Lest we get too caught up in taunting our flaming trolls, here's a quick post to catch up on a few items that have been on my to-do list all week. First up, our literature review:

The Telegraph reports on what went down at MIDEM.

Fugitive from justice steals Crystal Gale's tour bus in Florida to visit dying mother.

Highly recommended new-ish blog: Missing Toof. I'm all for hot-pink based layouts and exclusive remix tracks, duh.

Also: Franklin Bruno has a new blog, Nervous Unto Thirst. (Thx, Meow Meow!)

Our very favorite Howard Draper from Shearwater has a new side project with Matt Barnhart (Little Grizzly) and Bryan VanDivier (South San Gabriel, one of Will Johnson's myriad side projects): Tre Orsi. They're very, very Denton. You know: big, big sound from three otherwise unassuming dudes. Awesome! Austin readers, they play Emo's on Feb. 2nd with pAper chAse.

A few weeks ago, a sweet email from young gloom-popsters The Jaguar Club landed in our mailbox. You know how picky we are about these things -- in an effort to make sure we only pimp the very best unknown bands, we require a certain level of quality from coverage request emails (see also The Airborne Toxic Event). The young men of The Jaguar Club, in addition to having some very strong and promising material (self-recorded on a 16 track in a Brooklyn basement and put out on a self-released EP) that pushes all our buttons -- melodic bass, chiming guitar, dour vocals, lightly clever lyrics -- also had that whole professionalism thing down, which is refreshing. I'm sure we'll get flamed to death again for this, but seriously -- never underestimate the power of a well-written query letter and pleasant correspondence (wait, perhaps our flamers should take note...but I digress) -- in any situation. Of course, I should add that we do receive very nice messages that contain music we're not fond of -- however, The Jaguar Club met both criteria very nicely. The band plays tonight at The Delancey at 10:45. Also on the bill -- a Delancey Surprise Band (tm) in the first slot at 8pm, The Maledictions at 8:45 and The Gulf at 9:50. Sorry for the short notice, but if you like what you hear below, come on down and check it out. Personally, I'm very keen on seeing if they can deliver live. (If you miss them tonight, they're also playing Sin-e on Feb. 7 and Piano's on Feb. 28.)

The Jaguar Club -- Who Says We're The Last [myspace]

And, I really must apologize for the sporadic and kind of skimpy posts for the past few weeks -- I survived my first week at my new job in one piece, and hopefully, we'll be back on track with our mega-posting activities real soon now. Sans flamers, even! Heh.

Have a good weekend, kids! Stay warm and be good and all that. Anyone want to come help with the laundry? I'm only half kidding.

We heard about Favourite Sons ages ago from Young Poisoner's Handbook. Not surprising, of course -- he's always on top of the very best of what's new and good, especially if said new and good band has anything 80's and gawthy as a referent.

...which you know, is amusing as the band recently opened for James Blunt at Radio City Music Hall (we skipped that one). The two have as much in common as ... apples and oranges, I suppose. Anyway, lucky for us, they're playing everyone's favorite venue Joe's Pub tomorrow (sans the usual two-drink minimum, thank goodness; The Shorebirds open). Recommended if you like The National, The Afghan Whigs/Twilight Singers, and Echo and the Bunnymen. Which, you know, if you're reading this, you probably do. If that doesn't win you over, let me put it another way: There's lots of swirly guitar action, melodic bass, and tortured, hollery vocals from a charismatic frontman. There -- see? I knew you'd be interested.

Favourite Sons -- Down Beside Your Beauty (via Vice Records -- the song I wanted to post went astray on the server, pls. forgive me...)

Bonus: Check out live footage of the song above from that Radio City show...

Props to the guy on the train this morning with the Profane Existence badge on his messenger bag and (what I think was) an Icons of Filth patch on the back of his denim jacket. (An anarcho-punk grows in Brooklyn, apparently. Not surprising.) He and his girlfriend (roommate?) were on the train with me yesterday. She has nice shoes.

The girl sitting next to me most of the way was reading Malcolm Gladwell's Blink and listening to Ghostface's Fishscale. She kept skipping around the record, though. Did she not like it? Or does she just like parts of the songs?

And I'm pretty sure the guy in the nice top coat with the great shoes was listening to jazz; he was playing air trumpet.

(more later...)

Sorry we've been gone so long, things have been a little crazy. I started my new job yesterday, so there's that. Plus, after a bit of a hiatus, we're out and about again. Last Wednesday I caught Andrew Bird at the Bowery Ballroom. It's always hard to see a show chock-full of new songs when you haven't heard the album yet, but the new stuff seemed to go over well with the crowd, even if I found it a bit drone-y and bordering on (really, I'm not trying to beat a dead horse here) jam band business. (We have a sneaking suspicion this is due to collaborative efforts with his new drummer (and Antikon mainstay) Dosh.) Anyway please, please don't get us started on the dreadful opening act, John Southworth, whose songs are an unlistenable melange of Nilsson + Dylan with the dippiest lyrics ever. Appropriately, Mr. Southworth (don't confuse him with the uh, saint of the same name) has a residency at Piano's upstairs starting this week and running through February (*cough*), should you be interested in checking out the auditory torture. Mr. Bird is playing around the world currently; Armchair Apocrypha is out March 31.

Pinkie's gonna check in later and tell you all about her experience seeing My Brightest Diamond, some dudes who played the shit out of some Charles Ives, and a guy with a Sondheim-esque Craigslist song cycle. I caught the tail end of this show, and was completely blown away by the My Brightest Diamond experience. Ms. Worden is also currently out and about internationally (see site for dates), but will be back stateside opening for The Decemberists this spring.

Hopefully, Pinkie will also speak to the grand time we had checking out German chanteuse Micaela Leon at Don't Tell Mama before we slogged back downtown to catch Blacklist and The Bellmer Dolls at the skeeve-tastic Crash Mansion last Friday.

Also, you may have noticed, to your right, a little tip jar that's part of the previously mentioned Rich Girls Are Weeping Capital Campaign 2007. Give generously and often! Seriously, thanks for your support over the past year -- we love bringing you this site and have some changes in the works that will be implemented over the next few months or so.

A little digression, completely unrelated: I enjoy watching people listen to their iPods (or other digital music players) on my commute into town. Today, the soundtrack to my early morning was Loose Joints, Herb Alpert, MIA, The Hourly Radio, and Serge Gainsbourg. (I love the shuffle function!) Do you commute via pubtrans? What was on your headphones today? Alternatively, what's on your car stereo?

Here's some items for your enjoyment that have been moldering on the server for like, a month:

Sally Shapiro -- I'll Be By Your Side (MarfloW Version) [myspace] [remixer]

Spektrum -- Don't Be Shy (Speakerjunk Remix) [myspace] [remixer]

M.Craft -- You Are The Music (Playgroup Remix) [myspace] [remixer]

Freezepop -- Get Ready 2 Rokk (For Those About 2 Rokk Mix) [myspace]

As you know, from time to time, Cindy or I may pose you--the reader--a question; answers to which may inform us of your coolness and of places where she or I may need to be. No, we don't want the phone number for Milk & Honey. What we--well, I, speaking specifically--want is to know if where, if anywhere, in our fair city there is cabaret going down. Not jazz revues, not simple drag revues (though we like those too), not burlesque, but straight up cabaret. Torchsongs, dancing, depravity...just like Liza brought it in everyone's favorite musical about the Weimarer Republik. And, well, Milk & Honey quality cocktails and boys in dashing menswear. You know...like a Bellmer Dolls show with a chorus line. (For the record, that was Cindy rather than myself who described the Interpol live experience as "porn directed by Leni Riefenstahl.") All cabaret tipsters email your top sekrit answers to elegantfaker at gmail dot com.

ETA: Cafe Carlyle is a little bit beyond the reach of the TRGAW budget. I'll put that on my Christmas 2007 wishlist. Right next to that other thing... Also, this is the best set of tags. Ever.

Thank you. In other other related news, go see Glitter and Doom at the Met.

Dear Internet: I'm getting "stairmaster ass" -- how are you today? I think I must take at least 20 flights of stairs a day now, which, you know, I'm not really complaining about because at least I'm way more fit now and I've lost some weight, which is always a good thing. But did it have to come with stairmaster ass? Ahh, well.

On a more serious note, I'm heading in to town tonight (which is sure to be ULTRA COLD, finally) to see Andrew Bird @ the Bowery Ballroom. I'm more than thrilled because, for some reason, Mr Bird hadn't played in Austin (outside of SXSW) since May of 2001. To top it off, I haven't seen him play, literally, since SXSW 2004, when some gal pals and I saw him whip out a sweet little set at the Borders in Westgate, in front of the wall of headphones and audio accessories next to the magazines. (No, not kidding!) So yes, I'm ultra-excited.

If you weren't able to score tix to this super sold-out show, a similarly wonderful option is My Brightest Diamond's appearance at Tonic. If you saw the last round of Sufjan Stevens' tours, you probably marveled the lovely raven-haired warbler at his side. That was Shara Worden, aka My Brightest Diamond. She's got the most amazing musical pedigree in indie rock right now (well, outside of the Arcade Fire's Butler brothers and their pedal steel-inventing grandfather) -- a classically trained singer, she comes from a long line of musicians, including her father, an accordion champion! As a result, unlike most of the flimsy chick singer-songwriters out there, Shara's complex compositions have heft and bite, but still exude warmth and profound intimacy. Comparisons to the Tori Amos School of Piano Bench Writhing abound, but Ms. Worden's songwriting has distinct lack of carefully constructed shock value and is never that distancing or weird or off-putting.

My Brightest Diamond -- Something of an End (via the Asthmatic Kitty Site, hear more at her MySpace)



My Brightest Diamond -- Dragonfly

There are times we wish we were 22 year-old, independently wealthy scenesters. This would be one of those nights. Heartbreak specialist extraordinare, nouvelle cabaret chanteuse Billie Ray Martin is performing live at Room Service. Doors are at 10:30, show's at 1. Believe me, if we can figure out a way to a) get in and b) actually crawl out of bed on time tomorrow, we'll be there. Maybe.

Reposts from the Archive:

Billie Ray Martin -- I Don't Believe
Billie Ray Martin -- Big Tears and Make-Up

I feel it's my duty to warn you off of the new tribute album devoted to the songs of The Band. In fact, I also feel that the person responsible for the fact that this collection tipped the most loathsome jam bands and jam band manques around (Guster, Blues Traveler, My Morning Jacket, Widespread Panic, Gov't Mule, Gomez) to cover The Band's best material should be taken 'round back and shot or something. The offerings from mainstream-ish country stalwarts Lee Ann Womack and Roseanne Cash are
sort of tolerable; as were the predictably bland tracks from Jackob Dylan, Jack Johnson, and Bruce Hornsby. I had high hopes for the out-of-left-field contributors like The Roches, Death Cab for Cutie, and Joe Henry -- but they really let me down -- especially Death Cab's sluggish, dull take on "Rocking Chair." I sat on this record for days, wondering if maybe it would all make sense to me eventually. Alas, this has not happened, save for my unabashed enjoyment of Josh Turner's straight-ahead country take on "When I Paint My Masterpiece." This collection would have been a lot more exciting (or at least a little more pleasant to listen to) if it included a few big-name indie-ish artists who owe more than a little to The Band -- like Neko Case, Wilco, Josh Ritter, or M. Ward, or maybe some of the Freak Folk crowd? ('Cause you know, Devendra's got nothing on these old beardos...) The Magic Numbers? The Earlies? I mean, surely someone out there realizes that jam bands aren't the only beneficiaries of The Band's legacy. Right? Right? Okay, I'm done complaining now. Endless Highway, The Music of the Band is out on Jan. 30. Read more about The Band at Wikipedia.



The Band -- "The Weight"

Let's see now... We really weren't ready for the scene at Sin-e Friday night -- not at all! The show was packed to the gills, but we weren't the only ones who spotted Karen O. and Nick Zinner bailing after Daylight's For The Birds' set. We were completely blown away by Mahogany, but were decidedly less impressed with the faux-backwoods shenanigans of O'Death. As a matter of fact, I found them to be incredibly offensive -- it was nearly as bad as watching, say, white kids rap in blackface. No, I'm not kidding. (I was still ranting about this at the subway platform later when I unwittingly drove a rather unamused Daniel Kessler to the other side of the platform. I guess I was being rather loud -- I'm still embarrassed after the fact. Someone tell him I'm really sorry about that, 'kay?)

Here's what's in HIGH DEMAND today:

Love of Diagrams -- The Pyramid. We know not to question the motives of Matador Records. We really do. EXHIBIT A: New signees Love of Diagrams. Angular? Check! Nice melodic bassline? Check! Dueling girl/boy vocals? Check! Welcome to the Nouveau New Wave, now with extra punchy No Wave action, courtesy of Australia! Early review track "No Way Out" was already picked up and loved on by Pitchfork -- though, if you're like me, you totally missed that. "The Pyramid" is more polished but no less affecting -- if we weren't absolutely sure this was new, we'd think it was a lost Raincoats track, or maybe, even more accurately, a misplaced Waitresses or Romeo Void downer. (BTW, it looks like Matador's also just taken on Lavender Diamond! Will wonders never cease? I happen to know they will not. Ha!) (MySpace)

Girls Aloud -- Androgynous Girls (Tweaked Mix). "I had a dream last night that you turned into money, I tried to save you, but I wasn't even sorry." "I saw my spirit fly with angels dressed in leather..."WHO WRITES THESE LYRICS? THEY'RE BRILLIANT! This is not sarcasm. I myself have dreams of dropping this in the middle of an otherwise staid dj set. Viva Girls Aloud! (MySpace)

Sophie Ellis-Bextor -- New York City Lights. If only our lives were really this glamorous! And this cold and sterile! And bleak! This one's for 5500 (his post of Spiller's "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" a few weeks ago got me back on the SE-B bandwagon) -- congrats on your impending move! I'm so proud of you! (MySpace)

[BONUS: DJ Spiller -- Groovejet (Solar's Jet Groove Dub Mix) (wordless and chopped from the middle one of the best disco house mixes ever from Robbie Rivera)]

The Magic Whispers -- Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow. When only the very best retro-pastiche indie-pop will do -- you clearly need the dark-spangled, near-dour song stylings of The Magic Whispers' new album, which consists entirely of covers of obscure-ish pop gems. Don't miss this one, seriously. (label site)

I haven't talked about them in ages, but just as a quick reminder, this little multimedia feature from the the Newark Star-Ledger distills the reasons I love The Wrens down to a minute and a half of great images. Check it out and the accompanying article here! (This is also a really great example of the kind of journalism possible due to the power of the internet. Seriously!) [Thanks for the link, Kathryn!]

The Wrens play a benefit for Planned Parenthood @ The Knitting Factory on January 19th.

First things first: I'm saving pennies now to cross the pond to see the Victoria and Albert Museum's exhibit of Kylie-ania. From the V&A website:

200 objects including 45 costumes and 60 photographs will be on display, including the overalls Kylie wore as Charlene in Neighbours and the gold lame hotpants she wore in her Spinning Around video in 2000. Hats by Stephen Jones and costumes from recent tours will also be featured.

I'm squealing so very loudly. Can you hear me? The Guardian has a slideshow (watch out, it's a popup) of a few of those costume pieces -- and here's a handy visual reminder of those glorious hot pants:



Also from The Guardian, this just in: Wanna be a rock star? Get a MySpace account. Apparently, having a great live show and a marketable product help as well. Wow.

Weekend activity pick: Crackers United present O'Death, Mahogany, Daylight's for The Birds, and Relay on Saturday the 13th at Sin-E. Seriously, I'm thrilled to death over this bill and can't wait. It's not often the entire lineup of a show is worth seeing -- this one is!

In HIGH DEMAND for your weekend hijinx:

The Chalets -- NightRocker. (Let me know if you have problems playing this file, I've had issues with it.) Okay, I admit it -- occasionally a press release in the inbox will tip us off to something fun, and this seemed the perfect thing to kick off the weekend. These adorable Dubliners (whose album, Check In, was released in the UK in 2005 but is coming out stateside March 27) seem poised for some kind of global pop domination. Then again, they could just be another band in the vein of Morningwood or The Lovemakers (but goodness, we hope not!). (MySpace)

Fantasia -- Hood Boy (featuring Big Boi). Oh, kids. You know we have guilty pleasures, and we're completely charmed by this offering from American Idol winner and Lifetime Movie subject Fantasia. Thank goodness for BET Jams, or we might never have known about this song, given that promotion for this record seems to be hovering around nil. Say what you will about Idol participants, Fantasia has the goods -- her big, throaty voice is a welcome change from the hyper-vocalizing songbirds that seem to be popular these days. (MySpace)

Los Amigos Invisibles -- Yo No Sé. We mentioned these guys the other day; I was totes remiss not to post this for you! (MySpace)

Explosions in the Sky -- What Do You Go Home To? So apparently, Friday Night Lights, the TV version, has helped catapult Explosions in the Sky deep into the collective consciousness (who knew?), and for good reason. Just listening to EITS brings back all the best memories of living in Texas -- big open spaces, sparse landscapes, gorgeous sunsets. Yeah, okay -- we get a little homesick sometimes, even though we are loving life in the big city. (Also check out "Welcome, Ghosts" via the Temporary Residence website. Both tracks are from the bands new album All Of A Sudden, I Miss Everyone (site)

I'm not really sure how I ended up not posting yesterday -- so sorry dear readers. I imagine it had something to do with laundry and appointments. Sometimes I find myself wondering, as I sit in the Rich Girls HQ garret (aka the dining room on the 4th floor where it's easier to leech the neighbors' wifi), how I'm ever going to manage my new job, my other responsibilities, and this blog in a few weeks. I don't mean to be a gloomcookie, far from it -- it's just taxing my brain a bit. Part of the problem is, of course, that my old routine in Austin worked well, and I still haven't settled into a new routine here yet, mostly because my days are so unpredictable. But anyway, enough of this -- you probably want to read about something interesting...

For instance, last night after dinner I was flipping between The Tube, MTV Hits, VH1 Soul, BET Jams, and MTVTres (as Comcast has grouped them conveniently together on the cable lineup) subjecting Pinkie to what I like to call "research" -- watching about a billion videos to see what the kids are listening to -- or more appropriately, what the channel's programmers want the kids to listen to. This has long been a favorite pastime, ever since those hours I spent in the 90's after school or during the summer, flipping between VH1 and MTV. As ever, I saw some amazing things ("Sister Twisted," from one of our favorite Mexican alternative acts, Kinky) and some paralyzingly bad things (Frankie J's saccharine cover of Extreme's "More Than Words" -- which we wish we could forget). This exercise led to the following:

1) Me babbling about how I can only deal with gloth/glammo if I think of it as the hair metal of the aughts. I suppos I'll have to explain this in more detail sometime -- but in the meantime, here's the abbreviated version: 30 Seconds to Mars = Warrant. Or something like that.

2) Five minutes of squealing over Morrissey and his divalicious ways. (Related: OMG, if he's picked as the UK entry for Eurovision 2007, well -- THAT WOULD BE FREAKIN' AWESOME. I mean, this makes sense to other people, doesn't it?) (Bonus-y bit: The Smiths doing "How Soon Is Now" on Top of the Pops in '85.)

3) Officially deciding that ...Trail of Dead are the closest thing to a Latin American (specifically Mexican) alternative crossover band that we're ever likely to see here in the US. Which, you know, is amusing as no one in the band is actually Mexican or anything (though they have a lot of hispanic fans...). Interestingly enough, their latest video -- for "Naked Sun" -- seems to back up my bizzaro theory. No, really! At any rate, if we had our way, Venezuelan popsters Los Amigos Invisibiles would be HUGE here. For reals.

(In other news, apparently it finally snowed this morning!)


Moving along, here's what in HIGH DEMAND today.

Amy Winehouse -- To Know Him Is To Love Him (Napsterlive Session). I already adored Amy Winehouse -- but the fact that she covered one of my favorite songs of all time so gorgeously just upgraded my adoration to something approximating obsessiveness. But not in a scary way. Yesterday I was in Williamsburg meeting someone for coffee. I was a little early, and the (cute hipster boy) baristas were listening to Cat Power's You Are Free (which is, by all rights, is a fantastic record), and were waxing philosophical about how wonderful The Greatest was (which any blogger worth their salt will tell you might have been one of the most overrated records of 2006). Anyway, for some reason, I really wanted to tell the dudes to listen to Amy Winehouse instead. (MySpace)

Cocteau Twins -- Sugar Hiccup (Kid Jensen Session, 10/10/83). There's always room in my day for some Cocteau Twins. Always. Especially old, live radio tracks. (site)


Tracey Thorn -- It's All True (Escort Extended Remix). How convenient -- one of our new faves remixes an old fave. We couldn't approve more, really. This version is definitely less freestyle-y and more jazzed-up disco-y. Delish. (MySpace) (remixers)

Harlem Shakes -- Red Right Hands. You know, I wanted to go see these guys play their "secret gig" tonight after the Cold War Kids at Piano's, but I'm meeting up with a friend. Maybe I'll try and sneak over there after! I swear, these early shows really are something to get used to. I'm still not quite sure I'm 100% sold on what this band is up to, what with their bizzaro post-garage/post-ultra nouvelle vague (well? what would you call it?) sound, but they certainly have a lot of potential. New EP Burning Birthdays is due out Feb. 2. (MySpace)

Jarvis Cocker -- The Mouse, The Bird, and The Sausage. Jarv has another story for you -- the gory, un-saccharine Brothers Grimm kind. (MySpace)

I didn't know you could have a case of the Mondays when you didn't have a desk job, but that is indeed what is happening today. A full-on case of the Mondays, capped off by the odd non-event of Bloc Party lead singer Kele Okereke kind of coming out (finally?) in The Guardian. Or something. Believe me, listen to Silent Alarm again and think about the lyrics in terms of being a queer, immigrant African in the UK and it's a lot more hard, poignant, and profound all at the same time. I've always wanted to talk about Silent Alarm as an album steeped in conflicted sexuality, is it okay to do so now? Various commenters have pointed out that no one really cares if he's gay or not -- I would beg to differ, really. At any rate, we certainly understand Okereke's resistance to becoming a gay "icon," which almost always means that one enters that odd ghetto of "tolerance" wrapped in stereotypes. There's some silver lining here somewhere, though -- the band's announced a bunch of tour dates, including a now mostly definite appearance at SXSW. So, there's that at least.


Bloc Party -- Like Eating Glass (Black Strobe Remix). It's so cold in this house and in this bed, indeed. (site)(remixer)

In other news, the NYT tries to make a phenomenon out of traditional journalists moving more heavily into the online space -- namely at startup politico.com. I can't quite pinpoint why this makes me so frothingly annoyed, but it does. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that we weren't among the critics selected to contribute to the Jackin' Pop poll. (We're really trying not to take it personally, we promise.) There's a connection there somewhere.

I also just got a strange phone call from a friend-of-a-friend who's been hounding me for months for some unknown reason -- apparently just for small talk it seems, which is fine except that I don't really have anything to discuss with her. At all. Whatevs. I'm going to the bodega, I need to get out of the house and shake my doldrums. Oh, and maybe listen to The Wombats, too.

The Wombats -- Backfire @ The Disco. (MySpace)

[ETA: Don't forget to vote in the Austin Chronicle's Austin Music Poll! If you don't the dead birds will get you.)

Please, don't kill yr. idols. Dear teenagers of 2007, in 15 years, I hope some cute new band's video sends you on a nostalgia trip for your crazy expensive jeans and your limited edition sneaks and handscreened, microcrafted t-shirts. You know, much in the same way that Pinkie and I, sitting up way too late on a Sunday watching MTV2's Subterranean (since the trains were fubar AND it's raining so we didn't go out as usual) did for our green Docs, flannel shirts, and and vintage Levi's during the video for the Silversun Pickups' "Lazy Eye."

"It's 'Dirty Boots,'" Pinkie said. "Are they gonna kiss and stage dive at the end?" And she was so right -- we're pretty sure someone involved in the production of the video for "Lazy Eye" had that darling Sonic Youth video in mind. Had you noticed this? Are you as old as we are? Is anyone? Compare and contrast below.



Sonic Youth "Dirty Boots"



Silversun Pickups "Lazy Eye"

...And hey, isn't that Mike Mills (remember him?) as The Bartender? I suppose -- he is an actor and director now, you know. [Ed note: Before you think I'm a complete and utter idiot, pls. see comments.]

Oh, dude. I know, I said "More later..." and then my whole day just kind of ... disappeared. I wrote a lot of emails, mostly. Oh, internet, you're so HORRIBLE sometimes!

Anyway, some newsy items:

Craigslist + The Arcade Fire tickets continue to entertain. Are you a "HOT sexy CHICK?" THIS GUY WANTS TO TAKE YOU TO SEE THE ARCADE FIRE ON THE 17th. Um, I think I'm busy that night, dude -- oh wait, I am, really. We're djing the Neon Lights party that night. BTW, Christian -- nice girls don't "make it count" with guys they've only known for one night.

Apparently, the people who own Austin's Longbranch Inn (specifically, if I'm not mistaken, Mark Andes from Heart) have taken over Red's Scoot Inn and remodeled and rebranded it as the just the plain ol' Scoot Inn. I'm not sure how I feel about this -- someone go to this event for me and report back. I always liked the charming ramshackle nature of Red's Scoot -- is it still wonderful? Or horrid beyond belief? Most importantly, is there a better PA?

Back on the NYC side of things, The Hold Steady (remember them?) are playing on Letterman (YES REALLY) on January 11th. If you're in town, head to the HiFi for the "viewing" party:

The Hold Steady post-Letterman "Viewing" Party
Thursday 1/11/07 11P-1A
Hi-Fi (169 Ave. A)
$3 Brooklyn Lager, Pilsner & IPA's
...& suprirses??!! (Ed note: Look, I just cut and paste, I don't spell check.)

Sidebar: Why do I always talk about Heart and The Hold Steady in the same post? Seriously. Is it because Tad Kubeler is secretly wants to be a member of Heart? Enquiring minds want to know. (Though, Pinkie has piped up that Nancy and Howard kick Tad's keister in a catchy riff-off. Or something.)

Heart -- Crazy On You.
The Hold Steady -- The Swish.
(sorry for the reposts, I'm just trying to get this up and published before like, 8pm.)

Over at WFMU.com, Otis Fodder brings back the 365 Days Project -- a daily blog of the exotic, weird, and just plain odd in his (and assorted contributors') record collections. Remember how great it was in 2003? Well, it's expanded to potentially include entire albums this time around in 2007 -- hooray for cheap bandwidth! I'm totes thrilled!

Geez louise with cheese! I got up at 8:45 to try and get Arcade Fire tickets for one of the five shows at the Judson Memorial Church. Needless to say, I didn't get through. Apparently, neither did Stereogum readers, but Brooklyn Vegan commenters had a little more luck. Apparently the trick was to login a few minutes early. Sheesh. The level of desperation on Craigslist is already totally terrifying. Ah, well. Such is life. Time for breakfast, I say. More later.

I've just spent wayyy too much of my morning updating my account on TourFilter, which is an entertaining cross between upcoming.org (which I kind of hate) and ohmyrockness or any of the other myriad sites that track events in NYC.

The most entertaining thing about TourFilter is the ability to see what other bands users are tracking. For instance, I had a good giggle over the fact that Slim Moon (founder of Kill Rock Stars and currently doing A&R for Nonesuch) and I seem to be tracking the same bands -- meanwhile, I'm dying to know who user 3xWes is, seeing as he/she/it also tracking tourdates for Interpol, Sally Shapiro, and solo shows from Will Sheff of Okkervil River. Obviously a weirdo like me, I suppose.

Speaking of Sally Shapiro, I can't get enough of her, really. If I were to make a list of my favorite discoveries of 2006, she'd be right at the top. Here's a belated holiday-themed song for you.

Sally Shapiro -- Anorak Christmas. (site)

Ok, time to run errands -- library, post office, bank. The usual boring stuff.

BTW, I tried listening to the new Menomena record, Friend and Foe (stream it over here) but just got bored. I wasn't the biggest fan of their previous work, but still. It was more interesting than this! Sad to say, I think they're the latest victims of The Barsuck Effect -- you know, have a promising future, sign to Barsuk, put out a streamlined, dull album. It seems this is only happening with new roster additions -- roster veterans are generally safe.

There are a few things we'll miss about Austin -- yes, just a few: the new Galaxy Cafe on West Lynn, the Blue Genie Art Bazaar, and the South Congress HEB, for starters. (Yes, ridiculous to miss a grocery store that we formerly hated -- but people, we can't find any good tortillas here. SEND HELP!) And yes, when we're trolling the Lower East Side, we really miss the Red River Strip. So when the email about Emo's Free Week fell into my inbox yesterday, we got just a little homesick for our favorite good ol' skeevy-ass rock club (which was recently named one of the top 10 rock clubs in America by ... playboy.com). So, this week is the one time of year when you can get into Emo's for free every night, even if you're not a regular. Show up early!

Have a Lone Star for us, and support Austin's (and the rest of Texas' -- there's a few bands playing from San Marcos, Dallas, and Houston and some assorted out-of-staters too) best up-and-coming and veteran talent. I believe they're playing just for drink tickets. (Dear bands: Sorry if you didn't get a link below -- that means I couldn't find your web presence easily via Google. You may want to look into that...)

Tuesday 1/2

INSIDE: Signal Lost/Conversions/Storm the Tower/Repercussions/Bitch Attack

LOUNGE: Green Potato Ventures presents: This Will Destroy You/Low Line Caller/The Interest Kills/The Laughing

Wednesday 1/3

INSIDE: Ume/Camp X-Ray/Red X Red M/Daniel Francis Doyle

LOUNGE: Youngmond Grand/The Last Gasp/The Mercers/Red Leaves

Thursday 1/4

OUTSIDE: Crash Gallery/AM Syndicate/Prom Nite/Lalaland

INSIDE: the ATTAK (iN)FORMATION/Oh, Beast!!!/Horn Of Africa/Alright, Tonight!

LOUNGE: The Word Association/Zeale 32/Tee Double plus DJ Crown

Friday 1/5

OUTSIDE: Lemurs/The Lord Henry/Clap! Clap!/Lomita

INSIDE: Amplified Heat/Lions/Full Stride/The Flood

LOUNGE: Grand Champeen/Quien Es Boom/The Fall Collection/The Alice Rose

Saturday 1/6

OUTSIDE: At All Cost/Warwulf/Tia Carrera/Me Infecto/the Snake Trap

INSIDE: Zykos/Brothers and Sisters/The Crack Pipes/ The Strange Boys

LOUNGE: Cue/My Education/Horse Plus Donkey/Finally Punk

Sunday 1/7

INSIDE: Chicken Ranch presents: Automusik/The Troublemen/Mr. Lewis and The Funeral 5/The States

LOUNGE: Awesome Cool Dudes/ Dogme 95/When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth / MVSCVLS

Monday 1/8

INSIDE: The Onlys/Ghost of the Russian Empire/Midgetmen/tba