I've got an embarrassing backlog of things to write about, some of which have been sitting in my draft folder for over two months. Pathetic, I know. A job change, along with a busier than expected spring, put me way off my game, and it's been all I can do just to set aside the hours of editing it takes for my weekly live mp3s posts.

That said, it's time to play catch up, so over the next week or so I hope to chip away at the pile, a few items at a time. I'll start with the semi-timely stuff first, and work my way down to things that I still think deserve some love. Here goes something...


It's the return of Curve! Well, kinda. When I saw that there would be a track entitled 'Coraline' by 'Rose Berlin (featuring Curve)' on the upcoming tribute to writer Neil Gaiman ('Where's Neil When You Need Him?'), I had to investigate. Could Dean Garcia & Toni Halliday really be making music together after calling it quits in early 2005? Well, the music on the track is indeed by studio-genius Dean, but the vocals are by none other than his 16 year-old daughter, Rose Berlin Garcia, who has a MySpace page right here. You can hear four of her own songs there, and while she writes the melodies and lyrics, daddy Dean comes up with the bass, guitar, and drum programming. She's got a pretty great voice and songwriting ability given her age, so I'm looking forward to hearing her Gaiman-inspired track. And trying not to feel old when I look at her photos page.

For now, you can get one preview song from the 'Where's Neil When You Need Him?' disc, which arrives in stores on July 18th. It's by one of Magnetic Fields main-man Stephin Merritt's other projects, Future Bible Heroes, and the track is 'Mr. Punch', which can can be found right ovah yondah.


If you missed out on the gorgeous Undertow Orchestra (Vic Chesnutt, Mark Eitzel, David Bazan, & Will Johnson) show I shared up back in February, you can download another shared show torrent over at Digital Panic.


Greg Dulli's Twilight Singers and guest Mark Lanegan recorded a 3-song set for KEXP recently, and it hit airwaves and the internet this afternoon. If you missed it, you should be able to stream it at some point right here.

To tide you over, here's one of the songs they performed, an ace cover of Massive Attack's 'Live With Me', with Lanegan on lead vocals...



Dulli's old band, the amazing Afghan Whigs, will get their very own Rhino Records retrospective this September entitled 'Unbreakable', much like the Replacements got a couple weeks back. I can only hope that, like the 'Mats, the Whigs reunite and hop back in the studio to crank out a couple of new songs to throw on the end of the thing. Dulli's a busy guy, and a couple of the other Whigs have ongoing bands of their own, but my fingers will remain crossed.

Here's a fix for fellow Afghan Whigs fans, though: A professionally shot video of The Twilight Singers performing the Whigs' 'Fountain & Fairfax' live at the Theatre of the Living Arts in Philadelphia on May 30th, 2006.


I missed a screening of 'We Jam Econo - The Story of the Minutemen' when it came through Boston awhile back, so I'm glad it's finally out on DVD next Tuesday, June 27th. It's a 2-disc set with more than 5 hours of extras, and pre-orders not only get the disc early (uh, better hurry on that one), but get 20% off the list price from the official Minutemen store. Amazon.com and Deep Discount DVD also have it available for 25% off, but buying direct and giving a bigger share to the ex-Minutemen is the way to go. Check out the trailer here.


Picked up a bunch of tickets today, including a couple for Beirut's first Boston-area show this Saturday night (thanks to cpr). It's at the smallish Lily Pad in Somerville's Inman Square, and the tix are selling fast at the oh-so-fine Twisted Village record shop in Harvard Square (update: second show added). That's the only place to ensure advanced entry, and it'll cost you $10 cash, no cards. Check out some Beirut songs on their MySpace page, natch.

While I was out I also grabbed tix for the Bottomless Pit (ex-Silkworm) / Magnolia Electric Co. show at the Middle East in September (that'll sell out, mark my words), and stopped by the Brookline Booksmith to get a couple for Wil Wheaton's July 1st at the Coolidge Corner Theatre. It's a mere $2, such a small price to pay for guaranteed geekery. And I mean that in the best sense of the word.

I'm thinking I should prolly also snag advance tickets for The Legends at TTs on July 10th. Consider this a memo to myself.


In other news, I was goofing around with Nina (that'd be our super-sweet dog) in the backyard last night, and she accidentally tagged me in the face with her paw. One of her toenails scraped an inch-long gouge in my left cheek that started spurting blood like a leaking levee. Scary stuff, but not her fault... we were play-boxing and I missed an easy block (still, you can tell she feels guilty).

No stitches needed, but it appears I could end up with one bad-ass scar. I asked my doctor if I'd wind up looking like a Bond villain, and he said no, but with the right accessories... perhaps a pirate. Hey, Doc, I'm the one who makes the jokes, you're the one who's supposed to make me feel better. Aaarrrrrrrr.

So now you know, and if you see me out at a show, you no longer have to silently debate whether or not to ask me what the hell is wrong with my face. But if you catch me telling someone I was in a knife fight, don't ruin my fun with the truth.