I'm the kind of person that didn't "get" the first Strokes album... at first. Back in 2001, most of my friends immediately fell for the eternally catchy Is This It, but it took me several listens to get into it at all, and several more to start picking up on why everyone else liked it so much. Point being: I'm slow, and rock music usually doesn't hit me very fast, even when it is super poppy and easy to listen to (like the Strokes). Considering my M.O., I was very surprised when Washing Machine's song "Heart Like a Megaphone" burned itself on to my brain upon first listen (I wonder if anyone else had the same experience hearing the song on the We Shot J.R. myspace page over the past few weeks). I was even more shocked when I discovered that there are several other Washing Machine songs that are almost as instantly catchy and just as interesting as "Megaphone," despite the fact that these guys have only played one or maybe two real shows. After one quick listen, I wanted to know more.

I know I know. You're sick of hearing about the great new band that has only played one or maybe two real shows. Me too. But Washing Machine have actually been playing together for a lot longer than that, and you'll hear the proof almost instantly. A couple of years ago, Mike and Earl Hanson (cousins) got together to record some bedroom demos that would later be the foundation for Washing Machine. Some time later, they started adding different people into the mix and crafting a bigger sound with a new focus on live instruments. Adding Brandon Alvey on guitar, Gomez on keys, Jason King on synths and theremin, and Catia Quinones on xylophone and percussion caused the Washing Machine sound to change quite a bit from its original incarnation on the demos, but everyone liked what they heard and decided to move forward. The group practiced for a fairly long period of time before recording or playing live, slowly tightening their sound and actually, you know, trying to sound good before they started playing gigs. But just as they got ready to venture out and play in public, their drummer decided to quit. So that he could move to South Africa to play drums in a Russian circus. Not kidding.

This forced them to cancel some shows and reconsider what they were going to do next, considering that finding a drummer in DFW who doesn't completely suck is pretty hard to do. Fortunately they figured it out pretty fast, somehow, and recently played what we think was their first show with My Heart is a Machine, with what we think was a temporary drummer. (we're a little foggy on who played drums at that gig, but we know for sure that they are looking for a new drummer, and are accepting applications on their myspace page)

Washing Machine lists a lot of Elephant 6 bands as influences, and although we can see a connection due to their occasional use of horns and the airy pop sensibility that makes itself instantly apparent, we also hear a lot of bedroom pop in their songs (like Magnetic Fields, Russian Futurists, Skeletons, etc.), along with a light touch of Chicago post rockers like Sea and Cake, some Starlight Mints, and yes, a little Of Montreal thrown in for good measure. But really, they don't sound a lot like any of those bands, and we can already tell that they are going to sound less and less like them as they continue to create new material. To put it simply, they sound like a band that is actually crafting something new out of their influences rather than just sounding like them.

If you haven't heard these guys yet, download the tracks below. Because if there is one new band in Dallas that will immediately get your attention, one that has us genuinely excited about their future, it is Washing Machine. And you'll probably only have to listen once.

"Heart like a Megaphone" Link

"Days go By" Link

"Technology" Link

Days Go By and Heart Like a Megaphone are kind of quiet for some reason, so turn em up.

Don't point that finger at me you prick. Yes, he was once one of the most simultaneously powerful and corrupt majority leaders in modern congressional history, but now he's going to have to go back to spraying Bug B Gone around the edges of peoples yards in some crappy suburb of Houston (Yes, that is in fact what he used to do before he ran for congress). Its official: Tom DeLay will NOT seek reelection this year. This probably had something to do with one of his top assistants pleading guilty to conspiracy over the weekend and promising to help the government's investigation into DeLay's dealings with Jack Abramoff. Or maybe baby Jesus told him to do it or something.

And although it is somewhat surprising that it took THIS long, considering that the guy ran a modern day Christian right wing free market version of Tammany Hall for several years, we can still look at this as a small victory for common sense. Here is the Dallas Morning News article.

Its pretty sad when not even Karl Rove can save you from your fuck ups, isn't it?

Oh, and here is a Time magazine piece on his retirement. Its really funny. DeLay claims that he smiled in his mug shots because he "wanted people to see Christ through him." Blow me.

There will be a free Mexican food buffet from Pepe's Y Mito's upstairs at the Cavern during Cee Pee's Dj set, where a listening party for the new Flaming Lips album will be taking place. You should go for the free food and the good music that CeePee will play, but I've gotta say it: the new Flaming Lips album sucks. Like, really bad. Like, their worst album in more than a decade. Has anyone else heard it? If you haven't, and you like the Flaming Lips, get ready to be disappointed.
Shit goes down at 10pm.

1. Band of Horses - Everything All the Time
2. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Show Your Bones
3. The Black Angels - Passover
4. Jel - Soft Money
5. Liars - Drum's Not Dead
6. Flaming Lips - 20 Years of Weird: The Fearless Freaks
7. Bibio - Hand Cranked
8. Mates of State - Bring it Back
9. Centro-Matic - Fort Recovery
10. Half-Handed Cloud - Halos & Lassos
11. Loose Fur - Born Again in the USA
12. Ambulance Ltd. - New English EP
13. Quasi - When the Going Gets Dark
14. Metric - Live it Out
15. Josh Rouse - Subtitulo
16. Death Cab for Cutie - Plans
17. Magic Numbers - Magic Numbers
18. Angels of Light/Akron Family - Akron Family/Angels of Light
19. Man Man - Six Demon Bag
20. Deadboy & the Elephantmen - We are Night Sky

Frank will play a song by Prayer for Animals tonight, along with a bunch of the bands that will be appearing at next weekend's Wall of Sound Festival in Fort Worth. We'll do a little preview of the fest as well some time this week.

Looks like theres gonna be a Vice Records Party tonight for the release of the second CD in the Run the Road series, a compilation of the latest in UK grime (haven't heard it, but the first CD was fantastic). Its at the Home Bar (which I've never been to) near the corner of Greenville and Dyer St. DJ Nature will doing a set there along with several others that will focus mostly on grime, dancehall, dubstep, Bmore club and reggae. Its a Vice thing, so be on the look out for people that LOOK way cooler than they actually are. Should be a good time.

We were gonna do a really funny April Fools trick today, but we don't have the time or energy. It would have been like super awesome though! Anyway, here is some stuff to do tonight. As a side note, we saw Lord Henry play last night at Yellow House. We have to say that they sounded really good and put on an energetic and tight live show. Its just that their music seemed to be little more than a good version of stuff we've been hearing all over the place for the past couple of years. Poppy, new wave dance rock with live and electronic beats mixed together. If we would have seen this show three years ago, we'd probably be raving about it right now. Maybe that is a bit shallow, but its hard to get excited about something, even if you like it, when you have been overexposed to it for a long period of time. It just felt a bit tired, even if it was well done. Anyway, here we go:

1. Undeniable Records Party (Tah Dahs, Happy Bullets, Theater Fire @ Doublewide)
It will be nice to hear what Theater Fire might have up their sleeves for the new record, which I believe will be released by Undeniable some time this year. They go on first, probably around 10, so get there early if you're into that sort of thing.

2. Mathstorm | Man Factory | Washing Machine | My Heart is a Machine (Rubber Gloves-Denton)
This should be a really good show. Mathstorm sounds decent on their Myspace, and Washing Machine sounds pretty fantastic. This show provides a good sample of some of the bands that might be really bigon the local scene in about a year or two. See for yourself. Someone said that Voot Cha Index might be playing as well, but we really can't confirm that.