Heard about the Nerdcore revolution? Well of course you have, I mean, we're *on* the internet right now, aren't we? And since we are, I'm sure that you are well aware that right now there are rappers out there who are in song form addressing your concerns: internet porn addiction, picking up chicks at Star Wars conventions, the rules of play for Magic The Gathering, etc. etc. If not, you should go directly to the website of MC Frontalot. Frontalot, aka: Damien Hess is a white nerd kind of fellow who lives in NYC and who writes some funky little numbers for all the nerds in the hizzowse. He's also currently the subject of a fine film - "Nerdcore Rising" which documents the struggles of Frontalot and his band as they embark on their first US tour.
How lucky I was then to catch this film when it played here at the Boston Independent Film Festival as well as being able to attend a glamorous afterparty full of free drinks, free snacks and free Frontalot too. As I hoped, the Godfather of Nerdcore Hip Hop was truly a spectacle to see, busting some seriously funky dance moves while wearing a nerdy tie, work pants, and a flashlight around his bald head. As for the band, well they too are unbearably tight and just shockingly groovy. Who knew nerds could make you want to booty shake like this? Maybe there's more to those Star Wars conventions than meets the eye...
Among my small yet terribly, terribly influential group of aging rocker friends the pick to click Friday night was definitely Muck and the Mires' EP release show at the Middle East Upstairs. The evening saw the celebrated local garage rockers bashing out tracks now available on 10" vinyl (talk about retro!) courtesy of England's Dirty Water Records, and in general proving to the assembled throng that there is a damn good reason these cats are so much beloved by garage rock king Little Steven. Tracks on the new EP "Doreen", are produced by legendary music icon Kim Fowley and have more of a 'in the garage' sound than the band's previous brilliant Dirty Water single "I'm Down With That" b/w "One of These Days" and my personal favorite "All I Really Wanna Do Is Cry" which I could listen to like, 100,000 times. Apparently the "Doreen" tracks will soon appear on a full length CD (talk about not so retro) to be titled 'Hypnotic'. Breaths will be held!
Below, enjoy the band kicking ass with a live version of
"You Better Write Your Number Down"
I hate to hassle an old dog, but toddling off to see Scarce at the Plough and Stars over the weekend was kind of a downer. I'd been psyched to hear that the band had reunited in one form or another and were playing out now. I certainly played my copy of Deadsexy to death 10 years ago and had been saddened when frontman Chick Graning had to stop playing due to a brain hemmorage suffered around the time the album came out. So am I shooting fish or just plain old not being kind to say that the duo who appeared for an acoustic set just were entirely not up to snuff? Harmonies were off, new songs did not thrill me. I gave all my attention for a rendition of "Days Like This" but otherwise there wasn't much excitement to be had.Lord knows I'll give them another shot, anyone can have an off night, because 10 years ago they were truly brilliant. Otherwise, maybe sleeping dogs should just be allowed to lie.
I know I'm being repetitive, but saw Swedish crooner Jens Lekman again this past weekend at The Paradise and again he was totally amazing. His band this time had been scaled back by a few women, and they weren't wearing smocks this time, but they'd been joined by a cellist and Lekman's vocals were stronger than ever. Many people sing, but few have the vocal complexity of Lekman, whose voice is reminiscent of Pete Fijalkowski of Adorable/Polak and a young Gene Pitney, that is if either of them sang with the sweetness of Jonathan Richman.
At the end of the show Lekman entreated the audience of 700+ "I know that I say this at every show, and I don't think many people take me seriously, but I'd really like to sing a song to you one on one. So after the show, if there's a song you'd like to hear, just come up and ask me and I would like to sing it to you one on one." Knowing full well I would doubtless swoon (and hurt myself) if this happened, I declined.
Was lucky enough to get out last night to the Middle East to catch the book party for
1) The paperback release of The Heebie Jeebies at CBGB's A Secret History of Jewish Punk and
2) Awake! A Reader for the Sleepless
The former of which was written by and the latter edited by local author Steven Lee Beeber.The good folks from Pabst Blue Ribbon kept us in free beers (the smell of my grandfather, now in a can!), while Awake! authors read their stuff to the tuneless and uncomfortable musical natterings provided by members of Tiger Saw and Kosher Ham (I hoped they'd call this melting pot lineup 'Kosher Tiger' but sadly, no such luck). Still, a nice night out indeed.
Clip below, Beeber opens the show.
Heard about the Nerdcore revolution? Well of course you have, I mean, we're *on* the internet right now, aren't we? And since we are, I'm sure that you are well aware that right now there are rappers out there who are in song form addressing your concerns: internet porn addiction, picking up chicks at Star Wars conventions, the rules of play for Magic The Gathering, etc. etc. If not, you should go directly to the website of MC Frontalot. Frontalot, aka: Damien Hess is a white nerd kind of fellow who lives in NYC and who writes some funky little numbers for all the nerds in the hizzowse. He's also currently the subject of a fine film - "Nerdcore Rising" which documents the struggles of Frontalot and his band as they embark on their first US tour.
