••• Apes & Androids @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, Jan. 30 •••

Dear PBR-chuggin', Future Date Rapists of Amerika: Happy Superbowl weekend!

While yer wipin' the orange dust from Cheetos fingers and relishing cutesy har-har sargasms from the latest Madison Avenue turdballs, I'll be recovering from my night out with Apes & Androids.

Conga-yacht rockers Vampire Weekend look like a malignant mole on Dom DeLuise's poop chute next to A&A's unironic Jermaine-worthy falsettos, fuzzed-out synth brews and Korean drum circles.

Their self-released debut album Blood Moon is a Ziggy Stardust post-modern clusterfuck.

mp3: APES & ANDROIDS CREEPY GIRLS [buy here]

from rcrdlbl.com:
“Creepy Girls” is more or less a break up song written a long time ago. We'd been performing it for a while and waiting for the right time to put it on tape. When it came time to record, the whole thing was done in two days. That's not usually how we work, but this time it just all came out on first takes and everyone recording just kept nodding and saying, ‘Yes yes!’ It was pretty awesome.

••• Ninjasonik @ Vanishing Point Studio, Jan. 29 •••

One gets the impression that crunktastic Medina trio Ninjasonik drowns in a Challis of hedonism. From the scrunched tiggle bitties on their Tight Pants EP to their predatory megablasts of homophobia, these nigs don't mess around.

But here's the thing: Ninjasonik is the first post-racial punk hip-hop hybrid. (That is, if you don't count the ball-less Warped Tour nerblets Gym Class Heroes.)

They crib equally from referencing points as varied as Beastie Boys, Dead Kennedys and Aphex Twin. A hyphy brew, no doubt.

¡NinjaSonik on MySpace!

Ninjasonik spits dubs at the Showpaper benefit on Jan. 29.

••• Franz Nicolay @ Vanishing Point Studio, Jan. 21 •••

Old news: mustachioed Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay's solo debut The Major General still delves into the Brooklyn band's hyper literate nuts-and-bolts rock, but his new songs are a smidge dirgeful than anything in The Hold Steady canon.

Opening track "Jeff Penalty" begins with spidery guitar riffs that gradually morph into an all-too-familiar stamping ground: surging, handclap-heavy alehouse anthems. The burning question: can Nicolay out-Finn Craig Finn?

The debate rages on:

mp3: FRANZ NICOLAY INFERNO VS. THE END OF THE EVENING [buy here]

(Are You) Happy Now?

The Manhattan Project is about as lifeless as a cracked out McDonalds pleeb and about as humorously vapid as a Night Court marathon.

What's been chafing my gonads lately? Well for starters, I don't have enough fiber in my diet. Ever since I dewedged myself from president-elect Barack Obama's asshole, I've been born anew with strains of libertarian socialism and Christian anarchism dancing 'round my head.

Last week, I scrounged around in the 86th Street Dunkin' Donuts garbage bin for the love of Freeganism—on CNN, nonetheless—and soothed my nerves with the discordant anarcho-punk of Reagan Youth.

The reason Reagan Youth donkeypunches Sid Vicious' hairless chodes? No. 1: Lead singer Dave Rubinstein (born 1964, died July 3, 1993) be all up in the Religious Right's biznass, tramping around with the subtlety of an opium-snorting pacaderm in Waterford's. (cough: See "Jesus Was a Communist" below.)

No. 2: Reagan Youth is chillaxin' with this anti-racist, womyn-lovin' ideology. (A rarity in the hyper-masculinzed circle jerk circles of punk rawk.)

And finally, their music is the perfect soundtrack to the Reagan-era: full of snotty sneers, brash guitar stabs and What'chu talkin' 'bout, Willis? insolence.

The re-formed Reagan Youth plays ABC No Rio this Friday on the Lower East Side.

REAGAN YOUTH JESUS WAS A PACIFIST [buy here]

Monday Morning Knee Trembler: Jayne County

Monday Morning Knee Trember: Bongwater

"The Power of Pussy" by Bongwater

The Manhattan Project Presents: This Day in Douchebaggery

Monday Morning Knee Trembler: Brighton Port Authority

Close your eyes and start dreaming

Master P sez:

Come out and celebrate democracy 2NITE @ DEATH BY AUDIO w/ Woods , MV & EE and the Golden Road, Spectre Folk (mem Magik Markers), & Hard Bop. We'll be showing live election returns on two video projectors, one hooked up the the 4 broadcast networks, and one hooked up to the Internet. Free glasses of California Champagne or else free shots of Kentucky Bourbon, dependent on how shit goes...if it goes all night and turns all Florida recount, then we're just gonna drink it all, cause that shit is gonna get ugly.

Death by Audio

The White House Negro

Somebody lit a fire under Mr. Lif's ass.

His first full-length in nearly three years is slated for release on Jan. 20. With the unraveling of the Bush regime (thank sweet Baby Jesus) and backwoods troglodyte Sarah Palin's coronation on the national stage, Lif has plenty to talk about.

Check out the new trax and tonight's Knitting Factory show. And for the love of Betty White's hymen, don't forget to vote.

Monday Morning Knee Trembler: Peaches

"Boys Wanna Be Her" by Peaches

Five Minutes with Lukestar

Fritz: Your CMJ Music Marathon set at the Cake Shop last Saturday was pared down by trigger-happy stagehand fascists. I'm so sorry. Should we go kick some ass and take names?


Truls Heggero, Lukestar: No, don't be sorry. The biggest problem is the other bands in the concert. It's not our fault. We did everything up to schedule. It was the proper time and we did everything right. We were given 40 minutes and everything, but it was not our fault. They should've been stricter with the other bands.

Fritz: Did you get the full 40 minutes, at least?

Truls Heggero, Lukestar: No, we didn't. But that's okay. We traveled all the way from Norway and spent all of our money. But I think people liked it. I'm really really happy. It's New York; I'm from Norway. I've never really been outside of Europe before.

Fritz: What do you think of America?

Truls Heggero, Lukestar: (points to the milieu) It's like this. (laughs) America is good. The people here are really, really nice. I don't think that American people are that different from us.

Fritz: So what have you been up to this week in NYC?


Truls Heggero, Lukestar: I bought a guitar at the Music Center in Manhattan. I went to the park. I'm a wilderness type of guy. I really don't care that much about skyscrapers. They give me the creeps...so I haven't been into the real Manhattan. I've just seen it from a distance. I've done a lot of tourist stuff in Williamsburg and Brooklyn. I bought a lot of records.

Fritz: Do you have any American influences?


Truls Heggero, Lukestar: I liked Guns N' Roses and he liked Metallica and we just merged. Of course, we like Sonic Youth. And I like a lot of folky things as well. Tiny Vipers, I like a lot. I really liked the things she had before she recorded the album for Sub Pop. The earlier demos sound much better, I think. I like Marissa Nadler a lot. We actually went to see her yesterday in the Williamsburg Music Hall. She's a friend of ours. We booked a couple of concerts for her in Oslo. (pauses to look at a Hummer on the street) What the fuck is that? (laughs)

Fritz: It's says Housewives Next Door on the panel.

Truls Heggero, Lukestar: It's cocaine. They're selling cocaine...Our main influences are American bands and some English as well.

Fritz: So do you have plans for a full American tour in the works?


Truls Heggero, Lukestar: We had a meeting with Flameshovel who is putting out the record. They said that they want some tour in March. We've been talking about it before so it would be in time for SXSW. We're going to do an East Coast and West Coast tour sometime in March. We're recording new music in December. We are going to have a single out in spring and a new album in autumn, I think.

Five Minutes with The XYZ Affair

Fritz: How was your CMJ?


Alex Feder, The XYZ Affair: It was good, actually. It was our first time playing CMJ. We've spent four years applying and getting rejected.

Fritz: Yay you.


Alex Feder, The XYZ Affair: It's a funny thing. I was just talking to another band about this today. But actually, Sam, our drummer, he plays in another band. His band got officially rejected from CMJ. But they still played at three official CMJ shows...But we were sort of pessimistic going in because our shows were at such odd times.

Fritz: Have the Williamsburg and Brooklyn scenes affected your songwriting?

Alex Feder, The XYZ Affair: I wouldn't say so. I listen to a lot of pop music and that's sort of what I think of our sound being. There's a lot of bands I like. I really like The Hold Steady and Grizzly Bear. We actually played today with a band called Ghost Cube. They were kick ass. But no, I mean, we have a pretty wide array of stuff that we draw from. Our main thing is always super-strong melodies. We are way into the Beach Boys and Motown stuff. I really like Michael Jackson and Prince, anything catchy.


Fritz: Any post-CMJ projects in the works?

Alex Feder, The XYZ Affair: Right now, we're a little bit financially strapped. We're totally independent, so everything that we do totally comes out of pocket. We were originally doing this three EP project, where we would release three 3-song EPs. But it ended up just sort of eating away our cash and we had a lot of van troubles. So when we released the first EP, we noticed that the single and video were the only things being written about. After our tour to Georgia, we're going to record three songs again. But we are probably going to release them one at a time. We hope to release a full length in 2009.

Monday Morning Knee Trembler: Josh Ritter

"Girl in the War" by Josh Ritter

The Punk Dump

New York magazine contributor Karen Schoemer's article on the 30th anniversary of Nancy Spungen's death is a must read.

Tales from the Expat in Harlem

Omgwtfwranchdressing.

Fifth-wave feminism experimental punk fourpiece The Coathangers totally gobsmacked my solar plexus with their angst-riddled guitar licks, funny haha song titles ("Nestle in My Boobies" and "Don't Touch My Shit") and pure vaginas-to-the-wall badassery. Their Oct. 22 set at Todd P. NYC's anti-CMJ Grand Plaza zajebisty made me realize something: someone needs to piss in my feminist drag queen character Xaxa Zhao's Cheerios.

Seriously, Sarah Palin needs to pop a squat and urinate in my alter-ego's Cheerios 'cuz we have a lot to be pissed off about. (In case you haven't noticed.)

••• The Coathangers: Tanya Harding •••

The Coathangers - "Tanya Harding" from ataricharm on Vimeo.

Check out my Metromix New York deets here.

Todd P NYC @ Continental Army Plaza

DIY power-booker Todd P has been busy crafting a lineup of kick ass free shows during the CMJ Music Marathon.

So, for a variety of reasons I have been mum so far about my CMJ-week plans... well here goes:

ALL THIS WEEK! Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, & Saturday afternoons in CONTINENTAL ARMY PLAZA - a 100% FREE & all ages miniature festival of great bands playing outside in the park, w/ no corporate sponsorships & no "vip" lists & no bullshit - just for the love of music!

Complete schedule here.

He Has Risen...Again in Pittsburgh

Neutral Milk Hotel - Engine - 10/18/2008 Brillobox, Pittsburgh PA from Engine on Vimeo.

The Messiah of indie fuzz-folk Jeff Magnum made yet another appearance, but this time in Pittsburgh (better known as Philly's pockmarked, saggy-breasted cousin.)

Monday Morning Knee Trembler: The Morning Benders

"Waiting for a War" by the Morning Benders

Weekend S-50

•••Amazing Baby @ Mercury Lounge, 10/19

•The Spinto Band @ Music Hall of Williamsburg, 10/18, $15

•Amy G. @ Spiegelworld, 10/18, $10

•Casiotone for the Painfully Alone @ Silent Barn, 10/18, $7

•Ra Ra Riot @ Sound Fix Records, 10/19, free

•Earth @ The Knitting Factory, 10/19, $12