Lost Boy.

Actor Corey Haim passed away this morning, losing his battle with drugs at the age of 38. Life is too short. Tell your friends you love them today.

I don’t like shitty music. Unfortunately, just between you and I, there is a ton of it out there. From “NAMBLA-approved” Justin Bieber to “all twirls/ no talent” Pink, America loves mediocre jams as much as they love being morbidly obese. Luckily, there is a some green grass on the other side of this toxic mountain. We should all thank the “god of skinny punks” that we have The Phenomenal Handclap Band to keep our heads up in this murky sea of autotune and bad dance moves. Give this gang a listen and thank me later.

Baby

The Phenomenal Handclap Band | MySpace Music Videos

That’s right. Fresh off of their tour with Teagan and Sara, Australia’s An Horse continues to dazzle listeners with the release of a remix EP featuring Hector’s own, Bodega Girls. Bed Rearranged by An Horse will be available for mass consumption on March 23rd. This is going to be killer. (The Bodega Girls remix will be of the song below).

Check out An Horse on their Spring 2010 Tour:

3/19 Austin, TX SXSW-Galaxy Room (10:00pm)
Mom+Pop/Frenchkiss show
3/20 Austin, TX SXSW - Emo’s Jr. (1:00am)
3/22 Denton, TX Rubber Gloves
3/24 Jacksonville, FL Jack Rabbits
3/25 Charlotte, NC Neighborhood Theatre
3/26 Norfolk, VA 37th and Zen
3/27 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom w/ Dashboard Confessional
3/28 Hartford, CT Webster Theatre w/ Dashboard Confessional
3/29 Buffalo, NY Big Orbit Soundlab
3/30 Pittsburgh, PA Thunderbird Café
4/15 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg w/ Kaki King
4/16 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom w/ Kaki King
4/17 Boston, MA The Middle East w/ Kaki King
4/19 Northampton, MA Iron Horse Music Hall w/ Kaki King
4/20 Portland, ME Port City Music Hall w/ Kaki King
4/21 Burlington, VT Higher Ground w/ Kaki King
4/28 Philadelphia, PA Theatre Of Living Arts w/ Kaki King
4/29 Washington, DC 9:30 Club w/ Kaki King
4/30 Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle w/ Kaki King
5/1 Atlanta, GA Variety Playhouse w/ Kaki King
5/4 Cleveland, OH Beachland Ballroom w/ Kaki King
5/5 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark w/ Kaki King
5/6 Chicago, IL Park West w/ Kaki King
5/7 Madison, WI High Noon Saloon w/ Kaki King
5/8 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theatre w/ Kaki King
5/9 Omaha, NE The Waiting Room w/ Kaki King
5/11 Boulder, CO The Fox Theatre w/ Kaki King
5/12 Aspen, CO Belly Up w/ Kaki King
5/14 Seattle, WA Neumo’s w/ Kaki King
5/15 Portland, WA Wonder Ballroom w/ Kaki King
5/16 Eugene, OR WOW Hall w/ Kaki King
5/19 Reno, NV Knitting Factory w/ Kaki King
5/20 Petaluma, CA Mystic Theatre w/ Kaki King
5/21 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore w/ Kaki King
5/22 Los Angeles, CA El Rey Theatre w/ Kaki King
5/23 San Diego, CA Belly Up Tavern w/ Kaki King
5/25 Pomona, CA The Glasshouse w/ Kaki King

This is just an amazing video of an amazing jam. Japanese DJ, Shinichi Osawa teams up with indie-rockers Au Revoir Simone to bring you “Star Guitar”. You can purchase the song on iTunes here. Enjoy!

Tigercity is at Harper’s Ferry. Tigercity rules but Harper’s Ferry is the Glenn Beck of Boston Music Venues.

Bodega Girls are DJ’ing for Haiti at Hennessy’s.

Pretty & Nice are at The Middle East upstairs.

Or you could just stay home and rock out to this:

Guru Beats The Odds…

I have to say, when bad things happen to pop stars and entertainers, it is difficult for me to get get extremely emotional about it. I am not saying that I am a cold-hearted snake or that I don’t feel sympathy for them, it is just difficult for me to feel a connection to those who are like superheroes in this world. It is like they exist in some far-away galaxy and that they can never be touched. However, when I found out last week that Guru, one of the greatest emcees of our generation, had a heart attack and went into a coma, I was floored.

It brought me back to being a 15 year-old skate punk blasting Gang Starr’s Daily Operation in my walkman and trying to ollie the stairs outside of Back Bay Station, which is not far from where Guru was born. I felt a connection to Guru because he seemed to speak with a different voice, more peaceful and chilled-out than other hip hop acts of the time. Those days were crucial in my growth into a man, and Guru and Gang Starr were part of the soundtrack. I was truly saddened that he might be gone.

However, good news came yesterday as Guru had awaken from his coma and is expected to make a full recovery. Guru even issued a statement to his friends and fans: “I am doing fine and I am recovering!. I’m weak though … I appreciate your well wishes and all the love.”

Guru is a king and I’m glad he is alive and well. Take a listen to some great Gang Starr clips below. Welcome back, Guru!

If you don’t know the work of Harry Nilsson, then frankly, I feel bad for you. My homework assignment for you is to go to your local record store and try to score a copy of Pussy Cats, a masterpiece that Nilsson created with John Lennon during their “Lost Weekend” in L.A. in 1974. Below is a couple of amazing performances by Nilsson, one of them being a Grammy presentation with Ringo Starr in 1973. Nilsson is incredible…get into it.

Phenomenal?

Can the music in New York get any better? The Big Apple kicks our ass once again with The Phenomenal Handclap Band. The dudes and ladies are so killer. Check them out right now!

To quote my good pal Huey Lewis, it seems that the heart of rock n’ roll is still beating. It was getting scary there for awhile. It seemed that not so long ago, rock n’ roll sniffed some chloroform, was bound and gagged, and was tossed in the trunk of the ‘57 Chevy of the music world. But today, we have hope. Rock n’ roll has risen like the Phoenix from the ashes of overproduced, overrated b.s. One example of rock redemption is Free Energy from Philadelphia. Now, I know I have written about them before, but they are seriously blowing my mind and speakers on an hourly basis. Like a train crashing into a jet, this shit is big and real. You can listen to Free Energy’s entire new album, Stuck On Nothing, right here. This is great music for partying, smoking dope, or just lettin’ it all hang out. Give this band a whirl and thank me later. Peace.

Free Energy - Free Energy from DFA Records on Vimeo.

Why did it take me so many years to find out how truly awesome CAN is? When I was in my teenage “gettin’ high” phase, I was wasting my time listening to Pavement and Archers of Loaf when I could have totally brought my altered state to another spiritual level just by listening to Tago Mago or Soundtracks by these Kraut-rock heroes. These guys are mind-blowing and they are not afraid to rock out on a tune for 15 minutes, which is a perfect amount of time for one to hallucinate so bad that they think they are stuck in an episode of Family Guy…which has happened to me.

So get comfortable, turn on your black light and get ready to “dig some grooves, man.” CAN is great music for getting altered.

(Hector does not endorse drug use, unless it’s a Friday, Saturday, or if it has “been a long day”)