmers), The Evens.

Okay, okay, I take it back -- going by the songs on the band's Myspace, there won't be much in the way of hardcore fury, really, unless you really think acoustic guitars rock hard. The Evens is MacKaye (guitar/singing) and Farina (drums/singing) getting a little quiet in a K Recs, Northwestern mellow-indie kind of way, and from what I've heard, they're not bad. Fans of Fugazi or MT may be a bit thrown off by the lack of electric-ness in the instrumentation, but the songs are still fairly tense and urgent-sounding, even still.

Oh, and the video on their Myspace for "Vowel Movement" is pretty awesome -- I think I'm gonna have to show it to my three-year-old & see what she thinks. In fact, the other night Danny Jonx had asked me if I'd be taking the midget to the show tonight (got a prior commitment, unfortunately), 'cause supposedly MacKaye's new focus is on music that's accessible by everyone, including kids. I'm told the band doesn't play "Vowel Movement" live, though, and I think my kid might get bored with some of their stuff (if I put anything quiet on in the car, she sulks and says, "this isn't a rock song..."), so your mileage may vary on that front.

If you're up for it, hit downtown tonight at 8PM sharp -- the band plays smartly at 8:30PM. And they're the only name on the bill, so if you're late you might feel as stupid as yours truly once did when he finally got his ass out to see The Smoking Popes just in time for the final chorus of their final song (and the one I really came to hear), "Writing A Letter." (Don't be me, people. Being me is not good.) Also make sure you bring $5 with you, or you will have wasted at least that much in gas driving to downtown for no damn reason. You can maybe leave the ID at home, though, 'cause it's all-ages.

And Now, Option B:
Of course, if you read all this and say, "That ain't Fugazi! Fuck you, MacKaye!," before angrily smashing your keyboard against the wall of your padded cell and pleading with the nurse for more cigarettes, you may be comforted to know that you have options. For example, you could also head on up to the Aurora Picture Show at 7:30PM to check out the H-town premiere of surf flick One California Day. I know zero about the movie, but I've been to a few surf movies in my day, and it's always been a blast. And the Malloy bros. are in it, among others, so the surfing's gonna be good.

NOTE: One California Day isn't displayed on the Aurora's calendar, so you might wanna call 'em before going (the no.'s on their Website, linked above). Again, to avoid the gasoline-wasting & all.

Labels: Pseudo-Reviews, Things To Do, Things To See

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I figured heck, I'm in a video-posting mood, so why not keep it rolling... The two videos below amply demonstrate why even now, a decade after the band broke up, I still can't help but think of NYC madmen Barkmarket as the quintessential heavy rock (not metal, mind you, but loud, heavy, stomping rock) band of all freakin' time.

Both songs below, "Dumbjaw" and "Whipping Boy", are off 1993's supremely speaker-destroying Gimmick, and listening back that album I just want to build a time machine and travel back to the early '90s, grab the band, and drag them forward to now, when they would rule what passes for Rock Radio with an iron fist and make all bow down before them. These guys are one of those rare bands that really-and-truly were ahead of their time, in this case by a whole damn decade. I saw them play Fitzgerald's once way back in the day, to a crowd of fewer than 20 people, and by the time they were done I had to pick my face up off the floor.

Naturally, being a big ol' fanboy, I then staggered up to the stage and quietly asked vocalist/songwriter/guitarist Dave Sardy if he could maybe please sign something, anything for me. He said, "sure, what you got?" in full-on Noo Yawk accent, and I feebly offered up a scrap of paper I'd found in my pocket while telling him how awesome his band was. He thanked me very politely, finished packing up his gear, and headed out so they headliner could set up. And I've got no freakin' clue who the hell they were opening for -- by that point, I honestly didn't care.

Sadly, as hinted at above, they are no more. Sardy is now a big-time engineer & producer, which actually explains a little bit of why his former band sounds so goddamned prescient: Sardy's essentially grafted elements of Barkmarket's overall sound -- which, for its time, was absolutely crushing but still clear and full-sounding, unlike a lot of hc-influenced stuff back then that sounded like shit -- onto every "heavy" band from here to Mars, including Helmet, System Of A Down, Far, Marilyn Manson, Rage Against The Machine, Wolfmother, Monster Magnet, Slayer, & Quicksand (not to mention non-"heavy" folk like Johnny Cash, Hot Hot Heat, LCD Soundsystem, and, uh, Jay-Z).

So, the moral of this little post: even if your band doesn't hit it big, you can still alter the face of rock as we know it. How cool is that?

Labels: Musical Crap, Random Rambling, Things To See

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I sure do wish those sweet-singing popsters in Program played out more often -- it seems like they hardly ever do, these days, which sucks for me, 'cause I've never been able to catch 'em live. In the meantime, I have to make do with stuff like the two videos below, recently posted on the band's Myspace site...

The first is a live interview/performance on Fox's MyMusic Houston, with the band playing an as-yet-unreleased-and-pretty-badass song called "Kinky Toxin". The second, "Push Pop", is a little bit older, from the release of Evil is Job One (reviewed here back in May, if you haven't been keeping track), and it's pretty darn good in its own right.

Oh, and since this is Houston and we've always got to have a "connection" of some sort to anything cool (e.g.: "It was revealed today that rock star Pete Wentz of Fallout Boy has a Houston connection, and 13 has the exclusive -- Wentz once stopped at a local Foodarama to use the bathroom..."), here's the super-special Space City Rock connection to the first video: interviewing the band is none other than SCR alum Ruben Dominguez, who's since moved on up to doing the tail-end of the Morning News & being Assignments Manager at Fox26. Yo, Ruben! Good to see you, man...

(Oh, and by the by -- after looking more carefully at the Program site, it looks like they are playing soon, on December 7th at someplace I dunno called Azteca's. Make it out if you can...)

The Time Has Come to Get 'Programmed'!

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Labels: H-Town News, Pseudo-Reviews, Things To Do, Things To See

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Wow. I'm guessing that this has already been bandied about the Interwebs, but I hadn't heard 'til this AM (courtesy of Vice's VBS.TV venture), and it's utterly blown me away: My Bloody Valentine have reportedly reunited and are doing a new album (check out Soft Focus - Kevin Shields Part 1). Holy crap. Granted, Shields has been promising to finally do the followup to 1991's (fucking incredible) Loveless for a decade-plus now, but this time he sounds pretty concrete about it, and he says all members of MBV are onboard for it.

And man...Shields looks weirdly like a shy, not-real-good-with-people college CompSci 101 prof. And Ian Svenonius sounds nothing like how I'd expected him to sound (never heard him talk before). Very weird.

While I'm at it, while Vice tends to annoy me more than not -- it always seems too self-lovingly trashy, to me, and some of their "journalistic" pieces on world affairs (Central American gangs, jungle guerrilas, etc.) come off like voyeuristic teenager crap -- they've got a good article up now on troops who've fled to Canada to avoid either going to or going back to Iraq. Well worth a read.

Labels: Musical Crap, Public Service Announcements, Things To Read, Things To See

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I've mentioned this to several people lately, so I figured I'd post it here, as well. I drive my three-year-old to school most days, on my way to work, and while it's less than a 10-minute commute (for her, anyway), she always seems to enjoy listening to non-specifically-"kid" music in Daddy's car. Generally, it's the louder/faster, the better -- I get a lot of requests for "rock music," with disapproving grumbles when I put on something slow or mellow. Her favorite CD of late has been Andrew W.K.'s I Get Wet -- and yes, I know how horrible that may sound, but dang it, it's a good CD, and as friend Marc pointed out the other day, in a way it is kid music, really.

So anyway, I was driving her to school early last week, playing The Killers' Sam's Town on the stereo, when this exchange occurred, pretty much verbatim:

The Munchkin: Daddy, is this a man singing or a lady singing?
Me: Oh, it's a man singing.
The Munchkin: Oh. [pause] I think you need to listen to more lady singers.
Me: I do?
The Munchkin: Yeah. You need to hook into it, to hook into lady singers.
Me: O-kay...

When I laughingly recapped the conversation that evening for my wife, with the midget present, she elaborated by saying, "You have to hook into it, like when you got a hook in your head that pulls you to the song?"

I dunno why, really, but this blows me away, mostly because while her way of expressing it cracks me up, on another level I totally understand what she's trying to say. Which is amazing, cool, and a little terrifying, all at once. I'm glad to be raising a kid that honestly loves music, but it's a bit freaky that she can grasp it like that at this age. As a friend smilingly noted this evening, it's like I'm raising a miniature A&R person. Very strange...

Labels: Random Rambling

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When the hell is it gonna end? It seems like this week's been a nonstop roll of bad-bad-bad news for Houston's music scene, and all of that pales in comparison to the news broken on the Free Press Houston blog yesterday evening that local music scenester/journo Rick Smith has passed away unexpectedly. Damn, man. I haven't talked to Rick in a really long time, unfortunately, but he was always the nicest, friendliest guy, and he gave me some much-needed encouragement with this little site back when it was, um, even littler. Rest in peace, Rick.

Fuck. What a shitty end to a never-ending shitty week. I need to go home & watch some escapist crap on TV...

Labels: H-Town News, Public Service Announcements, Random Rambling

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Update time, update time... This time out, we've got 2 things in particular that I'm very excited about. The first is a review (by yours truly) of the brand-new Linus Pauling Quartet CD, All Things Are Light. And while you should really go read the review for yourself, I can give you the upshot here: it's fucking badass. I've been on the fence for years now on the LP4 -- great guys, great history, etc., but y'know... -- but this one knocks me off it & lays me out flat, to boot. It's damn good, seriously. (The band's photo is by the ever-friendly rosaphoto, btw. Credit where it's due, yo.)

Plus, the band's playing their official CD release tomorrow night, Nov. 10th, up at The Proletariat, and despite the sad reality that you, uh, prob'ly ought to get out to the Prolo before it gets ground down before the inexorable Richmond Light Rail, it's gonna be a very, very cool show. Not only are LP4 playing, but cool local folk-popster Jenny Westbury opens, followed by friends/math-rock heroes The Jonx (who're worth checking out just on their lonesome), and strange-os The Mathletes close out the night (at least, that's the schedule I've seen; could be switched around a bit). Be there or regret it.

The second thing I'm psyched about may sound a wee bit silly, but what the hell: Alice Cooper! No, not an interview, sadly, but new contributor Bill R. threw his hat in the proverbial ring with a review of the campy shock-rocker's show last month, and we think it's pretty damn good. And to those who question our inclusion of an Oldies-Station-Dweller like Cooper in our little e-zine, we say "feh" -- our tent is big enough for all, and we like many things, not all of them specifically labeled as "indie."

At any rate, here's the full list for this week:

Live Reviews: Alice Cooper -- Psycho Dramatics.

Reviews: Linus Pauling Quartet; mt.st.helens; Iron and Wine; Tom Alford; Satanic Puppeteer Orchestra; & The Warriors (who're playing, by the way, up at Java Jazz on 12/14).

That's it for now. More soon.

Labels: Live Reviews, Reviews, Things To Do, Things To See

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What the hell is going on, people? I mean, I've known Houston's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it city since I first moved here, but lately it's been a little ridiculous. On top of the news that The Proletariat is likely going to be knocked down to make way for the Richmond light rail, now the folks up at Super Happy Fun Land in the Heights are facing the wrecking ball, too. 'Cause y'know, there aren't enough condos in the freakin' Heights as it is, right? Dammit!

On the positive side, the SHFL folks had apparently been planning a move of their own anyway, so the landlord's deadline (end of January, apparently) isn't the crushing blow it could've been. The SHFLers are now in the process of looking for a new, bigger, better, sparklier place to live/host shows, and naturally, they're not letting the looming shadow of bulldozers & cranes get 'em down -- they've even dubbed this the "Super Happy Relocation Experience"; ah, gotta love those cheery SHFL folks...

At any rate, if you can help them in any way, whether it's with the moving itself or with the large piles of $$$ they'll likely need to get a new place, please contact 'em at "info" at "superhappyfunland dot com". Say what you will about the place, the Land of the Super Happy is definitely a unique little venue, and despite what the developers seem to think, H-town desperately needs places like that. Otherwise, we'd be Dallas, and nobody wants that.

Labels: H-Town News, Public Service Announcements

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Naysayers be damned, I'll swear 'til my dying/moving day that there's way, way more to do in this city than most folks think; more, in fact, than this paltry blog/site can ever hope to cover. Which is why, sadly, we kinda seem to zip right past all the awesomely neat stuff that goes on up at DiverseWorks -- sorry 'bout that, y'all...

At any rate, in a tentative step towards rectifying that situation, I just wanted to mention a cool-sounding art opening DW will be having this coming Friday, November 9th. It's sponsored by the ever-faithful Friends (well, "Friend," anyway) of SCR over at Houston Calling, which in itself is a pretty hearty recommendation, esp. for an art opening.

Actually, it's two art openings in one, apparently -- on the "static" side of things, the gallery will be showcasing line drawings done by weirdo-folk musician/artist Devendra Banhart, in an exhibit called Some Drawings. Banhart himself won't be there, I hear, but the man's art will be, and if it's anything like his music, it'll be intriguing, to say the least.

The "dynamic" part of the dual-opening extravaganza is a performance art piece by a woman named Claude Wampler called PERFORMANCE (career ender). I've got no clue what it'll be like, but there's supposedly a heavy audience participation element, and from what I've seen of stuff like this in the past, it's bound to be something to see/experience. Go check it out if you get a chance (the performances are at 8PM & 10PM, and the opening's from 6-8PM).

Labels: Arty Shit, Public Service Announcements, Things To Do

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What, is there some sort of karmic balance in the Houston music scene that must be maintained, else the universe slips off its axis and we all suddenly never existed? That's really the only explanation I can come up with for this -- we get the word that Cactus is coming back, only it's followed by the sad news (via the excellent Skyline Network, which you should read if you don't already) that The Proletariat is due to be demolished.

Fuck. Seems the current plan to shove light rail down Richmond means that, among other businesses, the Prolo will be removed to make room for the trains. And hey, don't get me wrong -- I'm all for better mass transit in this sprawling mess of a city. But dammit, it still sucks. The Proletariat hasn't always been its current self, of course -- that's the transitory nature of things in this city -- having been a lesbian bar previously and the much-loved/loathed Blue Iguana before that (and probably things before that, as well). With each change, though, there was always the possibility that the building would once again vibrate to the sound of way-too-loud guitars and be a home for H-town scenesters. Now, though, it sounds like that's not going to be the case.

Man, this hurts. Even as somebody who doesn't get out nearly as much as they once did, the Proletariat's been a great place to see bands, run into friends (I dunno how, but it always happens, even w/folks I haven't seen in years), and just hang out. There are far, far too few places like this left; it's a damn shame that yet another is headed towards the wrecking ball.

At any rate, there it is. Thanks, adr, for breaking the painful news. Anybody out there know a timeline for this? There's no mention on their Myspace (linked above), and their "real" Website doesn't look like it's been updated in a very long time...

Labels: H-Town News, Random Rambling

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Seriously, it feels like it. After the recent network outages here at work (I'm told it was a "spanning tree loop," but I've got only a vague idea as to what that means) and now the wireless issues I'm having, I'm about ready to throw 'em all out the window and go Luddite. I'd hoped to post a bunch of stuff over the weekend, 'cause I had some rare (lately) moments of free time on my hands, just chillin' and watching The Host on DVD or whatever episode of "Man vs. Wild"/"Survivorman" that happened to be on, but noooooo, the Tiny-Yet-Powerful Controllers of the WiFi decided that that wasn't gonna happen.

At any rate, I'm currently online only from work, which is a major pain in the ass, believe me. If anybody knows what might be causing my lil' old iBook with plain-vanilla Airport card to randomly drop off the wireless network, I'd appreciate any help you can give. Thanks kindly...

Labels: Admin Stuff, Random Rambling

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Yep, another week, another update -- no new features this week, but we do have a fresh new pile of reviews for y'all, including yours truly pontificating on the 2nd full-length from Austinites Meryll. Who, I should say, not only happen to be really good in a catch-you-off-guard kind of way (I've had "Lightning Threatens" and "Brother The Hunter" stuck on infinite repeat in my head for a week now), but also happen to be playing tonight, Nov. 2nd, up in The Woodlands at The Loft (9201 Grogan's Mill Rd.; I think it might actually be a church). Should be a damn good show, made even better by the fact that local folk/Ambassadors of Awesomeness The Church of Philadelphia & Buxton are also on the bill.

Here's what else we've got for this week, while we're at it:

Reviews: Meryll; PRE; Flight of the Conchords; Gretchen Schmaltz; Broken Land; The Flatliners; The Wails; & What Remains.

Off you go; go see/hear some music tonight...

Labels: Reviews, Things To Do

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Y'know, I'd wondered what the heck had happened to Cameron Dezen (now "Cameron Dezen Hammon," officially). She put out a truly brilliant solo album a year or three ago, Love + Rescue, and then...well, nada. The last time I even saw a show listed was the Houston Press Awards like 2 years ago, now. Anyway, defatigable Chron scribe Sara Cress has tracked her down and got the update (thanks, Sara!). Good to hear Dezen's still around, even if she's moved away from her poppier stuff...

Labels: Cool Web Junk, H-Town News, Musical Crap

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Stuck at home with The Munchkin today, so I've been dividing my time between, um, working and watching Dora The Explorer. Feeling intensely unproductive, so I figured I'd remedy that by reminding myself (and you, Dear Reader) of all the cool stuff coming up in the next week or so. Here goes...

Thurs., November 1:
Spo