place to be

I'll start with the links, then i'll bore you with my shows...

Erica loves rock stars, not only that but she helps them go to eleven. Say hello to rockstarhelper.com.

The GoStation launch their web site, and it looks gooood.

Last year, it was Interpol, this year The Rapture makes Pitchfork's #1 album of 2003. You can check the other 49 albums here.
Talking and seeing all these lists around blogs and sites brings me to ask you this question... who the hell are The Wrens? Because until i noticed them on everyone's list, i'd never heard of them, and if they're that good, i should be giving it a listen, right?

Sooo... a quick word on the last Vicious of 2003, which was really great and packed:

Surefire, also known as the youngest most-driven talents currently on the scene, played really well. Judging by the new songs, it's easy to see that with time the britpop influences will start wearing off to unveil a more unique sound. The funny thing is that they opened Vicious on tuesday night, but it wouldn't surprise me if 6-9 months from now, they'll be opening for say, Starsailor (see Nick, i'm marking your words).

It was my second or third time seeing The Blondes, Inc, and wow, they're getting better and better! They were good back then, but now, they're REALLY good. The sound has definitely evolved, it used to be a little more garagy, now it's darker, but still full of hooks and energy. And they ended their set with a killer cover of White light, white heat, so great.

I'd never seen The Big Sleep before, but knew that they were one of Jasper's favorites of the year. First, the name of that band is so misleading, they are so far from a big sleep... they're loud and heavy, but still quite melodic. When they're not playing instrumental, they are fronted by a female vocalist whose singing style is closer to talking than singing, which actually works well in this case. It should be interesting to see where the band goes from here.

The night ended with Come Down, another up and coming band i'd seen play before. If you like dreamy pop-rock, that's a little reminiscent of Radiohead (mostly on the vocals), you'd love them. In fact, the music is so endearing and pretty, it'd be hard for anyone not to like this band.

Again, tons of thanks to everyone who came and, hopefully, had a good time.

chemical, chemical

Pitchfork goes crazy with the 2003 lists. [link from chromewaves]

Check out Interpol on TV friday night - from the official site:
"Check out the Bravo/Entertainment Weekly special 2-hour event showcasing the top movie, television, and music performers of the year. Interpol is featured as the Breakout Band of the Year. The special debuts on Friday, December 19 at 8pm EST. Click here for the full schedule of airings."

By the way, i'm five trains behind on this one, but i'm really digging the Pretty Girls Make Graves album, like really. Looks like they're playing the Bowery Ballroom in february, can't wait. Oh yeah, and the other night, i heard a bit of the new Ryan Adams single (i don't even know the name of it), and i thought it was a U2 cover because it sounded too good to be Ryan Adams material, but nope it was his own song. This means, i may have to get my first Ryan Adams album... maybe.

P.S.: Oh my god, this is too funny, after i wrote the above, i went to Ryan Adams' web site and look what it says on the home page: "Ryan's country of the week FRANCE... 'fuck freedom fries, give me francais frit'". That bastard is really trying to convince me to like him and go buy his record.

december

Tonight, come out to our last Vicious @ Sin-é of 2003!

Jenyk/dot/com + melodynelson.com, in conjunction with ASCAP, truthflies.com, and First Kiss Music, present...

Vicious @ Sin-é :: Tuesday december 16th
8pm :: 21+ :: $8

11pm - Come Down
10pm - The Big Sleep
9pm - The Blondes, Inc
8pm - Surefire
Celebrity Guest DJ: Aurelio of Calla

Sin-é :: 150 Attorney St. between Houston and Stanton st.

Check out this great review of the last Vicious on ascap.com.

infatuation

The interesting thing about seeing The Rapture play twice last week was that they played the exact same set and used the same stage banters both nights... the great part was that both nights were excellent. First, i've never seen a band so into their show on stage, dancing, being silly, smiling, just having a great fucking time. They also are a lot tighter than a year ago, and their songs just don't get old, believe me you still want to jump and shake yer booty when you hear Out of the track... or House of jealous lovers. I admit that i haven't felt the urge to listen to Echoes since i first heard it, but i really enjoyed hearing those songs live. Also The Rapture gets major bonus points for turning the bowery ballroom into a mad dance house.
I got to catch a couple of openers, Casiotone for the painfully alone is one guy with a bunch of casio keyboards, interesting concept. Apparently, the album is pretty good, i'm curious. I also saw The Boggs, and quite liked them. I'm incapable of describing their music, but let me tell you, these guys play guitar like maniacs.

I know you like links:
The Realistics have a great new web site, so do The Von Bondies.
Check out a couple of tracks from Asobi Seksu's recent radio appearance:
Walk on the moon (acoustic version)
Untilted (new song)