Free Song Sampler

The Thursday fun is on the calendar, but three of the tonight's bands at TT the Bear's are on this Park the Van song sampler.

The Spinto Band, Pepi Ginsberg, Generationals have the first three songs, which makes sense -- the sampler release coincided with their tour.

It's also the 5th anniversary of Park the Van Records who just moved back to New Orleans after Katrina. Go, PTV!

Tracks 1 to 3 may not be my favorites, but they're good bands. You can listen to everything first or download the ZIP file.

There is song by Dr. Dog (who may have been the first PTV artist). Everything has a bit of trippy, earthy indie-rock vibe. If you like Dr. Dog, you're probably on the boat with everyone else.

More to come, as usual...

WED 10/21: Film, Talk, Much Music

No mention of the T or the weather today...

I did put a video clip in the middle of the post, so don't think it's the end. (Not a bad night to go out and have spontaneous fun.)

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WED 10/21

7pm
Green Guild Green Films
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline
$5

The program of short films includes "The Carbon Footprint" (locavorism), "Bag It" (USA annually uses 100 billion plastic bags), "One Home at a Time" (weatherizing works!), and a sneak-peak of "The Muddy River Chronicles" about Brookline's missing link in the Emerald Necklace.

Discussions will follow the films with participants like Andrew Belt (Green Guild), Ed "The Plumber" Del Grande (DIY Network), and filmmaker Bob Nesson.

WED 10/21

7pm to 9pm
William Kamkwamba, "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Elegant Design Out of Junk and Spare Parts": Lecture
at Room 120, Bldg 6, 182 Memorial Drive (Rear), Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

This guy was on Jon Stewart, and he has an amazing personal story. About 5 years ago, he was a teen living in a famined Malawi village whose family could no longer afford his school tuition. There was a US-funded library nearby, so he would still read books.

He built a friggin' windmill out of retrieved materials to create electricity for the family home.

His Jon Stewart clip:


WED 10/21

9pm
Autumn Hollow Band, Kingsley Flood, The Gamblers' Union
at Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston (Fenway)
$6 / 21+

Autumn Hollow Band is in the middle of a October residency at Church to serve a weekly helping of fine rootsy/alt-country rock. I waxed poetic about Kingsley Flood recently, so I'll post that again:

Every now and then, a band comes up with a really good line to describe their music; Kingsley Flood's goal is to achieve "a sound resembling what would happen if the Band met the Clash in a back alley throwdown." They're doing a good job, because the music bursts and fizzes in an Americana vein that seems to flow naturally. You should hear this band!

I don't know anything about The Gamblers' Union, but I'm willing to bet at least one of the band will wear a red-checkered/flannel shirt and someone will have boots.

WED 10/21

9:30pm
So Many Dynamos, Cinemechanica, Ho-Ag, Thief Thief
at O'Brien's, 3 Harvard St, Allsto
$10 / 21+

Humbly speaking, I've listened to a lot of good music across many genres. Without any expectations when I started listening to Cinemechanica, my ears pricked up to the snarling, angular rock that was rather catchy instead of sounding like notes randomly put together -- which can be cool too. Some of Thief Thief's rhythms remind me of listening to morse code in high-school radio club. Ho-Ag, on the other hand, also finds hooks while still keeping it jagged and noisy.

WED 10/21

Mollycoddle (10pm), Dave Alpert (7pm)
at Toad, 1912 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Porter Sq)
FREE / 21+

It's sad to hear this will be the last Mollycoddle performance, since listening to their beautiful powerpop is far from sad. (Maybe the lyrics are melancholy, but I dig the music.)

The main guy and likely many of these players will change into a new band called The One Smith who'll release a new album next year. (Links to some demos are in this post.) The new stuff sounds promising, but let's hope this isn't the last time these songs will be played.

It should be an impressive "goodbye-hello" performance with a top-notch band. And it night get crowded, so it wouldn't hurt to catch Dave Alpert's pop-rock.

WED 10/21

10:30pm
Thalia Zedek, Chick Graning
at Plough & Stars, 912 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE

Two veteran Boston rockers will undoubtedly play compelling, stripped-down music that will be perfect for drinking.

TUES 10/20: Talk & Strings

A theme developed when I didn't get excited about the under-$10 music options (except the musical cap on the night). Check out the "international" sub-theme with Iraqi & Burmese speakers...

There is an excellent, almost-cheap indie-rock gig at TT the Bear's and other gigs at Passim and the Brattle -- this is the cheap stuff, folks.

And Happy "National Day on Writing"! If you feel like writing anything, this is a good day to start! The National Gallery of Writing would like you to send them some of your stuff -- any kind of writing -- to celebrate. (They offer some writing tips too.)

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TUES 10/20

6pm
"Musicians for Music 2.0": Discussion
at PA's Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq)
FREE / 18+

If you're involved with making music in one way or another, you might hear (and share) something helpful. There will obviously be some casual time, but it seems like the whole spends time discussing the same topic or two.

Even though the best part of music is rocking out and partying, success on any level requires some serious effort. Based on last month's session, the topics can cover social media, web promotion, money issues, how people listen to music, and different recording techniques.

Whether you make music, promote it, write about it, talk about it, or do an interpretive dance; you will probably get something out of this.

I guess I'll never "make it" these days, because I abhor that the details are on Facebook...

TUES 10/20

7pm to 8:30pm
Haider Hamza, "Talk to an Iraqi": Discussion
at Rapaporte Treasure Hall, Goldfarb Library, 415 South St, Waltham (Brandeis campus)
FREE

When was the last time you talked to an Iraqi? Journalist Haider Hamza was living there during the invasion and reported on so many of the major events. Now the 24-year-old lives in the States, and one of his new projects was a mobile "Talk to an Iraqi" booth.

The actual booth may not be there, but the Iraqi will show up.

Are you thinking, "How the f--- do I get to Brandeis?" Try the commuter rail and the #553 stop close by...

TUES 10/20

7:30pm
After the Saffron Revolution: The Struggle for Human Rights in Burma
at Arlington Street Church, 351 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE

You know things are bad when Buddhist monks get pissed off. The situation in Burma/Myanmar is still awful, the monks led protests in 2007 that may not have toppled the regime, but they reinvigorated the resistance and brought greater international attention.

Three of the monks will speak about their lives and state of affairs in their homeland.

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TUES 10/20

10pm
String Quartet Showdown, Vol. 8
at Alchemist Lounge, 435 S. Huntington Ave, Jamaica Plain
FREE / 21+

If you're in JP on a Tuesday night, there's a possibility to hear a fresh take on classical string music. It's happened seven times before, and they'll be battling through the end of the month. Who knows if these string quartets will "bring it" in a bar, but the music is awesome without the pretension.

Cellist Jeremy Harman organizes the smackdown that includes members of A Far Cry Chamber Orchestra, Samurai String Squad, and the plethora of music students in the area.

MON 10/19: Film, Science, Skeptics, Poetry, Folk

Oh, me, oh, my! There are a couple things to do tonight.

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MON 10/19

7pm
Science on Screen: "Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde"
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline (Coolidge Corner)
$9.75 / $7.75 seniors, students

Most people probably don't remember this version from the director of "Gone with the Wind" & "The Wizard of Oz" that starred Spencer Tracy, Ingrid Bergman, and Lana Turner. The '31 movie might have been too fresh in people's mind to enjoy this one on its own merits.

Professors John Durant (MIT) and Anne Harrington (Harvard) are ideally suited to introduce this film since the history of science is the focus of both husband and wife, and they've taught a class together about science and medicine in Victorian England.

MON 10/19

7pm to 10pm
Boston Skeptics in the Pub: "The War of the Worlds"
at Tommy Doyle's (upstairs), 96 Winthrop St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

You won't see/hear a production of "The War of the Worlds", but the Post-Meridian Radio Players will include Orson Welles' classic in their live performances of old-time radio shows at the Somerville Theatre (10/29 to 10/31).

Artistic Director Neil Marsh is hanging out with the skeptics tonight to talk about how the public freaked out in 1938 (and probably about modern parallels). All are welcome to join for drinks and conversation -- except for close-minded people...

MON 10/19

8pm
"Blacksmith House Poetry Series": Fred Marchant & Teresa Cader
at Blacksmith House, 56 Brattle St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$3

There will be poetry readings on most Mondays for the next two months. Tonight's poets are also local college professors (Suffolk and Lesley)

I might be gullible from time to time, but it's feasible that this building is where Longfellow observed his poem's subject, "The Village Blacksmith".

MON 10/19

10pm
Phantom Ears, Spirits of the Red City, The Simon Brothers
at ZuZu!, 474 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE

It should be a good evening of small groups of slightly skewed Americana tunes, except for Spirits of the Red City who might have up to 8 players. Supposedly Phantom Ears includes "members of Doomstar", but they may be playing somewhere else tonight.

10/18: Sunday Night Off-Topic Video

On Rose Polenzani's website, she has a bunch of videos like where Rose and her friends sing these clever covers, but I really liked this one.

(It's Michael Jackson-related, so spread it around and make it "viral".)

Rose Polenzani, Rose Cousins, Laura Cortese, and Anne Heaton in Halifax after a Paul McCartney concert: