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BARRY THOMPSON
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The End Records (2012)
The good ol' days of 1996 — the year Local H's "Bound for the Floor" played once every half hour on modern-rock radio — was a long-ass time ago.
Home bass
We in Boston enjoy reminding others that Hooray for Earth originally formed here, so we can still call them a Boston band.
HLR Records
There is stuff not to like about Internal Logic: a pair of instrumental interludes probably don't need to be there, and the drums aren't as gleefully chaotic as they were on 2010's Past Time.
Oi! To the World
If you play in, work with, or write about bands, you've doubtlessly listened to dozens of wheeler-and-dealers pitch purportedly clever plans to "make it" in the music biz.
American boy
In many respects, the much-ballyhooed demise of the so-called "rock star" is a real thing.
The duke of dorks
These days, being a nerd is more likely to get you laid than beaten up.
28 Seeds later
Throughout history, influential entertainers such as Stanley Kubrick, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and the dudes who wrote the Bible have peddled theoretical final chapters to history.
Mad Oak Records (2012)
Some of us with a limited scope of vision figured Mellow Bravo — who strive for the crown of America's ultimate bar band — only had three possible strategies for following up 2010's Strut.
Bad company
There's no shame in baring your soul for the pleasant old folkees who haunt open mic nights at your favorite independent coffee shop.
Guitar hero
Years before he cracked the dimensional barrier that separates the real from unreal by turning Dethklok, the lovably sociopathic stars of Adult Swim's Metalocalypse , into one of the most lucrative metal acts in both cartoonland and the material world, Brendon Small trudged through stints at Berklee and Emerson.
Trainwreck in Cambridge
When Bow Thayer and Perfect Trainwreck were announced as the 2012 Rock 'n' Roll Rumble champions, I wondered what the judges were smoking, and where I could get some.
’Tis her heart!
While smoking behind Brighton Music Hall, I eavesdropped on one of the other cool nicotine-addicted kids as he asked his buddy, "Can you tell me what the fuck I just saw?"
Epitaph/Anti- (2011)
His inaugural gathering of bona-fide solo work summons an aura of full-blown tranquility.
Horror business
I once thought all music that wasn't performed by three-to-five angry dudes with guitars and a drum kit was stupid.
Polyvinyl (2012)
"I Luv Abortion" is the most disturbing song of 2012.
No Kidding?
The Somerville-based Union Square Round Table is about to prove how funny high art can be.
Hey, Duck you
I recall the notion of the Ducky Boys breaking up and getting back together for "one last show" on a regular basis becoming kind of a running joke among cynical punk scene dwellers of the '00s.
Mom + Pop (2012)
At least three unrelated people we know responded to Treats, the 2010 opening salvo from this Brooklynian pop duo, with statements like, "It's drum loops that took five minutes to write, cock-rock guitars, a singer who usually sounds like she's parodying a porn actor faking an orgasm — and it's super cool?"
SideOneDummy
It wouldn't be easy for Anti-Flag to stay relevant nearly a quarter century into their careers, but it's as if they're not even trying anymore.
Knocking Out Blackout
Even behind the wall of semi-anonymity provided by blogs and Internet message boards, some rules still apply.
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