The Current Music Blog: October 3, 2006 Archive

The Buffering Stream: Greenwich Mean Time Edition

Posted at 7:21 AM on October 3, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (6 Comments)

Our list crazy British friends, and the anglophiles who love them: Favorite dancefloor hits, UK vs. USA. [Stereogum]

Scissor Sisters suggest CD prices are too high, get "banned" in US record store chain. [NME]

Pop star performs "deepest underwater concert ever." No comment from the fishes of the sea. [BBC]

The Purrs, en route to Minneapolis, stopped cold by a large predatory bird. [Filter]

Craig Finn dons a Twins jersey for massive Manhattan gig; declares Johann Santana league MVP. [Stereogum]

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Repetitive Stress Syndrome Can Be Fun!

Posted at 8:15 AM on October 3, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (1 Comments)

Ever get a tune stuck in your craw--a snippet of a chorus or verse--and have a complete mental black hole when it comes to the band, the title, or even the words? Happens to us all the time. In the inexorable process of replacing all human memory with the interweb, some clever person has invented "songtapper." You simply tap the rhythm of the snippet on your keyboard's spacebar, and songtapper spits back a half dozen songs that match the profile. (For the record, we tried four songs randomly generated by what's left of our brain. Songtapper got the Beatles "Piggies" first try, and also System of a Down's "Aerials." It could not guess the 'Mats "Bastards of Young" nor Trio's "Da Da Da.")

If you're feeling really ambitious and meta, with nothing much to do, try tapping Leroy Anderson's "The Typewriter". (Caution: This may actually bring the world to an abrupt end. Like putting instant coffee in the microwave.)

Image: www.gameshowutopia.net

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Separated At Birth: the Homepage Edition

Posted at 11:01 AM on October 3, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (20 Comments)

We have a hard enough time keeping these two fabulous bands straight. Do they have to have almost exactly the same website?

www.thealarmistsband.com; www.myspace.com/decemberists

Earlier Separated at Birth: Craig Finn and Peter Sellers?

Ben Kweller and Arlo Guthrie?

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All Points Bulletin on the Hold Steady

Posted at 12:03 PM on October 3, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (1 Comments)

Our friends at More Cowbell have posted this brilliant and entertaining mashup: The Hold Steady Guide to the Twin Cities which maps the band's lyrics to points of local inspiration.

Dudes don't seem to make it down too often to the truly inspiring/depressing Minnesota River Valley, Savage to Mankato. Until you've seen Cheap Trick at Valley Fair, you are not allowed to be America's No.1 Bar Band.

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No Man Is An Island (But You Can Still Be Alone In a Crowd)

Posted at 4:00 PM on October 3, 2006 by Hans Eisenbeis (106 Comments)

Yesterday, we mentioned that "Open Season" took top honors at the box office last weekend. Today, we were pleased to run across this lovely eyewitness account of the premiere (from Man Without Ties, the Paul Westerberg message board). It includes a happy car-parking story, a brush with fame, and a two-minute review of the reunited Replacements:

"We're gonna do one more song that's not on the soundtrack." ... when I heard the first notes of IOU I couldn't believe it! And boy did it rock. I'm telling ya Kathy, Paul is back better than ever. Looked and sounded great and you could see the enthusisium as they finished "IOU you nothing." You think this could his little sarcastic dig at Sony??? Anyway, Paul and the boys definitely didn't polish things up for this performance. All three songs had that live Westerberg edge to them. Even Tommy smiled a couple of time.

Tommy, of course, is not allowed to smile with Guns 'N' Roses, so this must have been a bittersweet moment for everyone. [UPDATE: That was a joke.]

Special click-through bonus: Bootlegged photos of Paul Westerberg and a hefty movie executive! Young Westerberg in a Twins jersey!

PW at Open Season Premiere, Getty Images

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