Moving Pictures: "Tell the World" by Vivian Girls

In his review for Dusted Magazine, Michael Crumsho sums up my feelings about Vivian Girls rather tidily,

Really, then, it's hard to imagine how anyone whose heart isn't made of burnt coal could have much of a problem with the 10 songs the Vivian Girls cooked up for their …

From the IRCWHQ Newsdesk: Christmas on Mars Comes to Cleveland, Music Saves Announces an In Store with The Veils

* Christmas on Mars, the directorial debut of The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne, will be playing at the Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque on November 8th and 9th. Just listen to this description, "It's Christmastime, and the colonization of Mars is underway. …

Boston Spaceships Live @ Grog Shop Cleveland 09.26.2008

The last time your favorite band came to town, how many songs did they play? Did they do a ten song set and get on the bus for the next town? Were they feeling gracious and gave you fifteen songs in an hour? Well, Robert Pollard brought his new band, Boston …

Word on The Street Is...

The Jigsaw Entertainment Group, who manages The Jigsaw Saloon, Peabody's, and The Hi-Fi, and who is now involved with The Agora, is working a no compete clause into their future contracts that would prevent a local band from playing at any unaffiliated local venue 45 …

"Fixing the Chairs" and "Transfer Station" by The Girls

The men of The Girls (yes, they're men) may have cast their lot with the new wave, power pop, and punk rock crowd by signing on with Dirtnap Records, but once you spend some time with their latest album, Yes No Yes No Yes No, you begin to hear some other influences. …

The Rockometer feat. Okkervil River, Boston Spaceships, Blitzen Trapper, Gentleman Jesse, Ancestors, and Brightblack Morning Light

Okkervil River
The Stand Ins
Jagjaguwar

Okkervil River's The Stand Ins is the stylistic, lyrical, and thematic sequel to their 2007 release, The Stage Names. The art work for the album was designed to fit below The Stage Names. Many of the songs came from the same …

Metallica, The Stooges, Run DMC, and Bobby Womack Lead the List of 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees

From The Plain Dealer's John Soeder, the list of nominees for the 2009 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Class includes Metallica, Run DMC, The Stooges, Little Anthony and the Imperials, War, Jeff Beck, Wanda Jackson, The Stooges, and Cleveland's own, Bobby Womack. …

Prisonshake @ The Grog Shop. 09.20.08

As Prisonshake kept the modest, yet devoted crowd, waiting in anticipation for their first hometown show in ages, it became important to maintain a little perspective. Yes, the clock had moved past midnight, and Saturday night had become Sunday Morning. Yes, it seemed …

From the IRCWHQ Newsdesk: Just About Every Cleveland Band You Care About Is in the Studio

*The Suede Brothers recently returned to Suma Studios where they recorded their debut cd to lay down the tracks for a new EP.

*Unsparing Sea are about to head to Mammoth Cave Studios in Akron, OH with Tim Gerak (Six Parts Seven) to record the follow up to their …

The Loudness Wars Revisited

Have you been following Metallica's latest kerfuffle? It seems their latest album, Death Magnetic, was mastered with such extreme compression that it was rendered largely unlistenable. To make matters worse, the tracks available in the video game Guitar Hero, contain …

"Banana Gorgon" by Child Bite

Even if you've never heard spaz-rockers Child Bite before, if you're a longtime Cleveland rocker, then their sound should strike you as somewhat familiar. This Detroit five-piece has more in common with Ohio born bands like Devo or Pere Ubu than those normally …

"Satt Att Se" by Dungen

Being a single-lingual American, I haven't the slightest idea what the Swedish band Dungen are going on about in "Satt Att Se." This could be their 10th ode to their long lost pet cat, Furry Mae, and the loss still hurts so much, that they composed a lone, winding …

"Push Pins" by Will Currie and The Country French & Sloan

Tour mates, now band mates, Will Currie and The Country French, and Canada's finest power pop export, Sloan, got busy one day in the studio and cranked out a new virtual 7" single, "Push Pins." Penned by Currie, with vocals shared by Currie and Sloan's Jay Ferguson, …

Moving Pictures: "Minotaur" by The Drones

Don't be fooled by the cutesy cartoons. Minotaurs are bad a** creatures. If my Greek Mythology serves me right, these fierce abominations had this nasty habit of eating people who had the misfortune of wandering into their labrynth.

The Drones, are bad a**, too. …

"When it Reins" by The Builders and The Butchers

Like the best recommendations, I didn't hear about The Builders and The Butchers from Pandora, Last FM, iTunes Genius, or even the Zune. No, I first heard about this Portland roots-music ensemble when I was talking shop outside The Beachland Ballroom during a concert …

Moving Pictures: "Obama (Live at The Knitting Factory)" by Extra Golden

The story of "Obama," the song, is one I've told a couple times before. The short version is that the Kenyan half of Extra Golden were having problem cutting through red tape prior to their first American tour, and as their hopes for making it to the states dimmed, …

"From Stardust to Sentience" by High Places

"From Stardust to Sentience" by High Places is a contradiction. Its fluttering beats and twinkling sound effects are intricately programmed, implying a time-consuming attention detail. At the same time, it maintains a feeling of spontaneity, as if those beats and keys …

The Rockometer: Dirty Moons by Prisonshake

Prisonshake
Dirty Moons
Scat Records

A lot has changed in the 15 years since the Cleveland-born band, Prisonshake, released their last album, 1993's The Roaring Third. Just spend one hour watching vH1's I Love the Nineties, I Love the Nineties 2, or I Love the Nineties So …

Cleveland Concert Update: September 15th - September 30th

Monday, September 15th: Pack A.D. @ Wilbert's.

Tuesday, September 16th: Jessica Lea Mayfield, The Magpies @ Beachland Tavern. Boss Martians, Brimstone Howl, The Crusaders of Love, Life Partners and DJ Hot Trash @ Now That's Class.

Wednesday, September 17th: High Places, …

Moving Pictures: "We've Never Lied (Live/Solo Acoustic)" by Jessica Lea Mayfield

One of the first things you notice about Jessica Lea Mayfield, besides that powerful voice of an old, heavy soul who's lived through a ten lives of hard times, is how she can turn a song on its end with the twist of a single phrase. At the beginning of "We've Never …