Today's Hotness: She, Sir, Deadbeat, The Radishes

>> [UPDATED: See End Of First Paragraph] If this photo (not the one above) is legitimate -- and we have no reason to believe otherwise -- then superlative Texas shoegazers She, Sir must have recently recorded a live session for Internet radio streamer WOXY.com. This is terrifically exciting because the band released in 2006 a seven-song set, Who Can't Say Yes, that was a flawless concoction of sounds made famous (to us, anyway) by Ride and Lilys. As we reported here in January, She, Sir has been working on a new record titled Go Guitars with the assistance of producer Erik Wofford (Explosions In The Sky, Voxtrot). We inspected the WOXY Lounge Acts page and there is no indication of when the She, Sir session will be posted, but we'll keep our eyes on it. In other news, the band reports at its web site that it has been auditioning candidates to serve as a permanent rhythm section, replacing a rotating cast of players. Hopefully the move to a permanent lineup will result in some East Coast touring. In the meantime, enjoy the stellar lead track from Who Can't Say Yes. Update: so it turns out the picture linked above was in fact old, and the She, Sir WOXY session was recorded last year. We've added a direct link to an MP3 of the session below, and we're downloading it now to hear it.

She, Sir -- "I Love You, Blowtorch Eyes" -- Who Can't Say Yes
She, Sir -- 2007 WOXY Session
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[buy Who Can't Say Yes from the band here]

>> We went to EMusic the other night to check out the newly acquired Rolling Stones offerings (oh how we love the live sets Get Yer Ya-Yas Out and Got Live If You Want It) and got sidetracked by the presence on the main page of a newish single from dub-influenced electronic music producer Deadbeat. We've had a thing for the Montreal-based act (actually one dood, Scott Monteith) ever since reviewing the set Something Borrowed, Something Blue for Junkmedia back in March 2004 [review here]. While the single "Eastward On To Mecca" was released by Wagon Repair/Zebralution, we associate Deadbeat with Stefan Betke's ~scape label, which has also released a number of Deadbeat recordings. It is interesting to note that while Betke's Pole project left us cold after the introduction of rapping into a series of EPs in 2005 (and the full-length Steingarten never completely fired our imagination, either), Deadbeat has stuck closer to the dub-influenced sounds that have been one of the more prominent hallmarks of the ~scape catalogue, and thus Deadbeat has also continued to move us with its grooves. If you are a fan, we highly recommend grabbing "Eastward On To Mecca" from EMusic here.

>> The title track to The Manhattan Love Suicides' recently issued, limited edition 7" EP Clusterf*ck is now streaming at Leeds-based Squirrel Records' MySpace cabin here. The band sounds even more like erstwhile Slumberland Records noise merchants Henry's Dress than ever before, and that is a good thing. The Manhattan Love Suicides' EP has four tracks in all, including "Detroit Diesel," "Burning Wire" and "Heat And Panic." So the obvious question now is, "will anybody sell me this thing as MP3s?" Well, let's have a look. Nope. But we bet if you watch EMusic it will eventually pop up here.

>> Readers may recall we reported here that L.A.-based rockers The Radishes would be giving away their forthcoming Strychnine EP for free prior to its April 15 release. Well the band has made good. Hit this link to download four straightforward hard rockers from the quartet. The title track seems to betray a love of taut, sludgy mid-'80s stoner metal, and the tune features a guitar solo courtesy of former MC-5 man Wayne Kramer. The set also includes a slow-burning psyched out cover of the John Lennon cut, "I Found Out," which the deceased Beatle issued on his John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band LP in 1970. We ranted about The Radishes blistering rocker "Hook Me Up" here in November.

>> We were curious about references made to the band Lump when we saw pop-punkers Varsity Drag earlier this year [review], and after corresponding with Lisa Drag and poking around on the Interweb we got turned onto the recently resuscitated '90s indie rockers. For all the guitar distortion and '90s nostalgia you're looking for, look no further than this recently posted video for Lump's rocker "Thirteen." The clip was apparently cobbled together by film students during the band's heyday in and around Lump's Fitchburg, Mass. stomping grounds.

Today's Hotness: Silversun Pickups, The Radishes, The Clash

>> For reasons we have difficulty articulating we've never been completely on board with L.A.-based indie rock foursome Silversun Pickups -- maybe it's that we think they sound a little too commercial in places, maybe it's that we can't put our finger on what if anything makes the band unique. We certainly like singer Brian Aubert's Lindsey Buckhingham-esque singing voice, and the songs can rock and even have a dreamy Smashing Pumpkins quality at times. Anyway, that said, we've loved the two videos of theirs we've seen, including the most recent Joaquin Phoenix-directed clip for "Little Lover's So Polite," which right now you can only view at the Dangerbird Records web site here. Interestingly (well, to us), both videos feature unexpected/unexplained occurrences of people flying. We dig that. The other video was for the track "Kissing Families" and you can watch it at the YouTube right here. Silversun Pickups released its debut Carnavas in 2006.

>> Remember The Radishes? We wrote about their song "Hook Me Up" here in November. That wasn't so long ago, right? Anyway, the band is about to issue an EP called Strychnine April 15. More exciting is that this is the first Radishes release to include the playing of former Ministry/Scratch Acid/Rapeman drummer Rey Washam and former Ministry/Revolting Cocks bassist Paul Barker. To top it off, the legendary MC-5's Wayne Kramer makes an appearance as well. That's a lot of rock. And it sounds like a downloadable version of Strychnine will be given away for free even prior to that date. We'll keep you posted. Also keep your eyes peeled for a new video for "Hook Me Up," which we described variously in our review linked supra as a fist-banger, hip-shaker, et cetera. Here's the title track from Good Machine.

The Radishes -- "Good Machine" -- Good Machine
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[buy Good Machine from CDBaby right here]

>> Last night PBS stations around the U.S.A. premiered the forthcoming The Clash DVD "The Clash: Revolution Rock." The disc will be in stores April 15 and you can already pre-order it from Amazon.com here. As the owner of several previously issued Clash DVDs we put the question to our local SonyBMG press fellow: Any idea how this stacks up compared to "The Essential Clash," "Westway To The World" and "The Last Testament," some of which were also directed by Don Letts, who has directed "The Clash: Revolution Rock"? Well, the word is that the DVD includes a lot of never-before-seen bootleg footage. So if you insist you've already spent all your going to spend on Clash DVDs in your lifetime, you will be missing out somewhat. That said, PBS has got your back, although the version it is airing is edited, plus it is airing as part of a pledge drive, which means every 15 minutes or so someone will be coming on the telly and laying on the guilt. So maybe pre-ordering from Amazon isn't such a bad idea after all? For full listings of when your PBS affiliate will be airing "The Clash: Revolution Rock," hit this link. And to view a trailer for the film, this link will reveal it to you.

How The Radishes Get Their Cleaning Done: With Rock

The Radishes. They've seen the end of the world and they're not impressed. They also nestled an awesome, hip-shaking fist-banger deep into their recently self-released record Good Machine. Observant readers will recall that Boston trio Pending Disappointment also tried to hide a great song from us by putting it near the end of their record, which we wrote about below. But you guys can't hide the rock from us. Time for some Wikipedia-stylee disambiguation: The Radishes are not Radish, Ben Kweller's '90s grunge vehicle, but rather an amped-up, garagey quartet whose primary songwriter has an eye-catching last name for indie rock fans (although we expect there is no relation between The Radishes' Paul Stinson and The Replacements' Stinson brothers). Those in search of some pedigree in the band need look no further than bassist Paul Barker, whose name astute fans will know from Mr. Barker's work with Ministry and Revolting Cocks. Barker doesn't play on Good Machine, but he and former Ministry/Scratch Acid/Rapeman drummer Rey Washam apparently play on a forthcoming EP.

Since we're name-dropping some bygone acts we might as well insert here that The Radishes were the first band to play the legendary San Francisco hardcore venue Mabuhay Gardens when it re-opened in September. But let's focus. We're here to tell you about "Hook Me Up," which blasts out of the gate with straight snare banging and tons of swagger. The magic of this song is that it's stripped to the bare essentials and paced for a the dramatic conclusion of a hipster dance-a-thon. The band was cool enough to allow us to offer the track as an MP3. Download "Hook Me Up" now so you can crank it when you crack those first beers tomorrow night. You'll thank us later. The Radishes released Good Machine Oct. 16.

The Radishes -- "Hook Me Up" -- Good Machine
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[buy Good Machine from CD Baby right here]

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