Vinyl Re-Reissue Spotlight: Group Sex by Circle Jerks

So, this reissue’s first pressing sold out in like a day or so. BUT!!! They are doing ONE MORE PRESSING, and then it’s gone. And, for the next 48 hours, they will also be selling a nifty looking t-shirt from an old flyer. GO HERE TO RESERVE YOUR COPY OF BOTH!

2020 was going to be a great year. My concert calendar was pretty much full for the year by the end of February. One of the most exciting things for me was that Bikini Kill and Circle Jerks, two of bands from my most formative music experiencing years, were going to grace the world with full tours for the first time in decades. Circle Jerks were due to play their debut record, Group Sex, in it’s entirety on this tour. Sadly, I sold my CD of this long ago, back in my most broke days. So, to celebrate, I found myself using Spotify (I know…) to get amped for this tour, as well as introduce my 18-month-old kid to this music. Which did make for epic dance parties throughout the house during the early days of “Shelter In Place,” while awaiting for us to get our act together and stop transmission of the virus so we could enjoy our Summer. 

Sadly, as the pandemic progressed, hopes were dimming for that tour to come to fruition. THEN- THE WORST THING HAPPENED!!! Group Sex abruptly disappeared from streaming services. Sure, there are other fine Circle Jerks records, and a live album from the 80’s that features many of these tracks, but it wasn’t the same. (Thank god we can still listen to their Debbie Gibson collaboration!) There was a giant, gaping hole in my child’s hardcore education. But, fear not- it’s coming back! ( Continue reading “Vinyl Re-Reissue Spotlight: Group Sex by Circle Jerks”

Outside Lands Daily Lineups & Single Day Tickets

I’m forever grateful that the good folks of Another Planet and Superfly are working hard to make Outside Lands happen this year. And I know many of you loyal readers are sad that they missed out on buying 3-Day passes. Or didn’t buy them because they were waiting for the daily lineups to see if they can cancel their usual Halloween plans for this. 

Well, cancel those Halloween plans because Outside Lands announced their single-day lineups, and, well, Tame Impala, Brittany Howard, Kehlani, and freaking Nelly are playing on Halloween! Also, whoever decided to book Neal Francis and Neil Frances for the same day deserves a prize. The rest are below the jump. Single Day Tickets are on sale Thursday, April 29th at 10 am! Continue reading “Outside Lands Daily Lineups & Single Day Tickets”

Soccer Mommy is dropping tour dates, too? WOAH! Could this thing actually end this year?

We all saw the sad news that My Chemical Romance and Rina Sawayama both decided to push their Fall tours to 2022. It made me feel a little nervous about the tours and festivals betting on getting out of this by Fall. And then, I opened my inbox to see that Soccer Mommy, who put out one of my favorite records of 2020, color theory, is making a go out of touring this year, and it made me feel a LOT calmer. Tickets and on sale dates can be found here! Purchase, stream, or download color theory HERE(you won’t regret it!).

TOUR DATES

9/15 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
9/16 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle *
9/17 – Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar *
9/18 – Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
9/19 – DC @ 9:30 Club *
9/21 – Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel *
9/22 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
9/23 – Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
9/25 – Montreal, QC @ Fairmount Theatre *
9/26 – Toronto, ON @ Phoenix Concert Theatre *
9/28 – Cleveland, OH @ Grog Shop *
9/29 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
10/1 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom *
10/21 – Houston, TX @ White Oak Music Hall ^
10/22 – Austin, TX @ Emo’s East ^
10/23 – Dallas, TX @ Granada Theater ^
10/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Crescent Ballroom ^
10/27 – San Diego, CA @ Music Box ^
10/28 – Los Angeles, CA @ Fonda Theatre ^
10/29 – San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ^
10/31 – Seattle, WA @ Neptune Theatre ^
11/1 – Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall ^
11/2 – Boise, ID @ Olympic ^
11/4 – Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre ^
11/6 – Omaha, NE @ Waiting Room ^
11/7 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue ^
11/8 – Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre ^
11/9 – St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall ^

* w/ Squirrel Flower

^ w/ Emily Reo

 

Single Of The Week: “I Miss The Band” by Alanis Morissette

This song came out last Friday, but it deserves a little more attention. This track literally made me cry. Like, not even gentle tears. A full-on sob. I have yet to hear a song that really hits the profound darkness and loss the world has suffered from COVID and how heavy and long this fight has been going. “I Miss The Band” is just a masterpiece of a song. 

The proceeds from this single go to Backline Care, an organization that connects people who work in the music industry with mental health and wellness care. It’s not just musicians, but it’s road crew, box office staff, security, everyone that works in music. And we need it badly now. 

“I Miss The Band” is available in all of the usual places. Lord willing, Alanis is scheduled to hit the road late Summer with Garbage and Liz Phair. Tour dates are here, and I really hope we get this thing crushed in time for these shows to happen. So, please, for the love of God, MASK UP, VAXX UP, AND STAY ISOLATING! We are almost there!!!!

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 4 with stand-up comic Liz Miele, author of “Why Cats Are Assholes”

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!
 
In this edition of “How Did I Get Here?”, I got to talk with stand-up comedy prodigy Liz Miele about her career, including getting started at 16 and continuing to nurture that career into adulthood. We discussed her first book, Why Cats Are Assholes, which of course, digressed into talking about cat behavior. I even asked some specific questions about my own cat. We also talked about what it’s like touring during a pandemic, and we had a TON of fun. For quick reference- Pasta is Liz’s cat, Zoey and Ike are my cats.
 
We also talked a lot about influences, so Liz made me a list of important bits for her development as a comedian, giving you a companion playlist! We also talked about Miele’s cat photoshoots, and you can find those on her Instagram! She also has a fantastic YouTube page where you can dig deep into her stand-up history. And she also has a podcast with Maria Shehata called 2 Non Doctors for your continued listening pleasure.


Single Of The Week: “The War Clock” by Various Artists

One the list of things you don’t know you needed- Kyp Malone of NYC art-rock legends TV On The Radio is in a psych-jazz band with John Dwyer of OSees and Dwyer-verse players Tom Dolas and Brad Caulkin. They are called Various Artists and their debut album is called Moon-Drenched. Or maybe this is just the band Bent Arcana’s second record? Either way, this track of a fierce piece of brain-melting fuckery that’s also 12 1/2 minutes of pure energy. Do you need something to help you focus on spreadsheets or cleaning the bathroom? This is it. Looking to get lost in your own head? This is also it. Just looking for guitar and sax fury? Yup! This is it.  The one thing “The War Clock” doesn’t sound like to me is actual war… The song is “happy” exciting, not “scary” exciting. You may interpret it as you wish. 

“The War Clock” can be played loud off Bandcamp and a full length, Moon-Drenched, is coming to this world on May 28th

Single Of The Week:”Sad Girl Party” by CYBERST3PH

Some weeks, I find a song that immediately inspires me to write about it. I find a clear and vivid emotional connection, and can easily articulate it. Other weeks, I go through emails and press releases, and a song just jumps out at me, and I don’t really know how to describe it. “Sad Girl Party” by CYBERST3PH is one of those. After hours of listening to new music from all across the spectrum, this song just *hit.* It filled me with that burst of serotonin that comes from hearing a song that just makes you happy. It has all the heart and sincerity of Diet Cig, but a shine to it that usually doesn’t work for a song like this, but just plain does. 

“Sad Girl Party” is available in all the usual places, and be sure to follow CYBERST3PH on Instagram, Twitter, and Spotify to stay in the loop on new music. 

WHOA! BULLY AND JULIEN BAKER HAVE NEW TOUR DATES (not together, sadly)!!!!

Sorry about all caps, but things are starting to look like this whole pandemic thing might really have an end date. For the first time since March of 2020, today saw full-fledged, all-new, legit tour dates getting released for later this year. Not “rescheduled from 2020 to keep these dates on a calendar and hope they actually can happen” tour dates. Not “virtual tour” tour dates. Not “limited capacity / social distancing in the venue” tour dates. Full cap, legit tours. From artists that seem to have been taking the pandemic seriously from the get-go! Continue reading “WHOA! BULLY AND JULIEN BAKER HAVE NEW TOUR DATES (not together, sadly)!!!!”

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” Season 2, Episode 3 with Maggie Arthur of Our Music My Body

Spinning Platters presents “How Did I Get Here?” is available almost everywhere you enjoy podcasts. You can find us and subscribe here!

Maggie Arthur is a Campaign Coordinator for Our Music My Body, an organization that works with music venues and festivals to raise awareness of sexual harassment in the music scene and help work to make those spaces and the people that enjoy them safer. We talked about her early show-going days and the experiences that led to her involvement with OMMB. We also talked a bit about what we can do ourselves to make our scenes and spaces safer and more inclusive. I also learned a lot, and there were even moments in this conversation that were a little uncomfortable for me. But, really, getting to those uncomfortable moments is important. 
 
April is also Sexual Assault Awareness MonthOMMB’s parent organization, Our Resilience, has great resources to find out what you can do to help others, or if you have experienced sexual assault yourself, a place to find resources to get help. And please don’t forget to follow Our Music My Body on Facebook and Instagram
 
 

Single Of The Week: “Manifest” by Revenge Wife

One of my favorite video tropes is the “female murdering their male partner” trope. Kesha gave us a great one in 2019 with “Raising Hell.” The Dixie Chicks’ “Earl” stands as a classic. And now Elizabeth Nistico, under her aptly named alter-ego Revenge Wife, brings us “Manifest.” This is a thrilling tale of love gone awry, and, quite honestly, this music video might be the best movie I’ve seen all year. (I also have a two-year-old that is trapped at home with me due to the pandemic, and when that kid is asleep, I’m either running this blog, working, or trying to make sure the house doesn’t fall to pieces, so there’s not a lot of time for movie watching. 3 minutes and 12 seconds IS my free time) The song itself is some hyperpop brilliance, and I’m really excited about all of this madness ending so I can enjoy this genre live. 

“Manifest” is the second single off Revenge Wife’s forthcoming EP Background Songs For Your Boring Life, Part 1. The release date is still TBA, but you can keep up with Nistico on Instagram and Twitch!