Pop Jew in Brooklyn

So uh, Frances McDormand was at Death By Audio last night

2011-08-18T11:20:00.006-04:00

yeah, um, Frances McDormand was at Death By Audio last night... for real.

Last night, around 10pm, I was standing up near Tara, the door girl, at Death By Audio. I had booked a show for two french bands, The Liminanas and Gaz Gaz (who play again tonight at Cake Shop, fyi), and I was doing my normal thing where I stress out like crazy and hover near the door, waiting for more people to arrive. The Gytters were playing, and people were steadily coming in, when Frances McDormand opened the door to Death By Audio, walked inside and stood there, staring at the wall.
After a few minutes she turned to me and Tara and said "I'd like to see this, what do I have to do?"
I replied "Pay $7," which seemed like a pretty simple solution. She said she needed cash and ran out the door. In under a minute she was back, handed Tara a twenty and ran into the venue.
Now some people have given me shit about charging her, but honestly? I'm all for charging celebrities, they surely can afford a $7 cover, right?
Once inside she stood near the sound booth and immediately started dancing like crazy to the Gytters set. The room started buzzing with whispers of "is that Frances McDormand?" as she let loose and had fun.
After the Gytters were over she came over to talk to me, I guess thinking I was in some kind of position of authority, and said "Why doesn't anyone move?"
I asked her who she was there to see, thinking maybe she had read about the French bands, and she said "I'm not here to see anyone, but don't people your age dance?"
I said "Oh, I don't know, maybe we're all just indie snobs?" (which in hindsight was not the best thing to say) and suggested she stay to check out the French bands.
She just responded, "Well I can't believe people your age don't dance! I guess people my age don't dance either," and left just as quickly as she had arrived.
So there you have it. Frances McDormand randomly wandered into Death By Audio, a place that is not really easy to wander into. How did she end up there? Maybe she was eating at Williamsburger and heard some music from outside? Maybe she has friends in the neighborhood? Maybe she just wanders the streets of South Williamsburg late at night, looking for a dance party?
The world may never know.

MORE SHOWS PLZ

2011-07-20T13:33:00.004-04:00

So, it seems that all of a sudden I've managed to book another awesome show. How about that? This one's a real good one too... trust me, you don't want to miss it.
Two awesome bands are coming up from Nashville, and if you've ever met me before, you know that Nashville bands are my favorite bands.
I'm super excited to see The Paperhead, an awesome young band that has an LP on Trouble In Mind and a single on Nashville's Dead. They're psychy and slow and drawn out and dreamy. I bet it'd be cool music to listen to on "grass" but I don't do pot so I wouldn't know (no downers).
Also excited to see D. Watusi for the first time... it's the new band from Ben Todd, the brilliant mind behind Nashville's Dead (and my close personal friend). They're more on the rock end of the spectrum, but like, the best rock.
Listen to their mp3s below and be happy and toe-tappy. Both bands play at Death By Audio on Thursday with The Hairs and The Gytters, as well as at Bruar Falls on Friday with Conversion Party and Royal Shoals. Come out and party. Free hugs.

The Paperhead -- Can't Keep My Eyes Open

The Paperhead -- Do You Ever Think Of Me?

D. Watusi -- I Hate You

D. Watusi -- High School Baby

Gettin' the Gytters

2011-07-18T10:58:00.004-04:00

Have you guys heard of the Gytters yet? Well, they're just great. They're a new three piece from Brooklyn and they play awesome indie rock that makes me think of awesome bands from England in the 90s and a time when indie rock was beautiful and poppy while still being full of quiet, sad, angst.
Well I am excited to announce the Gytters blog debut! They sent me an exclusive mp3 of their first single, Divebombers, and I am excited to be able to share it with you today.

So listen to that shit and enjoy it and come see The Gytters! They play this Thursday at Death By Audio with The Paperhead and D. Watusi from Nashville and The Hairs from Brooklyn.

Slush Puppie Love

2011-07-12T15:28:00.002-04:00

I grew up in a small town on the Hudson River that didn't have a 7-11. in fact, we didn't have any major chain stores until we got a Blockbuster Video when I was in middle school. I had never tasted a Slurpee or anything like that, but at Martino's Deli, the place all the middle school kids went to at lunch time to get sandwiches, they had a Slush Puppie Machine and it was a major part of every summer.
Now anyone who knows me knows that I hate sweets overall... I don't eat ice cream, I don't like milkshakes, I don't really like popsicles, but every summer I get a major Slush Puppie craving, and I've become a bit of an expert on how to find genuine Slush Puppies in Brooklyn, so I'd love to share my expertise with you...

As far as I'm aware, there are only two places in North Brooklyn, or the "Greater Williamsburg Area," if you will, where you can get real Slush Puppies.
The first, most convenient for a Bushwicker such as myself is Danny's Pizza on Bushwick Avenue and Montrose, right outside the Montrose stop. Danny's is cool because it's a pretty old school pizza place, the kind that you would go to in a small town, and the Slush Puppie machine seems to make sense there. The only problem is that they only have the machine out during peak summer months, so if you find yourself craving one on a particularly hot day in April you're shit out of luck.
The other option is at Greenpoint's Finest Deli on Manhattan Ave at Norman, near the Nassua G. It's just a normal bodega that happens to have a Slush Puppie machine and it's a shame more bodegas don't. So if you're Greenpoint-ish you can get one there, and they have the machine all year.
You do have one third option, though it's kind of not really real. If you need a Slush Puppie and can't make it to either of those places, the "slush" that they sell in ice cream trucks has a pretty similar consistency to a Slush Puppie and those trucks are fucking everywhere.
So go enjoy some nice summer refreshment, okay?

Crazy for you, Crazy for me, Crazy & The Brains!

2011-06-10T12:21:00.004-04:00

Working at a music venue is weird, in that you interact with a lot of bands but don't really get to enjoy their sets usually. Actually, you usually openly are just hoping the bands will finish as fast as possible so you can just go home, you know how work is, right?
Well, the other night I was chilling out in the Lower East Side, sipping on some Bud 'n Beam, working door at the wonderful Cake Shop and kind of just tired and wanting to pass out. Well, I went downstairs once the show was almost over to survey the scene, and had the extreme delight of catching Crazy & The Brains, a band full of vaguely pretty boys from New Jersey.

Their sound was so infectious that I was glued to the stage until they were over... totally the kind of shit I'm into... obviously a bit punk, but got the pretty xylophone high notes that you guys know drive me crazy forever. They also played some pretty sweet covers and had really nicely placed screams and whatnot. They kind of gave me a Nodzzz vibe, which obviously rules.
Anyway, I feel like lately it's been hard for me to get excited about new music and all I've wanted to do is write about NASCAR, but this shit got me to my keyboard, so it must be good, right? Anyway, check these tracks and rock out...

Crazy & The Brains -- Let Me Go

Crazy & The Brains -- Lindsay Lohan

The Whitest Wires You Know

2011-04-27T15:07:00.001-04:00

Lately I've been jamming out to a bunch of jams from Canada. I'm not even kidding when I say that I've been listening to "Baby" by Justin Bieber on repeat on my iPod while I frolic through the streets of East Williamsburg Industrial Park in the spring weather... I can't help it, it just works.
But more importantly, I am always jamming the sophomore LP from one of my favorite bands of the moment, the White Wires, "WWII."

And today I am a very excited PopJew because for the first time in a long time the White Wires are back in New York and are going to be playing at the awesome Daed Pizza show at Bruar Falls tonight with Games (who I posted some tracks from a while ago) and Baby Shakes. Jeremy from Games/Sing Sing Records will be spinning all his rare 45s as well as sweet re-issues all night.
I'd really be sad for you to miss White Wires on this rare US appearance. Let's groove all night in our sweetest threads.

White Wires -- Be True To Your School (Til You Get Kicked Out)

White Wires -- Popularity

I Love Pizza

2011-04-25T17:16:00.004-04:00

Do you ever have a few months where you just worry that maybe you hate music? Lately I've just been bored at shows and generally underwhelmed with everything and just want to listen to Ke$ha all of the time. True Story. But last night everything changed.
I went to see Personal & The Pizzas at Bruar Falls last night. Last time I saw them was in 2009 at Silent Barn with Coconut Coolouts and Tyvek. That was a great show and a crazy party but it was a long time ago. Last night was totally incredible.

The whole show last night was crazy. Bright Lights, Barreracudas, and The Stalkers also played, and the crowd was clearly there for a party. Lot's of people were getting way too rowdy and one very, very, very wasted girl was starting fights and had to be carried out of the bar by one of the bartenders... there was definitely the vibe that a lot of people there were fueled by more than alcohol.
Because of a very, very long set by The Stalkers, it seemed that Personal & The Pizzas might not get to play because of Bruar Falls's strict midnight curfew.
Well, fun prevailed and they took the stage and proceeded to play the best live set I've seen a band ever play at a bar. It was so much fun and I just found myself rocking out and pushing up to get closer to the stage and enjoying the set with an enthusiasm I haven't been able to muster up in a while.
The Pizzas play characters of Jersey tough guys, even using a chain as a guitar strap, and it makes the show so much fun. My friend Amalia was endlessly amused that frontman Drew kept calling the audience "Turkeys" and I enjoyed that three songs in a row were individually dedicated "to the ladies." What class!
The songs were loud and rocking, and even though there were some technical difficulties with a guitar amp, it really didn't matter, the party atmosphere totally made up for it.
My favorite part of the show was when the amp problems became too much for Drew and he stopped playing and started yelling at the audience to leave. Everyone just stood there, waiting for more songs, and he just kept yelling "Seriously! It's over! I'm serious! Why are you still here?" but when the audience didn't budge, and someone approached to fix his amp, he gave in and played one more.
Really the best time ever. Pizzas have a pizza my heart now forevz. Sucks you missed it!

I Have A Boyfriend

2011-03-30T15:30:00.000-04:00

I don't want to brag but I totally have a boyfriend. The only problem is that he lives in Canada and I only know him on Twitter and he's not actually my boyfriend, but still, we're totes in love in less than 140 characters a pop.
He loves the Beatles and cool music and you'll never believe it but he's in a band. His band is Ketamines and they're really good. You may know some of their members from the awesome Myelin Sheaths, and both bands have releases on HoZac Records. Here's a pic of The Ketamines, my boyfriend is the dreamy one (I think, I don't know what he looks like, but don't worry it is true love).

But you should definitely listen to and support my new boyfriend's band, so he can become really rich and fly me to Canada and buy me diamonds and lots of rare records and elk meat or whatever it is Canadians eat...
Also, they play good music.

Ketamines -- Line By Line

Ketamines -- 1 yr v 2

Gold Bears Kicking It Old School

2011-03-24T19:05:00.000-04:00

Let me tell you a story, it's not too long. About five years ago I met a dark, brooding noise musician who worked nights with me at my weird TV job. He had been the music director at V89, the FSU college radio station, in Tallahassee, Florida, before moving to the cold, hard city. He was so dreamy and I loved him and started spending every waking moment with him and his roommate Theresa (now the guitar player in Home Blitz) and listened to crazy power pop records all night long in their shitty loft.
Well, I developed a weird obsession with everything Tallahassee and everyone that had lived there. It seemed to be this weird pocket of indie that was just full of good people and good vibes. Now, five years later, I'm living the Tallahassee dream, I'm roommates with one of the best Tallys, one of the members of the ollllde indie band Plastic Mastery.

PlazzMazz has been over for a while, and my roommate Larry has been recording some solo stuff after his epic year long project of writing and recording a song every day that should be pretty exciting when it comes out.
But, his old band mate Jeremy has been recording with his new "twee punk" band Gold Bears in Atlanta. They have an LP coming out on Slumberland and an upcoming US Tour with PopJew friends Dream Diary.
Listen, I already said the words "twee punk" and "Slumberland" and "Tallahassee" to you, do you really need to know anything else? Trust me, you're going to like it. Here's a song (from a single) for you to enjoy before you can get your paws on the LP.

Gold Bears -- Something To Think About

all i wanna know is where do we go when this bar closes?

2011-03-05T12:19:00.005-05:00

So listen. I'm unemployed and bored and pretty much all there is to do with my day is go to the gym, sit around my house, go to bars and get wasted. MY LIFE IS GLAMOROUS.

This song is not new, and I've written about Allo Darlin' before, but lately I have been jamming "Silver Dollars" on pretty constant repeat...

Sometimes a song just really speaks to you. Not only is "Silver Dollars" sweetly, inoffensively enjoyable, but it really captures the way it feels to be young and broke and just not want to give a fuck...

And tough I've got no money to burn I'm gonna burn what I got
And though this band is awful I like them an awful lot

I know, right? That's totally how I feel pretty much every day of my life. Love you Allo Darlin'.

New Label Alert!!!!!

2011-02-18T17:20:00.002-05:00

Well folks, there's a new label in town... and by town I mean "the world" I guess because this is one seriously bi-coastal label. Kevin from What's Your Rupture and Lacey and Ruben from Coconut Coolouts (Ruben also does Hardly Art) have teamed up on new label Krazy Punx.

There are three releases so far and they all seem promising.
The first is Bill Cosby and the Pudding Pops - Passion of the Pops LP. The Pops were apparently some kind of party band from Brooklyn that just had some fun and did some weird things, and had a song included on the recent Florida's Dying Party Platter comp that all the kids were talking about this summer.
The second is an LP by Silver Shampoo called Higher & Higher. I'm pretty excited to hear this record in its entirety. It's the brain child of Paul from the Wax Museums and combines all kinds of weird influences to just be something awesome and shiny.
The third is German Measles - A German Joke is No Laughing Matter LP. I've written about the German Measles before and I've been a fan for a long time.
Here's a track from each record for you to listen to before you go here to buy them all...

Bill Cosby & The Pudding Pops -- Sweet

Silver Shampoo -- Streaks of Satan

German Measles -- It's Me Babe

OMG Wounded Lion!!!!!

2011-02-12T15:36:00.003-05:00

Okay, so I know I'm late on this, but I've only recently gotten around to listening to the Wounded Lion LP that came out on In The Red last year... I was aware of its existence but for some reason just never got around to checking it out. I finally listened to it this week.

Holy shit.

Yeah, it's really really good. It's very different and very weird but ends up being really catchy and awesome. And it's not lo-fi at all. I fucking love that.

Check out this cool video for "Pony People" from the LP. My favorite song on the record I think. You should really, really buy this.

Trent Fox & The Foxxxxes

2011-02-09T16:41:00.004-05:00

Okay, Trent Fox & The Foxes isn't the real name of this band, they're actually called Trent Fox & The Tenants, but that's not as funny... or as sexy. Either way, this band from Milwaukee is awesome if you like that catchy garage thing the kids are so crazy about these days. Well I'm one of "the kids" and I'm crazy about it so I'm into these catchy tunes.
They have a record that's about to come out on Kind Turkey Records, a very very new label that probably thinks it's pretty cool now that The Packers won the Super Bowl... but I've always loved Wisconsin so I guess that's okay.

Their songs are good... they have a lot of the same qualities of those other awesome Milwaukee bands, including Goodnight Loving and Jaill. Man, Milwaukee is a crazy place, what with all the beer and cheese and whatnot (I got a mimosa there that had bacon in it!) but they put out music that is catchy... catchy like a fox!

Trent Fox & The Tenants -- Mess Around

Trent Fox & The Tenants -- Old Lady

Leg Sweeeeeeper

2011-01-21T12:29:00.002-05:00

Josh of The Sleepies first told me about Leg Sweeper from Texas about a year ago, seriously, he wouldn't shut up about how good they were... and then I listened and was not disappointed. They're punky and party and fun.

Well, they're finally coming to New York and they're playing tomorrow at Dead Herring with a really great lineup- Byrds of Paradise, Sleepies and Sweet Bulbs. I'm excited. It's going to be a crazy time, a sexy weekend. Don't miss it.
Leg Sweeper -- Sexy Weekend

Suzie Who -- Sexy Weekend

Playin' Games

2011-01-17T20:33:00.002-05:00

Can I level with you guys for a minute? I love power pop. I don't care if you wanna make fun of me or you think power pop is gay or whatever, cuz I love it. Dudes just had it right in the 70s.

Well, I also love Games, the relatively new band out of Brooklyn made up of members of Busy Signals and Gentleman Jesse, and they have a killer new single out on Rob's House Records.
Now Rob's House says that this record is not power pop, and is instead influenced by pre-power pop stuff. If you're smarter than me, maybe you can figure that out... but if you're dumb like me, you'll just love the songs and not really think about it too much.
Games -- Funny Things

Games -- Don'Look For Her

Spectra-rific!

2011-01-17T20:14:00.002-05:00

When I was in Milwaukee I had the great pleasure of seeing The Spectras, a kind of super group of Wisconsin ladies, at an awesome dive bar. They were looking fine and sounding sweet and were one of the best bands I saw on my road trip.

They sound like classic girl group, if that girl group was made out of pure rock 'n roll. Warning: these songs will get stuck in your head.
I e-mailed Wendy a few days ago to ask for some mp3s to post, and she informed me that they have broken up. TOTAL BUMMER. Oh well. Suxxxxx that you never got to see them, and that they never even fully finished mastering these tracks, but hopefully the infectious pop will cheer you up.

The Spectras -- You Can't Break My Heart

The Spectras -- Gospel Song

Denton, Denton USA

2011-01-12T14:50:00.004-05:00

So Denton, TX. One of those small college towns that has a tendency to produce all kinds of awesome bands.
By now everyone knows about Fergus & Geronimo, a band that has recently relocated to Brooklyn from Denton, that has their debut LP coming out Hardly Art next week. I had the pleasure of listening to the test press of the LP and it's very good, though much of it is a pretty big departure from their previous singles, it's very catchy and varied and everyone should buy it.
They have three record release shows coming up this weekend...

All three shows should be good, I'm especially excited for Saturday's show at the Ding Dong Lounge, just because I don't think I've been to a show north of 14th street in a very long time, and they're playing with another Denton gem, Final Club, who play fun pop twinged punk. Final Club also plays Death By Audio on Thursday.
Final Club -- Tragic World

Final Club -- Bad Habits

Come out, party texas style!

NEED NEW RECORDS

2011-01-10T13:18:00.005-05:00

I recently experienced a personal tragedy... I spilled a beer on my MacBook and it has been wiped out... As a result, I lost all my mp3s.
Now of course I always prefer vinyl to digital, as I think we all do, but I have been known to fall into the habit of being too lazy to walk all the way over to my record player and usually would end up just turning to ye olde iTunes and putting whatever was whatever on shuffle or whatever.
Ever since my compy died I've been spending a lot of time alone with my record collection. It's been great, I've been discovering a lot of stuff I had that I had never really listened to, including some records my mom gave to me from her old collection. It's been great, but after two weeks without my full mp3 collection I started really jonesing for some new LPs to listen to. To remedy this, I went to Academy yesterday and picked up the following 4 LPs:

-Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
This has always been one of my favorite albums of all time, but for some reason I'd never owned it on vinyl. I'm super excited to own this now. This re-press from Matador is this super heavy vinyl that just feels awesome to hold. I think this would be a really perfect record to throw on before making out with some cool dude who lovvvvves indie.
-The Ergs - Dork Rock Cork Rod
This record was recently re-issued by Don Giovanni Records and I thought I should get it. It's kind of a "seminal pop punk record," if such a thing exists and it's catchy and fun to listen to.
-Timmy's Organism - Rise of the Green Gorilla
This was the one newish record I got of the bunch. I actually hadn't gotten around to hearing Timmy's Organism yet, but I had heard only good things about them and am a huge fan of Human Eye (as is any sane person) and I kind of don't think Sacred Bones really puts out crappy records, so I figured it was worth a shot. This record did not disappoint... it's gritty and spooky and catchy in all the best ways. Very good listen.
-Yipes! - Yipes!
This record was my one total impulse buy. I was leafing through the used new arrivals and my eye was caught by a record that had "power pop!" scrawled on the upper left-hand corner of the plastic sleeve. I laughed at this, but the dudes on the cover looked super cute (everyone did in '79, am I right ladies?) and I decided to throw it on and give it a listen. Side one, track one was pretty good so I decided it was worth the purchase. When I got it home, I was not wrong... just way catchy power pop, the way all bands in 1979 should have sounded.

All in all, I'm happy with my purchases. Now pour me some whiskey and let me watch the snow while listening to some punnnnnnnnnnnk.

Lustin' in Boulder

2011-01-06T17:40:00.002-05:00

Prior to my road trip, I had been to Boulder, Co millions and millions of time to see the family I have there. Boulder is cool and I liked bumming around Pearl Street when I was a kid and flirting with the homeless street performers, but as I got older and started having better taste in everything I got tired of the non-stop hippies and jam bands and never really saw any trace of punk or indie.

Well, when I was there in November to stay with my brother, I had the great pleasure of finding out that Circle Pit was playing at Astro Land, a hole-in-the-wall new DIY venue run by one of the dudes from School Knights.
The show was good in general, but I especially want to talk about Lust-Cats of the Gutters, an awesome punk two piece of awesome chicks.
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I tend to not be too into two-pieces (though there are some notable exceptions), but I was super excited by Lust-Cats.
They were hot. They were punk. They were loud. They were angry. They were funny. All girl groups should be like that.
I hope they get their act together and tour through NY, but until then, check them out...

Oh Oh Oh Omaha

2011-01-05T03:17:00.005-05:00

So on my road trip across the country I decided I wanted to stop in Omaha, Nebraska. I didn't know anyone there and my friend Kevin Failure of Pink Reason was nice enough to set me up with The Yuppies. I hadn't looked into them before I got to Omaha, but since Kevin set me up with them I had assumed they'd be around his age (late 20s). When I arrived I found out they were all around 21. At first I was kind of bummed, until I realized they were some of the coolest dudes I had ever met.

Anyway, I got to see The Yuppies play at a cool DIY space in Omaha and they really delivered. I think fans of Desperate Bicycles and Country Teasers would really like them...
Motivation -- Yuppies

Getting Out -- Yuppies

Thanks Numerators!

2011-01-04T16:17:00.004-05:00

So not to brag but today I was at the gym, killing some serious cardio, wearing my Hozac Records shirt, listening to some power pop, and just generally being awesome. It later occurred to me that I really don't own any band shirts, and if I don't wear a band shirt at the gym how will the other people there know that my taste in music is superior to theirs? HOW WILL THEY KNOW?
I tweeted about this dilemma, and a band I've been meaning to write about for a while came to my aid. Yes, The Numerators tweeted at me to offer me t-shirt that will help me look cool at the gym.

I should probably also listen to The Numerators at the gym cuz they're pretty punk and their songs are good. I saw them at Secret Project Robot a long time ago with Useless Eaters and they really impressed me. They don't fuck around with any lame shit, they just rock out.
Listen to these songs by them if you don't believe me:
The Numerators -- Green

The Numerators -- Rip It

Hey Numerators, let's get drunk and yell about things, okay?

My Five Favorite X-Mas Songs

2010-12-18T12:46:00.004-05:00

So sure. I'm Jewish. I don't celebrate Christmas. FINE. I GET IT. But, there are two things about XXX-Mas that get me excited every year. The first is Christmas themed hair clips (this year I got a pair with jingle bells on them!!!!) and the second is, of course, Christmas music.
Last night, I went with my buddies Yardwork to Cat's Cradle in Chapel Hill for Christmas at the Cradle, an annual event put together by Trekky Records where a bunch of bands play Christmas songs they wrote or covered. Yardwork played two originals, the Charlie Brown Christmas song and "Father Christmas" by The Kinks. It was fun, but it really got me thinking about what my ultimate setlist of Christmas songs would be, and also made me really mad that since I'm on the road I'm unable to make a proper Christmas mix. Anyway, here are what I've decided are my five favorite Christmas songs.
1. "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey

The classic and the best for a reason. Catchy pop tune with some jingle bellz and shit. Oh btw, why the fuck is there not a Katy Perry Christmas song yet?

2. "Baby It's Cold Outside"

All versions of this song are great, but I chose this one sung by Liza Minnelli and Alan Cumming because it is the gayest thing possible (especially when they switch parts) and I love it. Some people complain that this song is a little date rapey, but I think those people are boring and have never been a girl who knows she wants to do something she really shouldn't.

3. "Wonderful Christmas Time" by Paul McCartney

I am embarrassed to tell you that I only heard this song for the first time a few months ago, but it blew my fucking mind. It is really catchy and will be in your head for days and it is the weirdest musical arrangement ever with all the synthesizer shit. LOVE IT.

4. "Stepping Into Christmas" by The Wedding Present

As far as indie xxxmas songs go, this is the best.

5. "I Wish It Was Christmas Today"

Even though this classic SNL sketch is mostly a joke, I still think this song is a rocker. You gotta love classic Jimmy breaking.

HAPPY CHANUKAH EVERY1

2 Shows, 2 Taco Trucks, 2 MUCH FUN!

2010-10-18T17:00:00.007-04:00

Well, It's been about 2,000 years since I've blogged... I've been very busy working my day job, planning my epic bus tour, and working on two awesome CMJ shows. Yes I have two shows this week for your enjoyment, and for your double-enjoyment they both are at venues that feature taco trucks!

Wednesday 10/20 6pm:
JUICEBOX GYROS PRESENT:
Babies, Pujol, Ava Luna, Circle Pit, Darlings, French Miami

This show is going to rule. It's at Union Pool which is super convienient for all of your Subway needs. It also features a band from Austrailia (Circle Pit) and one of my favoritest Nashville bands (Pujol) plus some of New York's greatest. I actually haven't seen French Miami yet and I'm looking forward to it.

Thursday 10/21 Noon PM:
Impose and PopJew present:
Allo Darlin, Hedgehog, Sleepies, Dream Diary, Bright Lights, Othermen

This show is at The Woods (S 4th btw Kent and Wythe). It's from Noon to 8pm (bands starting around 1:30pm and there will ALSO be a Taco Truck. Stay home from work to see bands from the UK (Allo Darlin) and China (Hedgehog) play with some of my fave New York bands. It's part of Impose Magazine's CMJ Imposition 2010 which I am very honored to be a part of.

Just come!

Here are some mp3s of some of these bands for your listening enjoyment...

Allo Darlin -- Polaroid Song

Hedgehog -- In Spring

Circle Pit -- Another Trick

Ava Luna -- Clips

Sleepies -- Hypochondriac Blues

Pop-O-Philia

2010-07-19T15:24:00.004-04:00

You know that thing when you hear a song and it's so amazingly catchy that you end up listening to it on repeat like a million times in a row for like a million days straight? Yeah, that happens to me a lot. Lately, it's been with an incredible pop ditty from England's Standard Fare, a sexy indie pop band that's going to be coming back stateside for a show at Cake Shop on August 5th (with the one and only R. Stevie Moore)...

The song is called "Fifteen" and as previously stated, is catchy as hell, but also kind of weird... I guess it's about a chick who is 22 and has a crush on some dude who is 15 and knows it's wrong but kind of can't shake the crush? But somehow she ends up in his bed with him and is all tortured about it but doesn't act on it???

I mean let's be honest, we've all known some disturbingly cool 15 year olds in our time, but I'm kind of curious to know what the circumstances were that led to this whole "in bed together" thing... still, song rules.

True Love Is...

2010-07-08T18:40:00.006-04:00

Sometimes we all worry that we'll never find true love. True love is a special thing, it's about finding someone that is your best friend who you also want to have sex with all the time, it's about being comfortable with someone who knows you better than you know yourself, and it's about liking someone enough to not want to make out with cute boys you meet in bands. It's hard to find true love, and it's even harder for people who are really fucking cool. When you are just cooler than everyone it seems almost impossible to find someone who is almost as cool as you are... let alone someone who has music taste as good as yours! It's really hard to be me sometimes guys.

I think the perfect person to date would be someone that likes the same obscure bands you do. It's really hard to respect someone who can't name at least four bands currently on HoZac, and you definitely don't want to associate with someone who thinks it's okay to list Grizzly Bear as one of their top 5 recording artists. It is important to date someone you can love as much as you love your record collection.

This couple is the ultimate ideal. They love the same music enough to lounge around sharing a pair of earbuds, and they will probably fall in love soon. The couple that ipods 2gether stays 2gether. It is as simple as that. You can't date someone too stoopid to know what kind of music is "hot" and what kind of music is "not"... Tullycraft really had it right...

Tullycraft -- Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend Is Too Stupid To Know About

Well I got some good news today while g-chatting with my friend Jacob... there is now a new dating site that matches you with people exclusively based on your taste in music (via your Last.fm profile...)!!!! It's called TasteBuds and it might be our one real path to finding that person who is cool/smart enough to settle down with.

Will true love ever happen 2 me? I mean, we can all make out to The Postal Service and The Shins, but we won't marry it! Will I ever be lucky enough to find a guy who has a Black Flag shirt but not a Black Flag tattoo? Will I find the one who owns some Killed By Death comps on vinyl but still wants to hold my hand at a Belle and Sebastian Show? Where is the man who is friends with at least one person from an indie rock band in Columbus, Ohio? I'm not asking for much, just a pop prince to take me away...

Maybe TasteBuds.fm will help me, maybe there is a guy out there, an indie with a beard, just waiting to say "Hey PJ, wanna share my earbuds? We can listen to The Pastels and The Misfits"

Maybe, one day...

Who the fuck are The Hairs????

2010-07-08T12:03:00.003-04:00

So, how about them solo projects, eh? I guess it's pretty exciting when a member of a band I already love starts something on their own, that way I get more songs more songs more songs, and isn't that what life is all about?
Kevin Alvir, the sexy song-writer of PopJew favorite Knight School, is now doing his own thing in his non Knight School time, recording songs as The Hairs. The songs are still sexy fuzzy pop, but a little simpler and straightforward, and just great. The live show is star-studded... Kevin plays with Alex Naidus (of The Pains of Being Pure At Heart) on drums.

Check out these mp3s, only a few of the dozens that The Hairs have recorded.

The Hairs -- Kim Washes Her Hair

The Hairs -- Feeling A Lot Of Feelings

New Jammmz Out of Denton!

2010-07-06T17:11:00.004-04:00

Nothing is quite as much fun as opening up a fresh e-mail to find some brand new demos from a band you really like. Well, I'm in luck! Earlier this week I got the pleasure of hearing some new Teenage Cool Kids songs and they're really varied and really great. Check out these two tracks... "Kachina Doll" is pretty indie in a 90s way, and "Volvo To A Kiss" is a super poppy summer jam.... They're from Teenage Cool Kids' upcoming 3rd LP that will be called "Denton After Sunset" -- and I know from experience, Denton after sunset is a really fun place...

Teenage Cool Kids -- Kachina Doll

Teenage Cool Kids -- Volvo To A Kiss

Luvvvv a Good Tweet Fight!

2010-07-02T19:49:00.005-04:00

If you are a follower of good bandz on the TweetMachine you no doubt have noticed that Hunx and his Punkettes and Harlem have been running around together all over the place. Guess it's pretty normal for bands touring 2gether to get pissed at each other, and sure enough, Harlem tweeeeeted this up last night:

Harsharific! Wellll, Hunx, in true diva form (and I mean that as a compliment, dude rules) realized that in the face of something like this, there's one rule to follow... don't get mad... make a masturbation joke:

The internet is serious business, you know how it is. Enjoy a fine mp3 from each of these bands...

Harlem -- Number One

Hunx and his Punx -- Hey Rocky

"Feeling Blank Again"

2010-06-29T19:14:00.008-04:00

When I was a li'l punk-in-training in my teen years, listening to Alkaline Trio and NOFX, I felt so alone, so "different," so "out of" the "in crowd." Wore a studded belt and did my hair weird cuz I was scared of the popular kids.

Young PopJew in 'da pit

I always thought, when I grew up, and became a cool BlogJew, that I would feel "part of something" and accepted by the cool bloggers, and life would be complete. But now, I know that is never to be.
Today I read about Altered Zones, an animal collective of cool bloggers with cool taste in cool music. So many of my fave bros are there. Ultimate dude Jheri, Brits Sahil and Jack, Ultimate Chiller McGregor, Texas cuties Nate and Ryan and smartest chick Emilie all got invited to this party, and I got left at the nerd table. Feeling so sadddd, need to see the guidance counselor, or maybe get some meds prescribed to help me deal with not being "accepted."

Will people still read me? Will my mp3s still get played? If a blogger blogs on her blog and no one is there to comment, does it make a sound?

Gotta learn how to make it on my own. Gotta find friends who will "get me" and will want 2 sit with me at lunch. Life is really hard!

Here are some songs to let you know just how hard it is 2 b me! Feeling angsty, feeling rejected, feeling blank again...

Jay Reatard -- Feeling Blank Again

Catatonic Youth -- I've Had It Out of Control

Eddie Current Suppression Ring -- Let Me Be Honest With You

Child Molesters -- I'm Gonna Punch You In The Face

MIX U UP BABY

2010-06-29T12:15:00.002-04:00

BREAKING NEWS! I am now making weekly mixes for Impose Magazie! These mixes are pretty good, you can listen to them on your mp3 machine:

Download all three of my mixes, and all future mixes here!

There are cool songs by bands and you know how it is.

Bands, Boyz and Booze Bus Blog Tour 2k10!

2010-06-23T16:56:00.003-04:00

Hey y'all, I've got something important to tell you. This November I will be departing on my first ever trip around the grand 'ol US of A to see some bands, meet some cute boyz, drink some regional beers, while blogging the whole way. I'm super excited, gonna gonna gonna gonna gonna gonna gonna hit da road.

I'll be leaving from Brooklyn at the beginning of November and traveling to the west coast and back on some of Greyhound's finest bus lines. I don't know how to drive a car so bus is really my best option... plus, on a bus, I can blog the whole way, and maybe meet some creepy strangers!

Here's my rough Google Map of where I'm planning to go:

View PopJew Bus Tour in a larger map

Cities I'll be hitting are:
1. Pittsburgh
2. Columbus
3. Detroit
4. Lafyette
5. Chicago
6. Milwaukee
7. Minneapolis
8. Sioux Falls
9. Omaha
10. Denver
11. Salt Lake City
12. Boise
13. Seattle
14. Portland
15. Sacramento
16. San Francisco
17. Los Angeles
18. Tucson
19. Austin
20. New Orleans
21. Memphis
22. Nashville
23. Huntsville
24. Knoxville
25. Atlanta
26. Charlotte
27. Raleigh
28. Richmond
29. Washington DC

Suggestions of places to see, places to stay, etc are welcome... and most of all, please keep me updated on any shows happening in these cities in November or December!

Reunite with da punnnnxxxxxxx

2010-06-23T16:11:00.005-04:00

Don't you get sad when awesome bands stop playing and leave you all alone and you have no one to take with you to prom? Don't "last show ever" facebook invites kind of make you feel like you're about to get dumped? Yeah, bands leaving us is really hard and not appreciated.

That's why I'm super excited about this show on Saturday at The Bell House... it's a reunion show for two awesome mostly-defunct bands: New Bomb Turks and LiveFastDie as well as the celebration of the release of We Never Learn, a cool punk book by Eric Davidson.

And here are some pictures of cool people that will be playing at the show:

And here's some music you could hear:
New Bomb Turks -- Slut (Live)

LiveFastDie -- Amputated

Useless Eaterzzzzzzz!!!

2010-06-22T10:08:00.005-04:00

I'm really excited guys... excited cuz on Wednesday I get to see another band from TENNESSEE, my favorite state! Yeah, fuccccking Useless Eaters are from Memphis and they're coming to New York to play at Secret Project Robot with old favorite The Beets, Brooklyn's Open Ocean, and newish psych rockers The Numerators. This is definitely my number one pick for mid-week show.

I'm really looking forward to this show, it's been a minute since I've heard the smooth bubblegumgarage stylings of The Beets and I'm pretty excited to see this "Numerators" band, sounds right up my alley. The main attraction though, as usual, is the sweet band on tour from Memphis. Check out these mp3s from Useless Eaters!

Useless Eaters -- Information Freak

Useless Eaters -- Sucked In

New Bare Wires Video...

2010-06-16T09:16:00.002-04:00

This might be the quintessential PopJew video... the cutest boys you can imagine playing music with incredible hooks, it's just almost not fair!

so in love with GOODNIGHT LOVING

2010-06-15T12:03:00.007-04:00

I am not messing around guys. I really love The Goodnight Loving. They are definitely one of my top 5 favorite bands in the country (what the other 4 are I don't know... well I guess White Wires would be one of them...). They're catchy and super twangy, just how I like it. Their live show is amazing, their records rule, and they're from Wisconsin, which seems like some magical place that grows awesome beers and bands out of piles of cheese curds or whatever it is they have there...

Well we are all in luck, cuz not only does Goodnight Loving have a new LP out on Dirtnap Records, but they are also in the middle of a huge American tour, that features a PopJew (that's me!) curated show at Silent Barn on Thursday (June 17th) with Big Troubles, Bright Lights, and Fire Season (myspace pending!).
Check out the flier for that show (designed by Dani Golomb of Fire Season) and also a couple of GNL mp3s.

The Goodnight Loving -- 4 & 3

The Goodnight Loving -- The Pan

Church Of My Love!

2010-06-14T15:24:00.002-04:00

Everyone knows that if there's one thing a PopJew loves it's a cute Southern boy who plays rock 'n roll... so you may not be surprised that I'm into Church Of My Love, a new cute band out of Montgomery, Alabama. They're sweet major-key punk rock with pretty guitars sounds and they play Death By Audio tonight with McDonalds (mems Bright Lights, ex Oxford Collapse, caUSE co-MOTION), Sleepies (ex college classmates of ME), Liquor Ridge, and The Enchantments (mems Handglops, my dreams). Listen to these mp3s and COME OUT 2 da show 2nite.

xoxo

Church Of My Love -- Sweet Children

Church Of My Love -- Girl With No Face

Church Of My Love -- Skin and Bones

Silent Barn In The Movies!

2010-06-09T11:00:00.005-04:00

A while before I lived at the wonderful Silent Barn, one of the coolest DIY show spaces in the city, it was rented out for a few days to shoot a scene for a movie. This has been discussed for a long time, but we never even knew exactly what the movie was about or when it would come out. Well, recently, this movie, Solitary Man starring Michael Douglas was released. Here's the trailer (you can see Silent Barn at the 1:43 and 2:10 marks):

I met up with past and present Silent Barn residents (as well as friends of The Barn) at the house and we shotgunned a couple of beers and then decided to head out for the movie. Here are some BarnBerry pixxx of the adventure:

Good ol' G. Lucas Crane (of Nonhorse and Woods) chilling with the vibraphone...

A very stoic Nat Roe, he lives in my old room now...Kunal (he does that cool Baby Castles Stuff) was rocking a very nice flip-flops with socks look while we waited for the bus...
The crew at the bus stop... it was windy...
Bus on the way to BAM

We eventually go to the movie, the B26 goes basically door to door (buses rule!) from the Barn to BAM. We smuggled in some beers, of course and got ready to see our house on the big screen...
The movie was terrible, like maybe the worst movie, like borderline unwatchable. But it was true, Silent Barn was in the movie.
At one point, Michael Douglas has hit rock bottom in New York so he goes to get a job back where he went to college, at Harvard... Silent Barn comes in when he goes to a party at an "eclectic" house... you could see everything, the couches that hundreds of touring band members have slept on, the mason jars in the kitchen, the murals on the wall. The Barn looked great, the movie not so much...

Man, i miss that place :(

OMG BELLE AND SEBASTIAN

2010-06-03T09:45:00.004-04:00

A few days ago, p4k media announced that the one and only Belle and Sebastian would be embarking on a tour this summer/fall! This is super exciting news for me, like insanely exciting. Belle and Sebastian have been one of my favorite bands since I was just a little PopJew, hanging out with the punks on the stone wall outside of school. My friend Lynn slipped me a burnt CD of Tigermilk and that thing never left my discman. Remember those days, you guys? When you mostly found out about new music from mixes and stuff? Before you could just search HypeMachine? When you would fill out mailorder forms with pen and send it in the mail??? Ah, kind of miss those days.

Needless to say, I was super excited to hear that they would be playing in Brooklyn with another one of my favorite bands, Teenage Fanclub, this September! I've only seen B&S once before, but it was a super magical experience.

During my spring break from NYU in 2004 my boyfriend and I went to visit my aunt in the tiny little town of Maussane-Les-Alpilles in the south of France. We found out that Belle and Sebastian were going to be playing a show in Clermont-Ferrand, about 250 miles away. We didn't know anyone there, or have anywhere to stay (in fact, the only hostel we could find online was closed) but we were like "fuck it, spring break wooooooooo!" and just hopped on a train in Avignon and took the trip to central France.
An hour or so into the trip we met a nice guy on the train. He was originally from Africa and was currently a teacher at the university in Clermont-Ferrand. On the train he showed us his crazy notes for his classes, talked to us about America and France, and told us that a ton of his friends were going to the concert as well.
The night turned into a crazy party with a crazy group of international students from Italy, The Netherlands, Ireland and Sweden. We drank fancy beer, we danced to Belle and Sebastian songs, I bought the shirt from the cover of Dear Catastrophe Waitress:

That was really one of the most magical adventures of my entire life. Beautiful France, beautiful new friends, beautiful food, beautiful Belle and Sebastian jamz.
Belle and Sebastian honestly mean so much to me. Don't you think that "Seeing Other People" might be one of the greatest songs ever? I sure do...

See you in September... bring a nice blanket and we can hang out.

GOOD SHOWS 2NITE!!!

2010-06-01T12:22:00.002-04:00

There are two great shows going on tonight and I'm gonna try super hard to hit both of them... you should too!

Last night I saw The Midwest Beat at Bruar Falls and they were incredible. Twangy sixties style pop from Milwaukee and Madison, really charming. Mmoss from
New Hampshire was also great -pure sixties psych with flawless flute and organ, but THE BEAT (Midwest, not Paul Collins) really stole the show. They play again tonight at Death By Audio with Fire Season (new band from my favorite gal pal Dani), Marisa Berquist (ex Besties, Old Books), The Marshmallows, and Roman Candles. Here are a few Midwest Beat mp3s 4 ur enjoyyyyyyment:

Midwest Beat -- Girl Gone West

Midwest Beat -- Color Radio

Also tonight is Hooray For Earth (who are playing a bunch of upcoming dates with Brooklyn's favorite PAINS) and The Futureheads (all the way from ENGLAND) at Music Hall of Williamsburg. This is a bit "bigger" than the shows I usually go to, but I gotta admit, I really like MHOW. It's my favorite of the "big" venues in NYC... it's large but never gets uncomfortably crowded and you never feel pushed around or abused. I honestly don't know either of these bands all that well, but I'm looking forward to checking it out.

Here's streaming mp3 from Hooray For Earth and here's one from The Futureheads.

I'm gonna try to swing by both shows, hope I see you out!!! xoxo!!!

Two Great Shows I'm Missing 2nite

2010-05-27T16:14:00.003-04:00

Yo broz, I'm really bummed... all this week I'm working really late and that means I'm going to miss two shows tonight that I very very very very very very very very much want 2 go 2. SAD FACE!!!!!

The first is a VICESCIONGARAGE show. Usually the VICESCIONGARAGE shows are pretty "big" bands that I like but don't actually care that much about... this time I really fucking care about it and GUESS WHAT? It's the only one I haven't been able to go to.

Yep, it's Cheap Time (from Memphis) and Bad Sports (from Denton, TX). I really like Cheap Time (duh) but right now I honestly think Bad Sports might be one of the best bands in the country. Yeahhhhh buddy, not even kidding. I saw them at SWSX at the best show of the entire fest (at some crowded punk-as-fuck house show). They have the best live energy of any band I've seen in a long time and front man Orville is suppppper sexxxxxxxy.

Bad Sports -- Face Like That

Bad Sports -- Too Many People

The other show I'm missing tonight is a performance by Virginia cute psych-pop band Invisible Hand for free at Bruar. I've seen Invisible hand twice in the past year and they have always been amazing and super fun. The show is free and it's a Music Vs. Hunger benefit... so if you go bring some canned food to donate. Here are some tracks from THE HAND'S upcoming new tape release:

Invisible Hand -- Top of the Pops

Invisible Hand -- Future of Music

Check out this Interview

2010-05-26T11:36:00.003-04:00

A while ago I decided that wanted to join Hipinion just because I couldn't... that post got me some attention on the boardz over there and ever since then the boarders on Hipinion have been making fun of me and driving up my Web traffic (thx h8rs!). A site called "Hipinion Stalker" asked to interview me for "The Weekly Boarder" as a result of this:

You can read the interview here. I mostly talked about LOST.

Nashville Is Love!

2010-05-25T19:23:00.010-04:00

Hey music fans! I was recently out of town for about 5 days (hope you didn't miss me too much!) exploring the magical land of Nashville and I had a really great time. Nashville is beautiful, full of hotties with neat accents, and has tons of great bands. I loved it there and I saw great music and I'd like to tell you about it by using the terrible pictures i took with my NashBerry:

Ben (Nashville's Dead) and Jamin (JEFF the Brotherhood) hanging in the basement at a DIY punk show at The Parsonage, a really cool house venue next to a huge church. School Jerks and Spanish Candles played.

School Jerks hanging out at Glenn Danzig's House (the cool house/DIY venue that Ben lives at)

Cy (of Cy Barkley, also Ben's roommate) rocking out on the cool old organ they have at Glenn Danzig's house.

Ben and Bekah hanging at Local Honey, the vintage store that Bekah works at

Greg and Sean (PUJOL) str8 chilling at Daniel's house

Ryan and Daniel Severs (Heavy Cream) rocking out at Glenn Danzig's House

Steve-O and Daniel looking like super sexy aliens at Little Hamilton during a "show" that Daniel put together last minute... it ended up just being iPod/PA karaoke

Jake (JEFF the Brotherhood), Wez and Zack (Natural Child) at their house

The outside of Glenn Danzig's House... I guess it used to be a police precint... fuck tha police, youknowwhatimsaying?

Daniel and Melissa waiting to silkscreen some Heavy Cream shirts for tour

Daniel and Melissa playing some Misfits or something, who knows

Jesse totally had an Aquabats patch on his jean jacket! I'm not even kidding! Here he is waiting in line outside of Third Man Records for the Nobunny/PUJOL in-store

I met a fellow TermBro and his lovely wife at the Nobunny/Spits/Symptoms/Heavy Cream/Cy show at the Springwater

Nobunny is so cool

Steve-O's adorable dog was insane

Nobunny's drummer was hilarious

Zack and Wez took me to get some of Nashville's famous Mexican food
Only the coolest kids were hanging out backstage at Mercy Lounge during the Those Darlins/Natural Child/PUJOL/Ben Steine's Money/So Jazzy show, including Seth and Ben

So Jazzy play really dark post-punk and look super hot doing it...

Li'l dude practicing guitar to sub in Those Darlins

Whit (So Jazzy) looked fucking sharp!

Christina and Bekah were looking cool backstage...

And looked even cooler once they put on their FREE BLUBLOCKERS, duhhhh

L'il David Stein looking super cool playing like an asshole in Ben Steine's Money...

Soooooo Jazzy

I love Joey Scala

Ben (of Ben Steine's Money) got crazy up in the crowd...

Daniel Pujol is such a rock star...

Natural Child...

Thanks for showing me such a good time NashyTown... gonna miss you a lot

PUJOL and Wild Harem rocking us out 2nite...

2010-05-17T11:47:00.003-04:00

Come check out some awesome bands from other places in the country tonight! I'm pretty excited for this show.
PUJOL is from Nashville and has quickly turned into one of my faves. Really poppy/garagey/punky jams, infectious. PUJOL is on Infinity Cat Records with other great bands including JEFF The Brotherhood and Natural Child. Check out this killer video:

Mission From God - DANIEL PUJOL from Cj Giordano on Vimeo.

Wild Harem from Austin, TX play shambling, twangy, psychy lo-fi garage. I first came across them at an incredible show in SXSW and they happen to be spending a bit of time up in NY. Vocals seem almost Beach Boysish at times. Really fun stuff.

Wild Harem -- You Are Due

Also on the show are my favorite Knight School boyz and newcomers Joey Wyoming. OMG COME OUT!

8pm 2nite at Death By Audio, totally worth your time.

Disney Kidz Lost!

2010-05-12T12:11:00.003-04:00

Were you guys totally getting a Disney Channel Original Movie from last night's ep of Lost? You know you totally were!

Well let me get a little more TeenMag than I usually am and let's take a look here:

Exhibit A: Li'l Jacob (Kenton Duty)

Exhibit B: Justin Bieber (Bieber Fever)

Totally got the same vibe.

Let's get PUNNNK at an art opening!

2010-05-10T14:56:00.003-04:00

I'll be honest... I don't usually go to a lot of art openings. Chelsea is too far away to be at late at night. But this exciting exhibition of The Secret Public at Boo-Hooray seems just exciting enough (and just punk enough) to get me over to 10th ave.

Keegan Cooke, one of the people putting this show together, said the following about it on Terminal Boredom:

The Secret Public was a Punk Photo Montage/Collage collaboration between Jon Savage and Linder Sterling that was published in 1978. Its an amazing little 'zine, and, of course, is hideously rare.

The show is not purely focused on The Secret Public 'zine as much as using it as a starting point to further explore the work of these two amazing artists, and their collaborations. Linder is known as the person responsible for some of the most timeless record sleeves of the punk era, and Jon Savage is known primarily as the writer of Englands Dreaming (but little is known of his work as a flier and collage artist) and they are both sorely underrepresented in the art world.

Johan Kugelberg curated the show and dug up piles of lost treasures, on view here only, for two weeks. Jon Savage will be DJing (PUNK) the opening, and there will be free food and wine (kids: cookies and milk) and lots of giveaways: Like silkscreen prints made by me.

Its been a ton of work, but its really special, and anyone interested in the punk era, photo montage work, or punishingly rare collectables should consider this a must attend exhibition.

I hope I'll see you all there!

I'm definitely going, come hang out!

Sad about Nashytown...

2010-05-07T14:35:00.003-04:00

Anyone who has ever read this blog should be fairly certain that I am mega obsessed with Nashville. I'm going for the first time soon to party down and eat some BBQ and see Nobunny!
Anyway, as you hopefully have heard about by now, Nashville is in a bit of trouble right now. They had some bad flooding and many people lost homes and property and stuff. Water supplies are low and it's a mess.
Nashville is kind of the best city so we should all help, if we can. Celebrate your Friday by donating to the Red Cross, who are currently in Nashville helping out.
And reward yourself by watching this video of Nashville cute band Heavy Cream playing in Hot Topic. Lolz.

THE CLEAN!!!!!!

2010-05-07T13:32:00.000-04:00

Hey guys, I'm really excited!!!!

The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!! The Clean!!!

2nite @ The Bell House!!!!!!!!!

Introducing: Lemon Dots!

2010-05-06T09:36:00.004-04:00

Let me tell you a little bit about Theresa Smith (even though she'll probably kill me along the way)... she is awesome. We met about three years ago and she honestly kind of changed my life. She introduced me to '70s power pop and played me records and made me realize that there was more to life than the crappy indie that I usually listened to. She helped me get back to my punk rootz. We bonded at ancient Radio Heartbeat nights and went to every single Liquor Store show we could possibly get to. She's the best and I am eternally grateful to her.

Anyway, many of you may know her as a kickass DJ, or the shredding guitarist of Home Blitz, but now her bedroom recording project, Lemon Dots, finally has a single coming out and it's going to be siiiiick... Here's the cover (designed by Courtney):

Theresa describes the project like this:
Lemon Dots is hyperactive '60s girl-pop flailing in an undertow of magnetic hisses, squalls and squeals. Imagine The Maroons' "Out Tonight" clinging to an electric fence while being flayed by an out-of-control drum machine wielded by Lesley Gore. It's a shit show!

Yeahhhhhhhh buddy. You gotta pick up this record. Support good music and more importantly support my friends!!!!!

Here's some tracks, try it out!

Lemon Dots -- Not Old Enough For You

Lemon Dots -- Sunrise Surprise

Gonna miss u, The Sleaze :(

2010-05-05T15:40:00.003-04:00

I have super sad news for all fans of cute punk. Yes, it pains me to announce that Midwestern cute-band The Sleaze has called it quits.
I first came to be aware of this sweet band from Minneapolis when they played two days in a row at Silent Barn while I was living there... once at this sick daytime barbecue show we did with Homostupids. The weekend got off to a rough start when members of The Sleaze pissed of some of the Silent Barn roommates by calling us all "hipsters," but after a few beers and some apologies we were all good.
Here's a pic of The Sleaze str8 chilling on the roof of Silent Barn:

Anyway, The Sleaze wowed me with their rocking jams. Super powerful performances by dudes that are pretty young. It's like that punk band at your high school (you know the one, you totally had a crush on the bassist) if they actually had good songs.

When I asked him about the break up, Mark said:
We're pretty bummed about quitting but Conor is off to Thailand to fix the govt/milk goats. We got a new 7" coming out on Leather Bar recs - just got them today. We also recorded our lp a few months ago and hopefully that will come out soon too but who knows. We are so lzzzyyyyyy!!

Well there you have it. Look out for their upcoming releases. In the meantime, jam these mp3s and think of The Sleaze. Gonna miss u, bros :(

The Sleaze -- Called You Once

The Sleaze -- Tektonik Girlz

Tiny Things are Inherently Cute...

2010-05-04T12:15:00.004-04:00

If you don't believe me just look at this basket of kittens:

Yep, it's an empirical fact... tiny = cute, so that's why I was so excited by all the adorable tiny-ness that was going on at Bruar Falls last night.
Yes, last night I discovered a new cute band. They are called My Friend Other and The Toys and Tiny Instruments and this is what they look like (super cute, duh):

My friend Andrew ended up setting up a show at Bruar last minute by tossing together a group of bands that he really didn't know too well that were mostly friends of friends. Admittedly, I went into the night with a pretty skeptical mindset, and that's what made the Toys And Tiny Instruments the most delightful surprise of 2k10 thus far.
This seven member behemoth takes a while to set up. They only have one little amp, everything else is mic'd... and they only play (you guessed it) tiny toys and instruments. There are ukuleles, there are maracas, there are kazoos, there is a tiny little piano thing, there are tambourines, there is a toy accordion.
Based on the setup, this band could have gone either way, but as soon as they started playing my pants were thoroughly charmed off.

They are insanely charismatic. They are actually really talented at playing their tiny instruments. Their songs are incredibly well written. What could have been a dinky concept band ended up being one of the most engaging things I have seen ever. The show had lackluster energy before they played, but by the time they finished with rousing cover of "Take On Me", every single person in the bar was loosing their shit.

Srsly though, watch out for this band, best band I have seen in a while. Really something special.

Holllllld Me Tightttttt

2010-04-30T09:37:00.002-04:00

Lately I have been spending a lot of time revisiting With The Beatles, the awesome 1963 sophomore release from British "cute boy band" The Beatles. I know all the songs already, obviously, but it's been a few years since I've sat down and really rocked out and paid attention and loved on them.

While walking down Flushing Ave in Bushwick the other day, "Hold Me Tight" came on my iPod and I have not been able to stop jamming it since. The hook in that song is just so incredible, just pure pop magic.

So do yourself a favor, revisit this gem, rock out, fall in love.

Ohhhhhhh Wowwwwwwww!!!

2010-04-29T15:53:00.004-04:00

So I feel like the world needs to know about Tanks Amigo, the coolest new band out of Brooklyn. They're fun, they're rowdy, they're silly, they party, they rock, they roll.
Long time readers will remember the time I saw them do their thang almost a year ago... they weren't bad then, but they are pretty fucking incredible now. Frontman Sean O'Keefe is a wacky dude that "illuminates" the stage with "charisma" and dance moves... and from the drummer's sweet shades and the guitarist's fancy fingering the rest of the band looks goooood and cooooool.

Tanks Amigo has the pizza band vibe going on (and I totally mean that in a good way), and would probably fit well on the upcoming Florida's Dying Party Platter Comp... c'mon, you know they're totally a band you'd love to see alongside the likes of Coconut Coolouts.
Luckily for YOU, they have their debut LP coming out this June on exciting-new-label Oh Wow Records.
LISTEN 2 THESE TRAXXX AND THEN BUY THE RECORD!!!

Tanks Amigo -- Nice

Tanks Amigo -- My Dark World Is Shining

Thomas Function 2nite and 2morrow!

2010-04-21T23:44:00.002-04:00

Just so you know, because you really should know, Thomas Function, a band of the cutest punks Alabama has to offer will be in town tonight and tomorrow!
Tonight's show is at Cake Shop with current "band I won't shut up about" White Wires as well as Games, a new project from the dudes at Sing Sing Records.
Tomorrow's show is at Monster Island Basement with Harlem and Girls At Dawn.
All the bands listed above are great, of course, but Thomas Function is really incredible, I have nearly died of swoonage every time I've seen them. Their lineup has changed slightly (Travis left and Zach is replacing him on bass, therefore no more keyboard) but they still sound like incredible twangy punk. NOT TO BE MISSED!

Thomas Function -- ADP Blues

Thomas Function -- Picking Scabs

White Wires Driving Me Crazy!

2010-04-18T18:01:00.003-04:00

If you have not yet gotten on the White Wires bandwagon you are seriously missing out. This sweet, charming, power pop band from Toronto really has the catchiest, most infectious songs ever. They were my favorite band at SXSW and I am thrilled to tell you that they're coming here this week for one show only (with the incredible Thomas Function) at Cake Shop on Thursday, April 22nd.

Come out to see White Wires if you want to hear powerful rock jams played by the nicest Canadians you will ever meet. Honestly, not to be missed. Maybe we can force them to apologize for the results of the Olympic Hockey in Vancouver this year. Also, yay punnnnnx.

White Wires -- Girly Girly Girly

White Wires -- Goodbye Girl

Nobody Wants to Party With Me!

2010-04-15T09:54:00.003-04:00

If you have ever read PopJew, like, evvvvvver, you should know by now that I have an unhealthy obsession with Nashville and pretty much all music from Nashville. Yes, I love Pujol, Heavy Cream, So Jazzy, Ben Steine's Money and (duh) JEFF The Brotherhood... but, there is one band that I just think is the best band of all time. I am, of course, talking about the adorable, punk-as-fuck dudes of Natural Child.

If you've never experienced Natural Child before you really, really need to. They rock in a way that most people don't dare to: just heavy, and loud and aggressive, while still being mind-numbingly stupid (in the best was possible). Their stage banter is epic and their songs are pure rock 'n roll. Seriously. Best band. PLEASE DON'T MISS THEM!

Natural Child - Dogbite

Natural Child is playing:
Friday April 16th @ LuLus with Foster Care and Liquor Store
Saturday April 17th @ Death By Audio with Sisters and Boogie Boarder

The Sneaks Invading BROOKLYN!

2010-04-12T22:48:00.002-04:00

By now, it's pretty much common knowledge that New Zealand bands make good pop music (do y'all have your tickets for The Clean at The Bell House on May 7 yet? I do!), so you'll be happy to know that awesome New Zealanders The Sneaks are going to be playing at Bruar Falls on April 19th with Darlings and Cybelle Blood (new band! members of Coasting, Dream Diary, M'Lady's Records). Frankie Rose will be behind the bar and PopJew will be rocking out!

Don't miss The Sneaks while they're state-side! Check out this awesome music video they made:

Friskies is so Twee!

2010-04-09T15:49:00.004-04:00

Did you guys see that fucking insane and crazy psychedelic Friskies commercial that was on TV recently? I got so obessed with it! It was like an acid trip with a soundtrack by Dressy Bessy, but with cats! So good, here's the video:

So yeah, a few weeks ago I was tweeting and facebooking about it like a crazy person, and then, all of a sudden, yesterday I got the following e-mail from Friskies:

Hi there!

My name is Bxxxx and I work on behalf of Friskies brand cat food. We saw that you tweeted about the new “Adventureland” commercial and wanted to thank you with a gift! Friskies is giving you Fandango Bucks for you and a friend to head to the movies. You may even capture Friskies’ new commercial again, which is currently being shown in 3D at select theaters, so we hope you are able to enjoy it even more.

Below is your claim code for your Fandango Bucks. And if you capture the commercial, let us know how you like the 3D experience!

Best,
Bxxxx

So yeah, just for tweeting about a commercial i got freaking movie tickets! Who wants to go with me to see the FRISKIES COMMERCIAL IN 3D????

Dear Hipinion Adminz...

2010-04-09T12:16:00.002-04:00

I need more message board in my life. Srsly, the fucking Smith Westerns told me (before that Market Hotel show got shut down) that Hipinion is cooler than TermBo now! Am I lagging behind the times on a "last generation" message board? Can I make fun of people in a new, cooler place? Will people turn me onto new, cool, and "relevant" songs that their friend's band wrote? These are things I need to be involved with. Message boards are like a fuel to the PopJew vehicle! So...

PLEASE HIPINION ADMINS LET ME HAVE AN ACCOUNT!

I swear, I have all kinds of things to say about "stuff" and "things" and "music".

OMG THIS SONG RULES!

2010-04-08T16:43:00.002-04:00

In general, I don't really care about MGMT. A good friend of mine is actually Andrew's step-sister (I've never met him) and she'd always be like "guys, my brother's going to be a rock star" and we never believed her, but then this happened:

That Pool Party was INSANE. Lines around the block. Fun though, I think.

Anyway, I haven't listened to the entire album yet, I hadn't really planned to, but there was a link to the title track, "Congratulations" on Terminal Boredom and I was amazed at how amazing it is. Classic pop song. Pure A+. The kind of song I need to listen to ten times in a row. Perfect summer jam. Turn it on, sit in the grass, be happy.

MGMT- Congratulations

Congratulations, MGMT on making a song that I really care about.

Word Association!

2010-04-07T18:33:00.005-04:00

Sometimes my brain works weird, and one thing I really like to do is play BAND NAME WORD ASSOCIATION (i.e. Grizzly Bear, Bear Hands, Vampire Hands, Vampire Weekend, The Weakends... you get the idea). Anyway, I thought of a fun one that involves my "band of the day" White Mystery, so I thought I'd post it. It's bands sandwiched between top notch crime-solving entertainment. Work with me here. Maybe this will become a regular thing, who knows.

Mystery Team
White Mystery

White Wires

The Bare Wires
The Wire

Kinda cute, right?

White Mystery in Brooklyn This Weekend!

2010-04-07T11:58:00.003-04:00

This weekend, Chicago's White Mystery is descending upon New York and you really shouldn't miss them. They played the show I worked on in Austin and were pretty incredible. I don't usually tend to love two-pieces (besides the obvious) but White Mystery is different... instead of covering the vocals and guitar in reverb and fuzz to cover up something that is lacking, White Mystery covers their guitars and vocals in ROCK and ROLL. It's really very cool, very PopJew approved.

They play two dates in New York. The first is Midnight Till Death at Don Pedro's on Friday, the second is at Cake Shop on Saturday.

I'll be hitting Pedro's, just cuz I love that divey bar and I love Midnight Till Death and I love fun. Other bands include Hozac's Girls At Dawn and Medication, Lil Daggers, and The Psyched.

Enjoy the following mp3s by White Mystery and Lil Daggers! POPJEW LUVZ U!

White Mystery- White Widow

White Mystery- Switch It Off

Lil Daggers- Outta Your Hair

The Hot House!

2010-03-27T20:53:00.002-04:00

The absolute highlight of my trip to SXSW was this amazing show at The Hot House that was full of young punks and just incredible. The lineup was Fungi Girls, A Giant Dong, Bad Lovers, Dikkk Sexxx & The Weepy Teens, Bad Sports, Shannon & The Clams, The White Wires, The Audacity, My Pet Saddle and Wild Harem. I missed Fungi Girls and A Giant Dong, but the rest of the show was one of the best nights of my life.

Luckily for you, someone filmed the entire show. These videos really capture how amazing the vibes at the entire show were:

Bad Sports/Shannon & The Clams:

White Wires/Audacity:

GREATEST NIGHT

Goodbye Drunkdriver

2010-03-26T17:43:00.003-04:00

I know that I'm a PopJew, occasionally a PunkJew, and pretty much never a HardcoreJew, but that doesn't mean I didn't love Drunkdriver. They were one of my favorite bands to go see and Berdan is one of the nicest people I have ever met.

Unfortunately, this amazing band has come to an untimely end based on reasons I have no desire to repeat nor the will to comment on. But one thing's for sure, I loved seeing Drunkdriver and the world of music will miss them.

Luv U Drunkdriver, will miss u 4evr

Enid's 2nite!

2010-03-25T11:12:00.004-04:00

My favorite PunkJew Aaron Lefkove (LiveFastDie) is DJing 2nite at Enid's with Eric Davidson (New Bomb Turks) for New York Night Train's weekly Thursday Thump. You should go out and see it! It'll be weird! It'll be punk! There will be booooooooze!

This is what it'll look like:

And this is what it'll sound like:

Just go, Enid's is punk.

"WES AND ZACK FROM NATURAL CHILD SUM UP SXSW"

2010-03-25T09:28:00.002-04:00

Hey! As your resident PopJew, it brings me great pleasure to announce a new semi-regular feature on this blog! From now on, Wes and Zach of Natural Child will be guest blogging! They'll just be being Wes and Zach and saying whatever kind of bull shit they feel like. They're very qualified because not only are they in one of the best bands EVAR, but they're also extremely cute boys.

So without further ado:

"WES AND ZACK FROM NATURAL CHILD SUM UP SXSW"

Although Natural Child singer/guitarman: Seth Murray couldn't make it to talk to us because he got too famous at SXSW, we did catch up with bassman and drumster Wes and Zack to see their reaction to this year's South by.

Wes and Zack (in unison): We saw a lot of really great emo bands at SXSW this year...But the best one BY FAR was our new favorite emo band...BOYFRIEND from Brooklyn, NY. They fuckin' killed it with their new hit single "South By" from their brand new album "SOUTHSWESTERNERS".

We felt like we were hearing this the whole time we were in austin.

FIRST EVER POPJEW TOUR DIARY!!!!!!!

2010-03-22T21:22:00.014-04:00

Well hello music fans. I have just returned to Brooklyn after a fairly long vacation that started in Denton, Texas and ended with a huge hangover in Austin. It was a pretty good time and I learned a lot about how punk rock I really am. I met a lot of cool people and drank a lot of Lone Star beer. I can't really discuss everything that happened this past week (mostly because my ears are still ringing) but I'd like to share the following story-in-pictures of my punk-rock-fun-in-the-sun:

These are the sexy bros of Natural Child. They were nice enough to drive me from Denton to Austin in their rockin' van. We partied pretty hard.

During the drive we passed the Texas Motor Speedway. It was the first time I saw a major NASCAR track in person and it was super exciting.

At the HoZac showcase at Trailer Space I finally got to meet TermBros extraordinaire Daniel and Collin. They are ridic record collectors and total cuties. Now that I have met them in person, talking shit on them on the Internet will mean more.

After the shows I went with Natural Child to chill with Orville of Bad Sports and drink Natural Light.

Wez and Orville chilling hard.

Getting even chiller...

We all crashed in Orville's living room. It was tough to crash "band style" but I think we pulled it off.

The next day I met up with Matt (Acid Marshmallow) and Craig (Modern Country Records) so we could prepare for our killer showcase. 3 Jews, 19 Bands, 8 hours.

My good friend Ryan helped out by working the door at the Broken Neck. Sick venue, very punk, totally DIY.

Shannon & the Clams opened the show and totally ruled.

Still Flyin' were the chillest indie bros.

So Cow, all the way from Ireland.

Craig chilling at the door with Rosa. Amazing bands including White Mystery, Grave Babies and Sunglasses all played and all ruled.

Wez was str8 chilling, eating some of my homemade mac and cheese. Helllz yeah.

Ben Todd and David Steine, two of Nashville's finest minds. My fave peeps, gotta move to Nashy.

Eric and Emily, two volunteers, were super rad the entire time.

Bekah came with the Nashville crew to take pixxxx at the show.

Spider Bags rocked it out. Craig claims they're the best band in North Carolina.

I had never seen Juiceboxxx before and he blew me away. Totally awesome performer.

Juiceboxxx killed it.

Henry Hynes is the drummer in Home Blitz. He's 15 years old and punk as fuck.

The backyard of the Broken Neck was totally chillwave. Teengirl Fantasy and Mickey rocked out but I somehow missed pictures of them.

Next up was Hunx playing as Hunx and the Grandmas. I had never seen Hunx live before and it blew my mind.

Craig gave Matt a break from taping sets for Acid Marshmallow. I don't think there has ever been a cuter boy.

Hunx got super sexy.

He also talked about how horny he was for Jews. Duh, aren't we all?

Collin and Daniel were there and I was super happy. Those dudes are punk.

The Beets, Air Waves, Woven Bones, Natural Child, JEFF The Brotherhood, Thomas Function, The Znth, and Jaill all played. The show was a success. We had a great time!

The next day I went out with Home Blitz for tacos while their Volvo was getting fixed.

Jason had a breakfast margarita. Texas punnnnxxxxxx.

The Volve dealership in Austin was kind of chill.

On Saturday I went with my crew to a crazy house party. It was probably the most fun show I've been to in a long time. Punk as fuck, just kids freaking out to punk rock. Bad Sports played one of the best sets I saw in Austin.

Orville. So. Fucking. Sexy. Best frontman.

Saw Shannon & The Clams, again, and loved them, again.

White Wires were one of the bands that I most wanted to see in Austin. They played this house show and ruled. They'll be coming through New York soon.

Sunday morning was rough in the PopJew/Home Blitz Motel 6 room. Hangover city.

Boxer-fied Daniel DiMaggio.

The legendary sign outside of Beerland.

Juiceboxxx and Jamin chilling on Sunday at the Panache Hangover party.

Jheri from Get Off The Coast was a cool dude.

The terrible security line at Austin...

Thanks for all the good times bros. Hopefully you'll be hearing a lot more from me in the next few weeks, I got shit planned. I saw some bands, got sick of reverb, fell in love with everyone, and drank too much. PopJew loves you, never forget that.

xoxo

Vaycay Diary: Denton Hottie City

2010-03-16T19:12:00.010-04:00

Hey race fans! Today I write to you from some computer in Denton, Texas. As you may know if you follow me on Twitter, I decided to stop down in Denton on my way to SXSW to chill with my bros from Fergus & Geronimo and Teenage Cool Kids and hit some dope shows. Most importantly I wanted to experience a bit of non SXSW-Texas, know what I'm saying?

Annnnnyway, I've been having a fantastic time here so far (The Beets, Wizard Sleeve, Predator, Prince Rama etc last night) and plan to continue to have a great time (Natural Child, Coasting, Terrible Twos and more 2nite), but I've realized one thing about Denton: It is completely full of hotties.

Seriously, I'm totally serious, everyone here is totally hot. In Brooklyn these guys would be getting laid left and right. Totally cool indies. Hotties that are not to be missed. Without further ado, here is my report on my time in Denton:

This is the house I'm staying at. It is adorable.

This is Daniel. He lives there and has dreamy blue eyes.

These are some more Denton bros that are cuties.

This is Clint, his Texas mustache would slay the damsels of the Bk.

This is his VW bus. He drove us to some thrift stores in it.

This is Jack and Sahil from Transparent in England. British hotties in American hats.

And this is Landon. He is maybe the number one hottie in Denton. He plans to move to Brooklyn this summer. Be prepared.

So there you have it! An account of my great time here. I'm off to drink more mimosas with the cute boyz of Texas, but I hope to see you on Friday for the Texas Sized Headache Day Party!

xoxo

PopJew

Daniel Pujol Added 2nite at Midnight Till Death!

2010-03-12T14:23:00.003-05:00

Hey guys! Do you like good music from Nashville as much as I do? Well, I kind of doubt it, cuz I'm obsessed, but if you're into NashyTown too I have very, very good news for you.... the legendary Daniel Pujol has been added to the incredibly awesome Midnight Til Death tonight at Don Pedro's!

So come out tonight to see Daniel Pujol along with Home Blitz, Liquor Store and other cool bands...

Daniel Pujol: Dreamy, yes. Southern, yes. Rocking? Duh!

An Open Letter to Foreign Bands

2010-03-12T02:25:00.004-05:00

Hey bands from other countries! I love you! I'm psyched you're here! Can't wait to hang... I just have one piece of advice for you that I hope you'll follow: DON'T DRINK ON THE STREET!!!!

I know that in your native land no one gives a fuck if you pop open a cold one as you chill with your bros outside, but in the US it is strictly frowned upon and the cops will find you and be dicks to you and give you a ticket. I have seen this happen more than once, and the reason I decline a sip of your forty is not because I'm a square (cuz, uh, duh, I rule) but because I value my freedom.

As much as I hate doing this, here is photographic evidence of Canadian heartthrobs Makeout Videotape getting patted down by some of New York's Finest:

(photo courtesy of my new friend over at PostMoves)

Welcome to America bros, we may not be as "free" as you (via only drinking inside), and our hockey might not keep up, but we're pretty punk here.

Luv u Makeout Bros, will miss u 2morrow

Your (Mandatory) Schedule From Now Until SXSW!

2010-03-11T12:39:00.002-05:00

Hey guys! I'm going to Texas soon! I can't wait! Can't wait to get out of miserable New York and chow down on some breakfast tacos in sunny Austin. First I'm going to Denton to chill with my favorite bros and see some bands, then it's off to the magical land of SXSW!

Well, there's still several nights before I leave, and I'd like to tell you exactly what to do on each of those nights!

Tonight!
There's really only one thing to do tonight, and that's come out to Cake Shop to see Standard Fare from the UK and Makeout Videotape from the Canada. I like what I've heard of Standard Fare, but I gotta be honest, Makeout Videotape are one of the young bands that I'm most excited about in the whole world.

They are super young and Mac DeMarco writes lo-fi jams that are desperately reaching for the sixties in an adorably sincere way. Really sweet and really heart warming and just mega jamz. Don't miss his New York appearance!!!!!!!

Friday Night
Friday brings us another installment of Midnight Till Death, the series curated by Nick Gazin, and seriously, these shows are always a blast. Love Nick (spolier alert! we used to go to ska shows together in High School!), love Don Pedro's, love Liquor Store, love Home Blitz, gonna be a killer show!

Have you caught the new Home Blitz yet? Man, they KILL. Super sexy, loud jamz, catchy as fuck.

Saturday Night!

Andy and I have set up this show to help bands get down to Texas... don't miss it... featuring Whatever Brains (North Carolina) and Invisible Hand (Virginia) who are some of the coolest bros to play psych-punk.

Beer, BBQ, Babes!

2010-02-25T12:25:00.003-05:00

Here is a secret about the world you may not know: All bloggers kind of chill 2gether.

Okay, maybe not all, but, you know, you know each other. Anyway.... I'd like to share some insanely good news from my lady blog bros at Pixelhorse, Microphone Memory Emotion, and Visitation Rites. They are curating a killer non-official SXSW day show, the day before mine!

MICRO-PIXEL-RITES' SXSW PARTY from Elise Oh on Vimeo.

So, now you know what you're doing Thursday and Friday during the day. You're welcome.

Just so you know....

2010-02-24T12:00:00.003-05:00

Not that it's exactly news, but JEFF The Brotherhood is a fucking amazing band.

What is cuter than two brothers from Nashville playing rock music? Um, maybe nothing. Unless the two rockin' brothers from Nashville had a bucket of puppies.

They played at Death By Audio last night with Screaming Females and Stupid Party. Wow. Just wow. Incredible show. There were Mardi Gras beads, crowd surfing aliens, and the most rocking jams I've heard in a while. Don't miss them if they hit your city... They won CMJ this year, and they're likely to win all of music soon.

Here's a video with some cute boys in it:

Here is a great song the cute boys wrote:

And remember: JEFF is playing Texas Sized Headache, the show I'm working on with Acid Marshmallow and Modern Country. ONE MORE REASON NOT TO MISS IT!

xoxo

I lurrrrrve theKYLAM!

2010-02-18T16:26:00.003-05:00

This dude, oh man, this dude. What can I even say???? THIS DUDE! THIS DUDE IS WHAT MAKES YOUTUBE WORTHWHILE! FUCK UR TUMBLR, YOUTUBE IS WHERE IT IS AT!

Here is the love of my life, theKYLAM, "covering" "I Am A Girlfriend" by the poet Nobunny. It is maybe the best thing I have ever seen.

theKYLAM doesn't just cover Nobunny. theKYLAM covers all kinds of good music and truly is the voice of a generation.

Also, when my computer got stolen (it's true: PopJew offices, aka my apartment in Bushwick, got robbed) I lost the rad "Nobunny Loves You" sticker I had on it. h8 life.

Send me stickers for my new lappy plz.

Do you guys think I should start a Kickstarter to raise funds for new stickers?

The Best News Of All Time!

2010-02-16T14:05:00.005-05:00

Let's be honest, we all love SXSW, but I know that in the past you have all gone to Austin and said to yourself "Wow, I'd sure be having a better time if there was more PopJew here." Well, I'm sorry. I've felt your pain and I'm making it up to you this year by partnering with Matt from Acid Marshmallow and Craig from Modern Country to bring you the BEST SHOW OF ALL TIME!!!!!!

ACID MARSHMALLOW / MODERN COUNTRY / POPJEW present
Texas-Sized Headache
March 19th - The Broken Neck - 4701 Red Bluff Rd. Austin TX 78702

12:30 - 12:50 So Cow (Ireland)
12:55 - 1:15 Still Flyin' (All Over The World!)
1:20 - 1:40 White Mystery (Chicago)
1:45 - 2:05 Grave Babies (Seattle)
2:10 - 2:30 Spider Bags (Chapel Hill)
2:35 - 2:55 Sunglasses (Chicago)
3:00 - 3:20 Juiceboxxx (Milwaukee)
3:25 - 3:45 Teengirl Fantasy
3:50 - 4:10 Mickey (Chicago)
4:15 - 4:35 The Beets (Jackson Heights)
4:40 - 5:00 Christmas Island (San Diego)
5:05 - 5:25 Znth (Austin)
5:30 - 5:50 Air Waves (Brooklyn)
5:55 - 6:15 Woven Bones (Austin)
6:20 - 6:40 Natural Child (Nashville)
6:45 - 7:05 Jaill (Milwaukee)
7:10 - 7:30 JEFF the Brotherhood (Nashville)
7:35 - 8:00 Thomas Function (Huntsville)

Yeahhhhhh buddy! Can you imagine a better time??? Come hang!

A Present For You Today!

2010-01-24T13:41:00.003-05:00

So guys, I only discovered this song by amazing band The Wedding Present a few days ago... I know I'm "behind the times" and that I'm "stupid" and everything, but this song is really just the best thing that's happened to me in recent memory. I must have listened to it 20 times yesterday... maybe a few more times than I listened to "Neil Jung" last week!

...and the plans I've made don't involve you i'm afraid....

YUMMY FUR SHOW MOVED TO MARKET HOTEL!

2010-01-15T12:31:00.003-05:00

The Yummy Fur, Bishop Allen (yawnzies), German Measles (besties!), Surprisers (newsies!), McDonalds (hotties!) show has been moved to MARKET HOTEL! Change your plans accordingly! I'll be there rocking it up Nick and Nora style with my hottie roommate Amy Ruhl who is kind of the best.

SEE YOU THERE! BUY ME A DRINK... AND ONE FOR AMY TOO!

TAKE THE JMZ TO Myrtle/Broadway and hang out at Mr. Kiwi!

In Case You Were Wondering...

2010-01-14T12:54:00.003-05:00

... I'm totes gonna be at this Big Troubles show tonight at Silent Barn.

It's no secret that the PopJew loves the Big Troubles. They give me super happy 90s-alt heart palpitations. They rule maybe just a bit.

Also playing are Blissed Out and sweet Connecticut band The Procedure Club.

Come out to Silent Barn if you like fun/need a beer/want to hang!

xoxo

RIP Jay Reatard

2010-01-13T16:44:00.002-05:00

Rest in peace, Jay.

This is a sad day. Will miss you, for sure.

Too many deaths in the past few months, hard to feel hopeful about stuff.

Please, no one else die.

Is Liquor Store Gonna Get Peed On?

2010-01-11T15:49:00.005-05:00

Hey Jay! Don't mess with those bros! They will YEAH BUDDY the fuck out of you!

Come Be Lonely on X-mas Eve!

2009-12-23T15:39:00.002-05:00

Every year on Christmas eve I am so bored. All the transplants go home to see their families, all the bars close, there are no showz, life is borrrrring. This year, I decided to do something about it! If you:

(a) Don't celebrate Christmas
(b) Are too broke to fly home
(c) h8 ur family
(d) forget where you're supposed to go

I have a solution for you! Come to Bruar Falls and dance your ass off (and drink your brain off) to awesome records being spun by Eric Lastname and Rock 'n Roll James E late into the night.

Don't miss it!

My First Time!

2009-12-23T08:18:00.002-05:00

Hey y'all... I know most of you are probably pretty upset that your favorite PopJew has been a little light on the posting lately... I've been busy with some stufffff (excuses excuses) including moving, interviews about my reality show, celebrating Chanukah, putting on shows, and, most importantly making this awesome list of cute boyz for my bros over at Nashville's Dead, but I wanted to make it up to you by giving you this early X-Mas present:

IT'S A MIXXXXXXX BY POPJEW!!!!

Yeah, I decided to make you all a list of some of my fave songz right now, some new, some old, all awesome! If you like these songs plz check out the artists and buy stuffff from them! xoxo

1. Greetings- So Cow
2. Picking Scabs- Thomas Function
3. Good To Be- Magic Kids
4. If You Can Hold My Hand- Rare Form
5. China- The Aerosols
6. Too Young To Burn- Sonny And The Sunsets
7. Freudian Slips- Big Troubles
8. Harry Doland's- Fluffy Lumbers
9. Revenge (Not Tonight)- Knight School
10. We're In A Place- Goodnight Loving
11. World War III- Home Blitz
12. Dogbite- Natural Child
13. Wild Weekend- German Measles
14. Gross Urge- Whatever Brains
15. The Man- The Men
16. Smells Dead- Jacuzzi Boys
17. Hey Rocky- Hunx and His Punx
18. Blackout Summer- Christmas Island
19. Ha Ha Holiday- White Wires
20. Almost Ready- The Normals
21. Sidewinder- Teenage Fanclub
22. Basketball Kids- Makeout Videotape
23. Nightmares From Diet Birch Beer- Sentence Diagrams

Enjoy, luv you all!

An Open Love Letter To The Besties:

2009-12-01T18:20:00.003-05:00

As some of you have undoubtedly heard, my favorite twee-pop band The Besties are playing their last show ever on Sunday at Bruar Falls. This is very sad news. The Besties are a band that means a lot to me... (warning I'm about to get mad emotional all over y'all) they came into my life at a time when I really needed them and touched me with a little song called "79 Lorimer":

This song is simply the best love song to Brooklyn ever, even better than everything Jay-Z has written, if you can believe that. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, reminds me of why I live this rock 'n roll lifestyle:

lyrics transcribed to the best of my ability.... don't judge if they're off

it's 18 degrees out, no heat inside this factory
lookin' at your breath in the kitchen, wonderin' what you're gonna do
we'll put on a pot of tea, scratch zeros in the frost on the windows
there's a snow fight on the roof, get up there!

We tell our mothers we're doing fine
what will they think of number 79?

one time for the bikes in the hallway
two times for the lights across the way
three times for the metal band that plays upstairs
four times for the kids getting crazy
five times for the Lorimer JMZ
six times for the last good night we'll say this year!

it's 92 degrees out, no air inside this factory
sweatin' lookin' at the flies in the kitchen, wonderin' what you're gonna do
linger at the freezer, make an alien voice into the fan
take your ice pop to the roof, we're all up there!

well it's not a house, but for now it's our home
with painted concrete floors and windows that don't close
all we ever say is how we want to leave
but where would we go next year for new year's eve?
we know it's the best except for when it's the worst
it's punk rock heaven and it's hell on earth

Yeah, c'mon, don't you just love that shit? "It's punk rock heaven but it's hell on earth" is maybe the best quote ever. Anyone who has ever lived in a punk house knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Well, the wonderland of 79 Lorimer is no more (79 Lorimer was actually where I saw The Besties for the first time) and sadly, the same will go for The Besties very soon. I have seen The Besties a ton of times and I'm maybe their most obsessive fan. They're charming, good looking, and the songs are pure feel-good pop. How can a band that has a song called "Man Vs. Wild" that starts with the lyric "you know Bear, I could really use a tip" not be amazing?

Besties, I want you to know how much you mean to me! I'll never stop jamming out to your hits, and I'll never forget what you did for me in the winter of 2007.

Tally 4ever, y'all.

PopJew in San Francisco?!?!?!?

2009-11-30T20:11:00.002-05:00

Hey blog-friendzzzz...

I'm going on a short excursion to the magical land known as San Francisco. I don't really know what it'll be like, but I'm kind of hoping it'll be like this Mr Show sketch:

San Fran-TASTIC!

But seriously, I'm not very well educated on the "west coast". What shows should I check out? What bars should I flirt with boyz at? Your comments would be most helpful!

xoxo

Exxxciting newzzzzz!!!!!

2009-11-23T13:28:00.002-05:00

I'm going to be on a new Food Network show called “Worst Cooks in America”! It premieres Jan 3 at 10pm ET/PT. Check out more info here!

PopJew XXXTRAVAGANZA at Bruar Falls on Tuesday!

2009-11-23T10:14:00.004-05:00

Guys, I have something really important to talk to you about. I'm doing my first ever show at Bruar Falls on Tuesday and it'd mean a lot to me if you could come. There are a few reasons you should come, that I'd like to tell you about...

1. It's FREE!

2. The bands RULE!
Yeah, one from Brooklyn (The Specific Heats, two from Florida (Strangers Family Band and Lord Jeff) and one from DC (Family Portrait). They all rule and are all pretty chill with good vibes.

3. DJs!!!!!!!!!
Awesome DJs are spinning mad tunes, Theresa Smith (Home Blitz) and Serge Pinsky (German Measles, Beachniks). Great DJs with great records.

4. Duhhhhhhhhh!

Hope you come out, I'd be happy to see you!

Download a free EP and Live Album from Strangers Family Band here and here.

Today's "BEST BAND OF ALL TIME": Sentence Diagrams!

2009-11-22T23:04:00.008-05:00

So here's what happened: I was putting together a show for Americans in France from North Carolina. They requested Liquor Store. When I talked to Sarim he suggested I also add Sentence Diagrams, a band featuring a member of the old Home Blitz. A recommendation from Sarim is enough for me, so I honestly booked Sentence Diagrams their first ever show with even listening to as much as one note of any of their songs. Holy shit I'm glad I booked them, as p4k would say BEST NEW MUSIC, y'all.

Check out "Nightmares From Diet Birch Beer" behind this adorable band photo:

So pop, so rock, so Jersey, so America, so Springsteen. "Don't be crossss, I'm just a bossssss." Srsly, jammed this song about 20 times today. Best band.

Gerard told me that his whole thing is "no gimmicks" and he truly is against gimmicks and against "genre-ism", and it rules and is just catchy and sick sick sick. AHHHHHH SO GOOD!

If you're around after t-giving, come see Sentence Diagrams play at Bruar Falls with Shark? and Liam The Younger on Friday! BE THANKFUL FOR ROCK N ROLL!!!!!!!

Benefit for Mike Yaniro of Twin Stumps!

2009-11-21T16:59:00.000-05:00

As I'm sure most of you know, the bassist from amazing band Twin Stumps was mugged and horribly beaten a few weeks ago. He has had to undergo extensive surgery and unfortunately, does not have insurance.

A few buds and I (Alessandro from Twin Stumps, Kevin from White Suns, Tina of Under Aurora booking) got together to organize a benefit show to help raise money to pay his medical bills.

The show's going to rule! If you want to help Mike out come to the show and/or give a donation via paypal here.

Anyone who knows Mike will tell you what a kind and awesome person he is. He rules, being around him makes me happy. SUPPORT HIM!

BENEFIT SHOW FOR MIKE YANIRO (of Twin Stumps)

Friday, December 4th

Sightings
York Factory Complaint (with special guest Genesis Breyer P-Orridge)
Pink Reason
White Suns

DJ set by Sean Ragon (Cult of Youth)

Death By Audio
49 S. 2nd St
Williamsburg, Brooklyn
L to Bedford

Mike was mugged and brutally attacked. Unfortunately he has no medical insurance and a mountain of medical bills. All proceeds will go to help with these bills!! Learn more here: http://mikeyanirofund.wordpress.com/

++ event was organized by Kevin of White Suns, Alessandro of Twin Stumps, Rachel Pop Jew & Tina Under Aurora ++

Ganglian's Island: A Twisted Voyage Into The Mind of Aaron Lefkove

2009-11-17T17:15:00.004-05:00

Thee Oh Sees. Fresh & Onlys. Fluffy Lumbers. What do these three bands have in common other than funny names and cool songs? They are all among bands that Aaron Lefkove, the brilliant Jew behind Disgusting Things I Have Eaten, and guitarist from legendary band LiveFastDie, as well as 5th lead guitarist in Liquor Store, will not stop talking about.

They also all have one more thing in common: Aaron Lefkove has never heard a single song by any of them.

(Pictured above, Zork's Tape Bruise, a record by Thee Oh Sees that has given Lefkove countless inspiration despite the fact that he has never listened to it)

Perhaps Lefkove's greatest inspiration has come from Ganglians. He may have never listened to these Sacto-bros play a single note, but the idea of an indie-world, full of weird punks and whacky hijinks has captured his imagination and taken hold of him. He calls it Ganglian's Island.

This world was first immortalized in a simple thread on the Music Board of Terminal Boredom, a place Lefkove frequents often to cheer up even the most bitter record collector with brilliantly placed GIFs and JPGs.

The epic post, transcribed below:

GANGLIAN'S ISLAND...

WITH:

GANGLIANS!

THE SKIPPER TOO!

THE MILLIONAIRE & HIS WIFE!

THE MOVIE STAR!

PROFESSOR & MARYANNE

Ganglians Island surely seems like a magical place, and perhaps one day Lefkove will make his dream a reality. He has already imagined himself there, as he also said on Terminal boredom:

"I'm just here chillin by the waterfall on Ganglian's Island..."

When asked to elaborate on the insanity that surely exists on this Ganglian's Island that Lefkove has imagined, he simply said to me:

"its like an episode of Lost starring Kurt Vile"

I can only hope it truly is.

I wish I had a pizza and a bottle of wine...

2009-11-16T14:50:00.003-05:00

Dudes. Bros. Dawgs. I need to level with you. I tried to be a h8r and resist the crazy buzzzzzzy-band Girls. I saw them at Monster Island and I don't know if their set was actually boring if I was just in a bad mood for some other reason, but I kind of avoided the hype cuz I am just too cool, y'all know what I'm saying.

Well, don't I feel stupid now. I still haven't given "Album" a good, complete listen, but, in the crazyness of the OMG I SEE HUNX DICK "Lust For Life" video thing I fell head over heels for "Lust For Life", the best song of all time????????????????????

Yeah. Um. Wow. So catchy, so sweet, just the most relatable song of all time. The lyrics are incredible.

I wish I had a suntan/ I wish I had a pizza and a bottle of wine/ I wish I had a beach house/ where we could make a big fire every night

Beautiful. A deep yearning for simple/normal things. Just amazing. I wish I had a pizza and a bottle of wine.

and maybe if I really try with all of my heart/I could make a brand new start in love with you

Perfect, I can't even, it's the best song of all time. Wow.

I'm In UR Radio, Playin All Ur Hitz!

2009-11-12T10:19:00.003-05:00

Guess what guys! Thanks to the magic of Twitter, I was asked to be the Blogger of the Week on Break Thru Radio!

Guy's I'm gonna be honest. This is a big deal for me! I never did college radio, and now, looking back, that makes me a Sad Panda. (I guess it's for the best though, when I was 18 @ NYU I probably would have played only ska ska ska... Jamaican ska...) But this is my first time doing radio stuff! So much fun!

Listen Here!

Do I sound cool? I hope so!

Everything is Better in the South! or Whatever Brains and Natural Child rock my world!

2009-11-10T16:50:00.007-05:00

Okay guys, it's not secret that I have a weird love affair with Southern culture. I may have been raised an upper middle class liberal New York Jew, but I'd much rather drink Budweiser and watch NASCAR than read the New York Times and pretend to like wheat grass. I made this blingee of my baby Kyle Busch. He didn't make the Chase this year, but I still lurve him!

Anyway, another thing that seems to be always awesome about the South is the music. I love nothing more than a punk band made up of cute Southern boys with a bit of a drawl. I think Thomas Function is my favorite band of all time.

Anyway, I recently have become acquainted with two southern bands that blew me away!

Whatever Brains is from North Carolina. They played at Silent Barn in October and completely blew me away. They were polite, cute, and brought along poppers that they shared with everyone all night. Oh yeah, their garagey punk is pretty good too. Here's a cute band pic of them with an MP3 mysteriously hidden behind it. And yes, those are poppers in that pic.

Natural Child is an adorable band from Nashville that took me by surprise during CMJ. They played an unplanned/unexpected set after The Beets at Don Pedro's for one of the Impose parties. There was no one there, but I still had some beer left, so I figured I might as well stick around for them. It was incredible, the ten or so people that stuck around for them stormed the stage and everyone rocked out together, just chilling with the chillness.
They play one of my favorite kinds of music: Stupid punk- just gross and stupid and kind of sloppy in a way that is super charming. I went to see them the next night at The Charleston for their official CMJ showcase (with a bunch of other awesome Nashville bands including winner of CMJ JEFF the Brotherhood). Out of the whole clusterfuck that was CMJ, Natural Child had the biggest effect on me.
Listen to the sounds that this cute band pic makes:

Can someone please fly me to the South and find me a cute Southern boyfriend who likes punk music and will treat me like a lady?

Thanks!

Tonight! Pop Show at Market Hotel!

2009-10-21T11:20:00.000-04:00

Hey y'all, this show is going to be my first show at Market Hotel! There's a lot going on tonight, but this show is not only the most awesome, but also pretty much the only game in town as far as pop pop pop!

Here's the wonderful flier that my old roomie Sheena made:

The line up pretty much rules. Not pretty much- all much!

Darlings have kind of been taking over the world. Last April they were featured in L Magazine's 8 NYC Bands You Need To Hear, and just a couple of weeks ago, Spin Magazine's 25 Must-Hear Artists from the CMJ Festival. They also went to college with me. (Drummer, Matt Solomon was the first NYU Student I ever met... in the elevator on the way up to Gallatin Orientation.

Sundelles rule. Chocolate Bobka saw them and said this:

We saw the Sundelles rock a shabby set of lo-fi three chord doo-wop at Dead Herring Friday night and were pretty impressed by their knack for head bobbing, hip shaking melodies, vocal rave ups and their relentless use of the fuzz box. Simple and straight forward, their brand of loft pop will sound familiar to fans The Muslims (now the Soft Pack) and the Vivian Girls, as well as older heads jonesing for some new Nuggets and Pebbles for the 21st century.

I really like them and hope you do to, when you come tonight, and I give you a hug.

I'm Turning Into is a cool new band on the scene that I have written about before, and so have a lot of other people. For example, sweeeeeet blog Pop Tarts Suck Toasted named I'm Turning Into the sweet Band of the Week at the end of July. They are so weird, so fun, so rocking.

Shark?, the weirdest band name, in a fun way, has also had the honor of being the Pop Tarts Suck Toasted Band of the Week, and deservedly so. They are making some "waves" right now. Tee hee.

Buy The TeePee LP!

2009-10-20T11:46:00.002-04:00

When I went down to Miami for So Raw Fest last year, I had the greatest time of my life. That's where I first saw Fluffy Lumbers, but I also got exposed to a bunch of other great bands, including the fabulous TeePee who just released his debut 12" LP on his label "Senzei Records". Below is a link to stream "I Told You", a total jam off of the record...

Go buy this LP, I'm serious.