By Frank Phosphate and Defensive Listening.

The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart | Depreciation Guild | Cymbals Eat Guitars (Lola's)
My life revolves around pop music, always has, probably always will. Especially pop that I will not so simply refer to as "independently produced forward thing pop," instead of that dreaded "indie-pop" term that we like to throw around so much. This pop music beast shows it self to me in varying, spectrum-bending ways. On one end we have pop deconstructionists like Ariel Pink who strips away all of the sheen brought on by timely studio tricks, leaving the listener with hooks at their most frail, sleazy, and challenging.

Then we have the Max Tundra's, whose job it is to turn the pop song upside down, filter it through his post modern hyper digital perspective, leaving us with an equally challenging and yet totally different piece of Pop Art brilliance.

So we are left with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, the New York-based band whose self-titled release has not left my record player for more than a 24 hour period since it's release in February. Critics love to tie their influences to the whipping post; Ghosts of "Ecstasy and Wine"- era My Bloody Valentine, everything C86 and (gasp!) even The Smiths can be heard throughout their music. I will not deny, they do wear said influences on their sleeves, but come on, that stuff was 20+ years ago. Countless bands have attempted to recreate said sound, just like any other genre, since The Smiths broke up. Very few have done it with favorable results. These New Yorkers know how to write great songs, and know which medium to deliver them through. Three chords may be enough to make up a pop song, but it takes those chords coupled with heart to make it great. Luckily and ironically, Pains have that in spades. Whereas Ariel Pink is too simple for some and Max too out there, Pains' Achilles' heel is that they relish in the sound that means a lot to a certain set of music listeners. I for one, thank them for that.

The recently released "Higher Than the Stars" EP is an obvious extension of their debut. The fuzz has been cleaned up on a couple tracks, letting those glorious hooks and even the vocals shine though. Saint Etienne, another band unwilling to compromise their pop vision in lieu of records sales, offer a pleasant re-mix as well. Wisely chosen. Can't wait to pick up the vinyl so it can rest at its new home atop my stereo. If this kind of music gives you a huge boner like it does me, might I suggest that you also check out the criminally overlooked Bubblegum Lemonade debut, "Doubleplusgood," released last year. Another amazing record. Let's hope that we are on the precipice of an independently produced forward thing pop revival.-(FP)

Chris Clavin | Imperial Can | Gerd | Genius Party | Star Commander (1919 Hemphill)
Look, there might be some people at this show awkwardly looking at the ground and unable to make eye contact because they thoroughly fucking enjoyed themselves at a certain big event last night. It's okay to have a good time, okay? Life is so full of pain, take happiness anyway you can.-(DL)

Experimental Dental School | El Paso Hot Button | History At Our Disposal (The Lounge)
Wish I had more time to talk about Experimental Dental School's genuinely interesting music; ambitiously stuttered rhythms with smooth yet quirky vocalizing over it and somehow created by a mere duo, but it's worth checking out at The Lounge tonight. -(DL)

The Polyphonic Spree | DJ Lord (The Palladium)
FREE SHOW FOR 21 AND UP/SPONSORED BY SOCO | THAT'S SOUTHERN COMFORT FOR ALL OF YOU UNDERAGE LIGHTWEIGHTS WHO DON'T KNOW WHAT REAL "WHISKEY FLAVORED" LIQUOR IS ALL ABOUT. ON THEIR WEBSITE THEY HAVE INSTRUCTIONS SHOWING YOU HOW TO PUT A HOT DOG IN A CROISSANT BEFORE YOU MICROWAVE IT. CHECK IT THE FUCK OUT. SEE YOU TONIGHT.-(DL)

Top Notch Thursdays With DJ SOBER and Dayta plus Screening: "Fixed City" (The Cavern)

I don't how easy it will be to show a film at The Cavern, but they will attempt it at Top Notch tonight along with a bike ride. From Sober:

This is a special edition of Top Notch.

Sixty 4 Art Collective and myself will be hosting a bike ride that will start at Mockingbird Station @ 8pm. The ride will end at The Cavern @ 10pm, where we will be screening the brand new "Fixed City" film for the first time in the US!

Stick around for Top Notch! I have the homie Dayta from Houston rocking with me.

It's going down in these skreets!

80's Night With DJ G (Hailey's)

Monotonix | Harlem | Uptown Bums (Rubber Gloves)
Monotonix are worth the slightly higher ticket price tonight, and you should really see them before they are forced to play a lame venue due to their ever increasing profile. I think it's really cool that Drag City put their record out, and I certainly didn't see that one coming. The Chicago-based label has definitely kept things interesting even if I don't always understand their actions. I recently overpaid for a publication they put out simply because they had an article on Del Shannon mixed in with all of the weirdo folk articles. -(DL)