The Current Music Blog: September 1, 2006 Archive

User-Generated Content Is the New Punk Rock, Duh!

Posted at 5:48 AM on September 1, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis

Happy September to you!

At the top of today's music news: Minneapolis's favorite Brooklyn band... er. Brooklyn's favorite Minneapolis band... Ah, well, let's start over.

The Hold Steady are preparing to launch a "social networking" website called "Boys and Girls in America." The site invites fans to post video confessions about their love lives, apparently in anticipation of the band's new album of the same name (to be released October 3).

So far, only one bold, misguided contributor has uploaded a vaguely disturbing 15-second video titled "My Dog is Hot."

You can follow the links and watch the viddy yourself, or you can take our word for it: A hot dog is preferable to a dog that is hot. If you know what what we mean.

Big Star: What's The Big Whoop?

Posted at 6:15 AM on September 1, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (5 Comments)

September is here, and it always reminds us of the only Big Star song we've ever actually hummed to ourselves, "September Girls Gurls." Until now, we had no idea that Big Star inspired all sorts of followups, from a Bangles album (yes, we said the Bangles) to a trade paperback. Anyway, here's everything you ever wanted to know about the song "September Girls Gurls"--including confirmation of the fact that it's " the only Big Star song many people know."

There's something comforting in knowing that we're like most people.

Know a better Big Star song by heart? Well, why selfishly keep it to yourself? Speak up! (Confidential to Paul Westerberg: Don't bother emailing. We know, we know: You never go far without some Big Star.)

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Cat Purrs, Growls, Eventually Curls Up On Your Lap

Posted at 12:27 PM on September 1, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis

If you're not up north winterizing the cabin this weekend, nor at the fair witnessing The Miracle of Birth, you should sneak out to the Cat Power show at the Varsity Theater tomorrow night. Word is that Ms. Power (that's Chan Marshall to her mother) killed during her show in Vancouver last Sunday. She brought the house down not only with her haunting musicianship, but with her boogie dance steps, clever repartee, and her tasteful choice of material. This eyewitness report says,

Firing up a Parliament, she briefly bantered with the audience, then stood up from her piano bench and walked over to the centre-stage microphone. What followed was one of the strangest—and strangely mesmerizing—sights seen on a Vancouver stage this year. Cat Power launched into an a capella version of Black Flag's "Nervous Breakdown," recasting an old-school hardcore fireball as a stripped-naked torch ballad. The highlight wasn’t when she cranked out imaginary power chords on an imaginary guitar, and it wasn't when she finished the song with a ’20s-style dance routine straight out of Flappers Gone Wild. No, the best part was the way Marshall was having fun with lines like "I'm about to have a nervous breakdown/My head really hurts/If I don’t find a way outta here/I'm gonna go berserk." Considering how often her mental stability has been debated over the years, it was obvious that "Nervous Breakdown" wasn't in the set by accident, even if she couldn't remember half the words.

Note to self: If we ever start smoking again, switch brands to Parliament. Ask friends to record results.