when I catch you upside down

if you missed the last minute No Age show at Pehrspace last night - don't despair. cause tonight is your second chance to see them for free @ the Troubadour.
this show is presented by Shockhound so visit them at here to RSVP to get in for free!!
and if you've never seen No Age live, trust us when we say don't miss them. we missed their free 2am bridge show at SXSW last year and we're still kicking ourselves for it.

In the end you'll still be you

Well...it's been an interesting week. We've seen America finally take a stand and put the most deserving man in the highest position in the world. We've also seen California give into misinformation and deceit and make an egregious mistake. We pissed away a major opportunity to stand up and show the world we would fight against discrimination and intolerance and show that all people regardless of sexual orientation are created equal. But some of us are still standing and there is no doubt the fight will continue.

And now for a show plug...
If you feel like celebrating Obama's victory, or cursing California's ignorance - join us tonight! We'll be djing in between sets at the Scene for Black Kites, The Health Club, Thailand and Avi Buffalo



It's going to be a great show and we hope you will join us!

Also, I've been streaming dublab for the better part of the day. Listen here and support the proton drive and squaregirl Marion!

~sqg//kristen

And Both Agreed We All Had a Smashing Time

In what will, I'm sure come as shocking news to all of you who check in here regularly, I have left myself not nearly enough time to create the sort of all encompassing update post that I need to create before running off to where it is that I need to be. In this case, it just so happens that where I need to be is dublab, by noon, so that I can play a few records, and encourage you to donate money so that we can stay on the air, er internet. Surely you know what I mean, dublab would really like to continue to exist, and we can't do that without you help. Please click here to listen, and then here to donate. Thank you.

Then tonight, Squaregirls are presenting/DJ-ing this show at the Scene Bar:



Squaregirl Kristen, and Squareboy Chris have done a lot to help this come together, they are pretty crazy about all of the bands, and would really love nothing more than to share that with you. Since I woke up this morning with something that bears a suspicious resemblance to the stomach flu, I think I will do us all a favor and sit this one out.

Ah, and last but not least, there are finally pictures from last month's Hungry Beat! online. Glance through them, sigh over all of the fun you missed (or relive the fun if you were there,) and mark your calendar for November 29th because we definitely want to see you at the next one!

Here was our playlist from October to offer, perhaps, even more incentive?


Hungry Beat! Playlist 10/25
Michael:

Always - Love and Death in Metroland
Action Painting! - These Things Happen
Jilted John - True Love
Vic Godard and Subway Sect - Vertical Integration
Teenage Filmstars - Apologize
Television Personalities - Smashing Time
Echo & the Bunnymen - Villiers Terrace (Peel Session)
Echo & the Bunnymen - Read it in Books (Peel Session)
Felt - Sunlight Bathed the Golden Glow

Marion:

Black Tambourine - Throw Aggi Off the Bridge
Tullycraft - Josie
Soup Dragons - Whole Wide World
Orange Juice - Can't Help Myself
The Temptaions - Girl Why You Wanna Make Me Blue
White Sisters - Nothing Out There
Cashmeres - Showstopper
Martha & the Vandellas - I Promise to Wait My Love
The Pastels - Sit on it Mother
Horowitz - Tracyanne
Camera Obscura - If Looks Could Kill
Heavenly - Tool

YY:

St. Christopher - And I Wonder
Felt - Spanish House
Teenage Fanclub - Every Picture I Paint
Rocketship - I Love You Like the Way That I Used To
Shop Assistants - What a Way to Die
Mighty Mighty - Law
The June Brides - Cold
The Long Blondes - Never to be Repeated
Comet Gain - Baby's Alright
Dolly Mixture - How Come You're a Hit With the Boys Jane?
Love is All - Wishing Well

B-Rok

The Four Tops - Don't Bring Back Memories (RIP, Levi Stubbs)
Towanda Barnes - You Don't Mean It
Sunny & the Sunliners - If I Could See You Now
The Exciters - Blowin' Up My Mind
Lorenzo Manley - Swoop Down on You
The Superlatives - Lonely in a Crowd
Belle & Sebastian - Dirty Dream 2
Orange Juice - Lovesick
Derek Martin - Sly Girl
Marvin & Tammi - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
The Vontastics - I'll Never Say Goodbye
The Impressions - You've Been Cheatin'
The Pastels - Comin' Through
The Shangri-Las - Give Him a Great Big Kiss

Maximo Park:

The Wave Pictures - I Want You to Walk All Over Me
Smog - Cold Blooded Old Times
The Beach Boys - Do It Again
The Servants - The Sun a Small Star
The Fall - C.R.E.E.P (12" remix)
My Bloody Valentine - Off Your Face
The Go-Betweens - Newton Told Me
Beat Happening - Noise
The Rubinoos - Hard to Get
Bob & Fred - I'll be on my Way
Serge Gainsbourg - Requiem Pour un Con
Dusty Springfield - Stay Awhile
The Research - My Baby Knows When I'm Sad
The Flatmates - Could Be in Heaven
The Wedding Present - My Favorite Dress
The Zombies - Time of The Season
The Siddeleys -What Went Wrong This Time
Jeremy Jay - Airwalker

Michael:

New Order - Love Vigilantes
The Stone Roses - She Bangs the Drums
The Happy Mondays - Olive Oil (Peel Session)
The Buzzcocks - Everybody's Happy Nowadays (Peel Session)
The Smiths - What Difference Does it Make (Peel Session)

Jukebox:

Orange Juice - Rip it Up (Long Version)
Sweet - Ballroom Blitz
T Rex - Solid Gold Easy Action
Sparks - Angst in My Pants
The Primitives - Crash
Blondie - X Offender
The Pastels - Anne Boleyn
Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes
Belle & Sebastian - We Are The Sleepyheads
Plastic Bertrand - Ca Plane Pour Moi
Serge Gainsbourg - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde
Altered Images - Don't Talk to Me About Love

... As per usual there was more, but we ran out of space to write it all down. Maximo Park closed the night on a rather fun note for us. Huge thanks again to those guys for stopping by to hang out with us and play some good songs!

Resident Hungry Beat! DJ Michael deserves a huge amount of credit as well for being very conscious of the fact that our club night fell on the 4th anniversary of John Peel's untimely passing, and paying tribute during his sets. So many of the bands that we love and whose records we play regularly greatly benefited from Peel's influence. Thank you again Michael for making sure to acknowledge that!

We'll see you all again next month!

Love,
Hungry Beat!


Oh, and Hungry Beat is on Facebook now, so join our group group!

Alright, that really is all that I have for you today, I promise.

~sqg marion

Another Summer Slipped Away Without Me Noticing

Hello!

So, in the hopes of somehow discovering an escape route from the severe writer's block that I have been trapped inside for the past several weeks I thought that a well timed promo post was in order.

If you are in Southern California this weekend you should take full advantage of your opportunity to see the sure to be fabulous Crystal Stilts, and Cause Co-Motion up to three times this weekend. Both bands are clearly doing their part to showcase just how exciting of a town Brooklyn is for indiepop right NOW, and both bands are releasing records for Slumberland. OH, and on a related side note I just noticed that official release date for the debut full length from perhaps the most exciting (Brooklyn based, naturally) indiepop band in the country right now, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart has been set for February third. Just a few days before my birthday! But it would be far to easy to get sucked into making this a post about how great the Pains of Being Pure at Heart are, and how great Slumberland releases tend to be in general. Please allow me to shift my focus back to the two great Slumberland bands that will be in town this weekend.

First of all, spend your Halloween in indiepop's Southern California home base, Oxnard. Not only will you get to catch some of Brooklyn's finest, you also have the opportunity to catch such squaregirls favorites as Catwalk, The Tartans, and Sea Lions, and um, me DJ-ing. A-hah, there's that element of self promotion that you've come to know and expect from a squaregirls post. I'm truly excited about this show, and really honored to have been asked to play records around some of my favorite bands of the moment. And, I'll be DJ-ing alongside one of my fellow Hungry Beat! cohorts Brian Cunningham (B-rok.) Brian is one of my favorite people to DJ with as we seem to play the perfect opposite ratio of pop to soul, and since Brian has so many good records his presence on the decks mathematically increases the fun level in the room by somewhere around 300 percent. Here are the details:


Friday October 31 - Special Halloween Show
@ The Kenji Shack 4300 Santa Clara Ave.
Oxnard, CA 93030 For Directions: (805) 485-1415
7PM/ $3/ ALL AGES

For the hardcore fans (or those of you who reside in San Diego) you can catch the Crystal Stilts/ca-USE co-MOTION portion of things at the Che Cafe on Saturday November 1st...

... But all of you Los Angeles folks are probably going to want to take Saturday to rest up for the action on Sunday at Part Time Punks:



Indiepop nights at PTP always tend to be something special, and I have a feeling that this one will be no exception!

We'll hope to see you out and about this weekend!

Oh, and I'm finally catching up on my finances, which means I've been able to order quite a few new records, and if you are at all interested in my thoughts on some of those records please check here as I may have just beaten this writer's block thing. At least for now...

~ sqg marion

let this groove set in your shoes

this is going to be quick and involve a large amount of cutting and pasting. maybe it's something in the soon to be Halloween air - the forces of evil have once again cut off my internet (and phone line!) so i'm currently milking off someone's wireless network and the connection is rather spotty. you know what's a sure bet though?? all the fun you're going to have this weekend!

~ tomorrow night @ spaceland ~
Monolator's Don't Dance record release!!!
Squaregirls are co-presenting the Monolator’s record release show with our beloved RFSL (head over to RFSL for an in depth interview with Monolator's main man Eli Chartoff). They’ll be joined by Correatown, You Me & Iowa, and Summer Darling at Spaceland.
Squaregirls have had the immense pleasure to hear an advance of Don't Dance and it's goddamn good. Read WIF's review of it here.
But we guarantee you that nothing, and we mean nothing, compares to seeing the Monolator's live. It’s going to be an amazing night and we hope you can join us!




then head on over to pehrspace for the second installment of hungry beat!
sqg Marion’s & friend's monthly dance night which features a revolving cast of DJ's spinning new and classic indie pop and northern soul.



Ronettes or Mo-dettes?
"Million Tears" or "Tears of a Clown?"
"Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch," or Honeybunch?

No need to make such difficult choices.
Hear it all this Saturday as we mix and match some of our favorite indiepop, and northern soul related dance tracks!

With Special Guest DJs: the lads from MAXIMO PARK!
and DJ Jukebox from Substance!

Also, do be sure to bring your beverage of choice since Pehrspace does not contain a bar. A-hem. (This also means it doesn't have to end at 2am--it's really up the madness in your area.
)

For the most specific directions, head over here.


See you Saturday!

And if that ain't enough Indiepop for ye, then see you Sunday, too!


it's going to be a great weekend!
~sqg kristen

The Girl's Alright with Us

Hello! It's before 10 AM, I've had way to much coffee, and I've listened to the unbelievably fantastic new Love is All single, "Wishing Well," about eight times now. I think it's going to be a good day!

I'm considerably more certain that it will be a good evening since squaregirl Kristen and I are dj-ing here:





O.k. I'm resisting the urge to play "Wishing Well" one more time, and letting the rest of the Love is All portion of my itunes play itself out so that I can focus my attention on informing you to what is sure to be a pretty great show tonight. The ultra-feminine electro-pop of Hearts of Palm UK has inspired us squaregirls to dig through our records to find our best girl related songs, i.e. all girls, girl singer, girl in the title, etc. to play for the portions of their album release show tonight that we are responsible for. Add Fol Chen - who never play the same show twice, but always play something interesting - to this mix, and The Sweet Hurt - who I know absolutely nothing about, but the L.A. blog force seems to love - to the mix, and you've got what I think is the potential for quite a fun party...

... So, we'll see you tonight?

Rip It Up And...

Hello, squaregirl Marion here! It is quite late, and I am quite tired, and I have to be at work kind of early tomorrow. In other words I will keep this post brief.

I started a new blog. I've had a bit of trouble focusing lately. There have been so many things that I've wanted to write about, yet, I couldn't seem to get the words onto the page. I'm just barely keeping up with my Web in Front column, but I would prefer to be writing more than the every five weeks or so that that entails. I thought that a new blog might be a worthwhile experiment. This new blog, Paint the Words in Pastel Blue, will ideally become a nice mix of reviews, and other random musings about pop songs. It is also safe to say that there might be a slight indiepop slant to this new site...

Check it out here, if you are so inclined. The first post also happens to be my first attempt at a straightforward album review.

Squaregirls will remain, any other squaregirl can post anything she wishes to post here. I, however, am going to leave this blog strictly to promote any projects that we might be taking on, and/or to alert you to DJ gigs, shows we are presenting, radio sessions, etc.

So on that note, my latest Web In Front Column is posted here.

And there is a Creation Records tribute set that I was a part of in the dublab archive now here. My friends Laura and Maura (the Auras) joined me for this one. They were a lot of fun to do a radio show with. My opinions about the overall wonderfulness of Creation Records may not be quite as firm as the appear to be in this session, but it's still an overall worthwhile statement to make. Most early (even some mid) Creation is very, very good. Plus it's a great thing to always be learning, reassessing your opinions, and the things that you believe to be true. Right?

Oh, and speaking of dublab I will be on from 4pm to 6pm on October 14th as part of this upcoming week's Tuesday Transmissions. I'd be honored if you would let me provide a small part of the soundtrack to your work day. It's far enough away too, that I could probably be persuaded to take a request or two. In fact, two hours is quite a bit of space to fill so requests are more than welcome!

The next night, October 15th we will be DJ-ing the Hearts of Palm UK's album release show. I'll add a more proper post about how much fun that has the potential to be, along with the flier sometime early next week.

Alright, I think I've covered everything that i can think of, and my exhaustion is bordering on delirium, so goodnight.

~sqg marion

Sorting Through...

O.k., I'll admit to being a bit lazy for just reposting our myspace blog about our first Hungry Beat! night here. I think it says it all though. Also, below the playlist are some of my personal favorite pictures of the night!


HUNGRY BEAT PLAYLIST 9/27:

Each DJ's first set is posted below. The music went on quite a bit longer, and by the end we were doing things a bit more tag team style. We'll probably go further in that direction in the future, as it's really fun that way. It is worth noting that we did play the Pat Powdrill song "Do It" that was sent to us courtesy of our club night hero, How Does It Feel to be Loved later on in the evening. If anyone has any questions about anything else that was played, or if you want to see the rest of the play list posted here, please do not hesitate to ask! We had the best time on Saturday night, and that is entirely thanks to all of the wonderful people who came out to dance with us. Please join us at Pehrspace on October 25th when do it all over again!

Love,
Hungry Beat!

Marion:
The Pastels - Heaven's Above
Melody Dog - Futuristic Lover
Courtney Love (Lois Maffeo/Pat Maley) - The Second Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Honeybunch - Hey Blue Sky The Lucksmiths - Smokers in Love
14 Iced Bears - Balloon Song
My Bloody Valentine - Paint a Rainbow
Poptarts - Girly Pop
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday
The Flatmates - Could be in Heaven
Razorcuts - Storyteller
The Wake - Talk About the Past

YY:
Girls at Our Best! - Fashion
Felt - Ballad of the Band
Biff Bang Pow! - Someone Stole My Wheels
Revolving Paint Dream - Green Sea Blue
Jazzateers - Heartbeat
Too Much - Silex Pistols
The Siddeleys - Sunshine Thuggery
The Wake - Crush the Flowers
Shop Assitants - I Don't Want to be Friends With You
Modettes - White Mice
Love is All - Make Out, Fall Out, Make Up, Fall Out
Househunters - Dorsal Fin
Aislers Set - Mission Bells

Goodwill:
The Monkees - Hold On Girl
The Olympics - Same Old Thing
Stevie Wonder - Aint That Asking For Trouble
The Radiants - Choo Choo
The Supremes - When The Lovelight Starts Shining Through His Eyes
Jay & the Techniques - Keep the Ball Rolling
The Marvelettes - Your Love is Gonna Save Me
The Parliments - (I Wanna) Testify
The Ronettes - You Came, You Saw, You Conquered

Michael Stock:

The Creation - Making Time
The Stone Roses - Here It Comes
Primal Scream - It Happens
New Order - Ceremony
The Flatmates - Happy All the Time
My Bloody Valentine - Sunny Sundae Smile
The Jesus & Mary Chain - Never Understand
Jesse Garon - Presence
14 Iced Bears - Inside
The Pooh Sticks - Heroes & Villians
The Shop Assistants - Safety Net
The Wedding Present - Brassneck
Beat Happening - Look Around
The Beach Boys - Help Me Rhonda
Biff Bang Pow - There Must be a Better Life
The La's - There She Goes
Big Star - September Gurls

B-Rok:
The Jellybeans - You Don't Mean Me No Good
The Vontastics - Never Let Our Love Grow Cold
Orange Juice - Rip It Up
Jean Battle - I've Got to Come In
Saint Etienne - Your in a Bad Way
Darell Banks - Our Love is in the Pocket
The Uptights - Shy Guy
The Isley Brothers - Why When Love is Gone
Jay & the Techniques - Strawberry Shortcake
Brigitte Bardot - Ca Pourrait Changer
The Go Betweens - Spring Rain
The Falcons - (I'm a Fool) I Must Love You

















You can view more pictures from the night, here. We'll see you on the 25th!

Hungry Beat!

I have to make this probably the quickest post as i am due to leave for work in exactly eight minutes! Think I can make it?



I'd love to re-iterate how excited we are, how much we want to see your beautiful faces, and how we want even more to see you killer dance moves! I'm down to two minutes though.

I chat a little bit about the club night here. The more specific details on the night are listed in that very generous blog post from our friends at Classical Geek Theater as well!

If you would like an audio preview, you can find that here.

O.k. well, I am officially running late, but it will be worth every second if you stop by to dance with us tomorrow night!

~sqg marion

shoot the whole day down

I don't really like Mondays all that much. Particularly when I’ve just been off of work for a week. And even more particularly when I’ve spent that week up in the Pacific Northwest. I miss Seattle already.

The only thing saving my Monday (and that will make me brave the LA smog - cough cough) is a good show. And such is one tonight at the Echo. It's the second to the last of Death to Anders' Monday night residencies. It's an all-acoustic show with One Trick Pony, the Happy Hollows and Mad Gregs. Oh acoustic...a little calmer, a little more mellow and unplugged - kinda like Seattle.




Come join us tonight!

~sqg kristen

Vote With Your Heart (and Your Heart Should be Saying Monolators)

I've made no secret of the fact that the the Monolators are one of my favorite bands. So I regret that I've not yet jumped on the bandwagon with all of the other concerned citizens who are urging you to vote for them to play the Detour festival. Today is the last day to vote so PLEASE DO SO NOW:

vote here!


In other news, I'm DJ-ing this weekend!!! It promises to be quite a party with several DJs who are far more talented than I am, bands, and this very neat flier.



Stop by and dance with us on Saturday night!

~sqg Marion

Someday (I Think) I'll be Dignified and Old

I've been listening to Forever Breathes the Lonely Word a lot within the past few days. I still haven't the faintest idea how to become intelligent enough to write about Felt...

...

I think it might have been too long since I've written things here. I'm just beginning to really take notice of the fact that a considerable part of my daily routine is missing - and I miss it! Trouble is, I haven't had too much time to muse obsessively about any single pop song, or find new bands, or well anything that might keep a music blog interesting and/or current.

Today, as I am finally getting back into the routine of reading other people's blogs, I read this. I very rarely burst out in a loud fit of laughter while reading something, but this breif post made me do just that. I'm a big advocate of the fact that the set up, and wording of a piece of writing can make it's humor far more effective than it's actual content. I am fairly confident that even if I had no idea what sha - la - la was, who Matt Haynes was, or even what a flexi disc was, that post still would have made me laugh out loud. I hope it has a similar effect on any of you who might be reading this.

Heaven is Above Your Head is a blog that for all intents and purposes I should have starting reading ages ago. I've known of it's existence for all of this year, and that it was one of the best indiepop blogs out there. Despite my lack of an office job to keep me in front of a computer all day, I don't know why it has taken me this long to add it to my mental list of things to read regularly, I guess these things just happen sometimes? I also guess that it is best to not search for an explanation, but to just be happy that you have finally found whatever it is that it took you so long to find.

Ahem, part of the reason that I haven't had much time to write here, or catch up with the newest posts from other blogs is that I've been researching, and writing my most recent column for Web in Front. You can read it here if you are so inclined. It has a lot to do with the role that identity (gender identity in particular) has played in the world of pop music, primarilly within the context of indiepop. It's a subject that I would eventually like to explore much further (hopefully) on an academic level, but I think this is a decent first effort. Anyway, I just though that it might be worth sharing with you here...

Lot's of DJ gigs coming up this month (including the first night of Hungry Beat! Sept 27 at Pehrspace!!!) so expect plenty of posts of the shameless self promotion variety. Maybe even a few of the "I'm in love with a new band or song variety..."

Oh goodness I hope so...

~sqg Marion

Now They've Launched Another Sattelite... Tell Me, What Does This One Do?

I have a few new listening routines these days. My computer routine involves being glued to the Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Myspace page, my pre-bedtime routine is to listen to the Razorcuts album Storyteller LP (usually side one several times on repeat,) and my walking routine involves repeatedly listening to the recently released Phil Wilson Ep Industrial Strength.

Since I have just written about the excellent new Pains of Being Pure at Heart songs (see the previous post,) and since I cannot yet foresee myself writing anything about Razorcuts without venturing into uncomfortably geeky, fan-girl territory (even more so than usual) this leaves the terribly impressive new Phil Wilson Ep. It's four songs distributed amongst a double 7". They are all covers. The artists covered are Kraftwerk, Throbbing Gristle, S/T, and Faust. The songs that are covered are all re-imagined as pop songs. I find it difficult to stop listening to them. Phil Wilson really does have one of the most engaging singing voices that I have encountered so far in my musical journey. I always thought that this could be mostly attributed to just how well written his own lyrics are. Though with his recent cover of "Lee Remick" in mind, and now this collection of covers that are considerably further removed from songs that one might expect Phil Wilson to cover proves him to be one of those rare artists that can easily make any song his own. Honestly, his compelling voice, and excellent job of uncovering a hidden pop song have convinced me that I have surely not listened to Throbbing Gristle attentively enough in the past.

You can order this new Ep here. Notice also, the fantastic artwork contributed by Alistair Fitchett. If you are not familiar with Alistair Fitchett's art, writing, and/or record label you can catch up on it all over here.

~sqg marion

Sounds Like a Mountain Range in Love...

Hey! Have you visited the Pains of Being Pure at Heart's Myspace page lately? If not, please leave this page right now, go over there and listen to all of the fantastic new songs they have added, then come back here and leave comments so that we can discuss exactly how fantastic those songs are. "Young Adult Friction" is now in solidly in the running with the Lodger track "The Good Old Days," and the Bridal Shop's "Violation" single to become my favorite song of 2008. I can't find any evidence to prove this, but I desperately want to believe that "Young Adult Friction" will be the B-side to the "Everything With You" 7" that Slumberland Records is planning to release in October. I am just desperate to have this song on vinyl so that I can play it loudly with every intention of making everyone who happens to be in the room that I am playing it in dance as though they might never have the chance to dance again!

~sqg marion

Staying Up, Eating Candy Floss

My life as a record collector never fails to provide me with surprises. I find myself paying much more than I would even consider paying for something in a store just because I am caught up in the moment of an Ebay bidding war. Of course I also have lists of 7"s that I would love to own, but that I also assume I will never see in real life. Courtney Love is a perfect example of this. Courtney Love released only three 7" EPs in the late 80s, and contributed a few songs to various comps for various labels. After a few years, the project disolved. Naturally having only read about this project on the internet I assumed that these songs would be impossible to track down. So far I have found two out of the three singles while casually browsing at record stores. I have still so far spent less than ten dollars total on Courtney Love singles.

I guess this would be a good time to mention that the Courtney Love that I am referring to is a band that was comprised of Lois Maffeo (more often known simply as Lois) and Pat Maley who went on to run the Yo-Yo studio, and label in Olympia. There is no definitive story as to how Lois Maffeo, and Courtney Michelle Harrison both came to use the name Courtney Love. I suppose the most popular one is that they decided as roommates in Olympia that Courtney Love would be a perfect rock and roll name. The songs that the band Courtney Love recorded sound pretty much nothing like the songs that the person Courtney Love recorded. They actually sound quite a bit like Lois' solo material which is mostly comprised of slightly off-kilter acoustic guitar, strummed in sweet, simple, dance-able rhythms. There are plenty of lyrics about crushes (or lack there of) handled in a smart, honest way. Some of my favorite things to hear in pop songs.

I can promise that you will hear at least one Courtney Love (band) song if you come to this thing tonight:


this wednesday!



Girlie action is defined by sexy, sophisticated, lovely ladies mixing the latest and greatest- we're celebrating new faces square girls, and la sandy on the decks while missing our own, dj mexi-kim, who’s record digging (vacationing) abroad- la sandy lays down thick disco funk and hip hop tracks while the dynamic duo square girls play an eclectic assortment dance floor fillers, and indie obscurities- be there






the Broadway Bar
830 S Broadway Blvd
Downtown LA @ 8th St




repost!
please

I will be DJ-ing, and since it's an all girl night I'm going to do my best to keep it to at least 80 percent female artists (I'm totally counting male/female duets) and songs that have the word girl in them.

We really hope to see you tonight!

~sqg Marion

That's J- Double O - S -E

On a recent trip to San Francisco one of my friends discovered/became mildly obsessed with a malt liquor energy drink called Joose. It's like Sparks, but has a higher alcohol content and is flavored to taste kind of like, well, juice. When we returned we were directed by another friend to the Joose Website, and the wide variety of amazing theme songs that they have created. Naturally someone has turned all of those theme songs into a montage on YouTube:




The brilliant part is how they manage to work the alcohol content into the songs.


I apologize for my lack of blogging lately. I just haven't had much time to rummage through the internets for interesting new bands, or spend any significant length of time processing my feelings for old pop songs. Though I do have a new article posted on Web in Front. You can read it for yourself here, if you feel so inclined... It's actually more about the way people develop their relationships with pop songs. More musings about specific songs and bands will be forthcoming.

Oh, but Tullycraft did finally add their cover of "On Tape" to their Myspace page. Check it out here. Now if they would only plan a West Coast tour...

Both Tartans singles are officially for sale. Both are worth picking up due to the outstanding artwork, and the sound quality that can only be found when you listen to a song on vinyl. Order them here, and here please.

I should add, in the interest of full disclosure, that that is the last mention of how fantastic the Tartans are as a band around these parts. Through the course of booking so many shows for them (you know, cause they are so fantastic as a band) I've actually gotten to be pretty good friends with all of them. Therefore it seems kind of strange to go on about this amazing band that I'm hanging out with a lot. I think I was beginning to sound redundant at this point anyway. You can still count on me for updates though. Really, them and the entire YAY! roster are about 75 percent of what keeps me paying attention to new music, and somewhat relevant.

Though while I am on the subject of new music, I should note that you can STILL pick up a copy of the "Wild Eyes" 7" from Vivian Girls on Plays With Dolls Records. The easiest way to do so is via their Myspace page. The vinyl pressing of their debut full length were sold out before they even finished the tour that they were on at the time. It will be reissued by In the Red Records this fall. Have I mentioned how excited I get when it seems like a large percentage of the population is getting excited about a band that is so directly influenced by Black Tambourine?!? Well, I do.

AND last but not least, the reason for the majority of my lack of attention to blogging lately: We are finally starting a regular dance night!!!

Our very own indiepop and norther soul dance night called Hungry Beat! to be more specific. It will take place on the last Saturday of every month at Pehrspace starting on September 27. The good people of Club Substance are involved. All of them have pretty much the best record collections I've seen in real life. And Yvonne Sone (yes she of Tartans fame) did a fabulous job of making our page look pretty so please go there right now and make us your new friends! We're just slightly giddy about this...

Alright, that's all I have. Bye for now!

I Want to See Movies of My Dreams

None of us should have an excuse good enough to be anywhere other than the Silent Movie Theater on Tuesday night.

Of course, if you are say working, in the hospital, not currently residing in Los Angeles, or have any other valid excuse for not being able to attend the live premiere of Dublab's new project VisionVersion PLEASE be sure to check it out here!

The first three artists featured on the site will be Ariel Pink, WHY?, and Tom Brosseau. Stay tuned for updates on the next round of artists.

I know everyone involved with Team Dublab has been working non-stop to make sure that this project comes together smashingly, and all of the artists and filmmakers have really outdone themselves. Please do give it a look either virtually or in person.

For those who do want to see it in person, all of the details are listed below:


TUESDAY, August 5th

dublab presents the premiere of....VisionVersion


VisionVersion is a new film project from the far-out minds at dublab.com. We're focused on sharing elevated music moments through motion picture magic. Our collective of wide-eyed directors are filming amazing artists performing live in exciting locations around Los Angeles.

ARTISTS FEATURED:

BABY DEE (Drag City)
DAEDELUS(Ninja Tune)
EXCEPTER (Paw-Tracks)
ARIEL PINK (Paw Tracks)
DON CAVALLI (Everloving)
HEALTH (Lovepump United)
PETER WALKER (raga guitar legend)
ALESSI
LANGHORNE SLIM (Kemado Records)
LUCKY DRAGONS (Marriage Records)
OVER THE ATLANTIC (Carpark Records)
CLUSTER (German space rock legends)
RAIN MACHINE AKA KYP MALONE (TV on the Radio)
STEVIE JACKSON (Belle & Sebastian)
TOM BROSSEAU (Fat Cat Records)
WHY? (Anticon)

FILMS BY:

MATT AMATO
SAUL LEVITZ
PETER SHANEL
JULIA CROON
FERNANDO CARDENAS
THRILLHOUSE PRODUCTIONS
ROB SCHROEDER
TREVIN MATCEK
DAVE SHAFEI
BEN BARNES
JOSH FORBES
CLAY LIPSKY

We're excited to unveil these creative efforts for the first time at Cinefamily. To make this special screening even more memorable we'll be filming a live VisionVersion episode with the always amazing HECUBA immediately following the films. They will be accompanied by far-out film projections from Chandler McWilliams. This will be an incredible VisionVersion within a VisionVersion!



doors & cocktails: 8pm
vision version films: 8:30pm
free cocktail intermission courtesy of Bacardi & IZZE: 9:30pm
HECUBA live performance: 10pm
dublab djs: 10:30-Midnight

$13 general or $9 members / ALL AGES

Cinefamily
at the Silent Movie Theatre
611 N Fairfax Avenue
Los Angeles, 90036
323.655.2510

silentmovietheatre.com
dublab.com/visionversion
hecubahecuba.com

Sha-La-La-La... Yeah

Last night was FUN. This morning at Dublab was FUN. It's probably due to this extraordinarily high level of fun that I am just getting around to writing a re-cap post at 10pm tonight. Every band played to the height of their ability. Well, I'm guessing, it was my first time seeing three out of the four bands that played last night. Still, everyone sounded pretty great.

It was certainly one of those nights where I stood and watched the performances taking place, and thought something along the lines of, "I can't believe I get to be a part of something this exciting." AND Squaregirl Kristen deserves so much credit, I don't even know where to begin. She rallied with turntables and her mixer at around 8:15 last night. It should be noted that doors for this particular show were at eight. Therefore, we had an insanely fun dance party that was ONLY possible because of her.

Then BOAT did a session for Dublab this morning. Since I kind of helped to set it up, I went over to the station to watch and was drafted into backing vocals, tambourine handclaps, and SLEIGH BELLS. I've always adored sleigh bells, and have secretly dreamed of playing along with someone's band so... maybe the highlight of my year so far?

We'll see how the rest of it unfolds.

I will link to that session here as soon as it appears in the Dubstream.

Brian and Yvonne of Tartans fame have a set in there right now though so you should go listen to it. Because it's great.

Speaking of the Tartans, and things that I have promised to post here once I saw that they were online, here they are performing "Lee Remick" with Phil Wilson at the Summershine Popfest a couple of weekends ago.



AND

Phil Wilson, and Frank Sweeny performing "Every Conversation" because it is simply one of the most wonderful pop songs that I know.



Enjoy!

I'll leave you with this thought. Probably on my mind because it pertains to my next column for Web In Front. I was listening to the Orchids while on a walk this past weekend. I was listening more intently than usual to the song "Apologies." It's my favorite Orchids song, and I know the lyrics pretty well so I don't tend to pay all that much attention to them anymore. However, the line that has always been my favorite in that song for some reason struck me with a new sense of freshness on this most recent listen.

"You're just a lover, a timetable friend."

Wow. I've never been in love, but I've seen many a friendship slowly dissolve due to the involvement of romantic feelings. Clever Scots...

This Song is Pure Popcorn!

Hey! Us Squaregirls are presenting a show tonight, and we would really love to see all of you there.

BOAT are in town all the way from Seattle, and I hear that they are ready to rock. I've also heard from a very reliable source that they always deliver on this promise. Speaking of good reports from reliable sources, I can't imagine that so many smart local bloggers could be wrong about how good the live show of Pizza! is. The Tartans are also playing this one. I think that I am out of descriptive words for how much I adore the Tartans, and you're probably all sick of hearing me go on about them anyway so please just come out tonight and watch the show!

There will of course be a dance party involved, before, after, and in between sets from each band. Not just us, but from a few of the fine folks from Club Substance will be spinning as well. These guys are some of the best DJs that I know, and if you visit their Myspace page you get the added bonus of hearing the undeniably fabulous Bodines song "Therese."

We'll see you a bit later...

~sqg marion

I've Got That... On Tape!

The latest installment of the Happy Happy Birthday singles club appeared in my mailbox last week. It's funny how sometimes something will arrive, and you will manage to wait to listen to it until the exact moment that you need to hear it. I listened to Tullycraft's rendition of "On Tape" just before I left the West side about four hours later than I was planning to, and just after I had learned that poor Kristen was stuck at work and would not be able to help me DJ My Little Underground. Incidentally this was also the exact moment that I had given up on trying to complete a fanzine article in a way that made any kind of sense. As you might imagine I was a bit stressed at that point. From the second that I heard the snappily drummed intro, and the words "I've got Long Vermont Roads (Long Vermont Roads, Long Vermont Roads) the original Harriett version..." filled the room that I was in I was too busy grinning from ear to ear to be worried about that night's show. I've always thought of Tullycraft and the Pooh Sticks as bands that are similar in their ability to make ultra-obscure references sound charming and relate-able as opposed to pretentious. Check out the original "On Tape," and Tullycraft's "Pop Songs Your New Boyfriend's Too Stupid Too Know About" for the ultimate examples of this. Though the original version of "On Tape" might be poking good natured fun at record geeks like... um me, it doesn't matter. In fact that is a huge part of what makes it so great. After all, it's having an actual appreciation of the thing that you are kind of skewering that tends to yield the most humorous results. And at any rate, both versions of the song are pop heaven. Tullycraft's cover may not quite compare to the original. In all fairness though, it would be nearly impossible to top those anxious, jangling guitars leading into "I've got Falling and Laughing (Falling and Laughing, Falling and Laughing) the original Postcard version..." Their update on both lyrics and arrangement was a very clever route to take. Of course the best part may very well be the googling that I was led into by Tullycraft's version. Googling obscure references in Tullycraft songs is somewhere on my top ten list of favorite pass-times, and this one provided a good twenty minutes or so of that.

I'm fairly certain that the only way to own this song is to have pre-ordered the Happy Happy Birthday to Me singles club last year. Maybe just maybe it will find it's way onto Tullycraft's myspace page in the future. With any luck at all a picture of the fantastic cover art will show up there as well. If I notice that either of these things have happened, believe me, you'll be among the first to know.

~sqg marion