Blogs

Happy America weekend, everyone! Team Cream will be getting drunk and blowing shit up like real Americans for the next few days, so posting will be light, as they say.

Speaking of getting drunk, on my way to work the other day I saw a billboard that said: "Six-Pack x 300 Horsepower. Do the math." It took me a second to realize that the answer was not "1800 Beerhorses." Now, I certainly don't think that drunk driving is cool, or in any way advisable, but I will say that if you're going to make billboards about how drunk driving is not awesome, then you shouldn't use words that are commonly associated with awesomeness. That's all.

Speaking of drunk driving, this weekend will be a series of field days for the Heat, meaning that on top of all the other reasons you shouldn't drive drunk, there's the getting-a-DUI part, which is increasingly possible when you consider all the checkpoints that will be set up to catch you. If you want to know where those will be, check out the list after the jump. (I have no idea what a "saturation patrol" is, but I'm pretty sure none of y'all want anything to do with one.)

So happy together.

According to a press release recieved by the Cream:

Rodney Atkins and Michael Waltrip [have] become partners.

Congrats, dudes!

Does this count as flag desecration?

Do you like fucking? Do you like America? Do you like tits? Then you'll like Sex & Patriotism. It's about to be the 4th of July, you guys. How about in honor of breaking free of all those ridiculous chains that bind us--you know, lack of fucking, lack of tits, and lack of American loyalty--we instead turn to bodacious babes and big posturing rock? Local fuck-rock band Sex & Patriotism do exactly that. Hey, don't listen to me--I don't look like that rolled up in a flag. But perhaps this micro-review from NashvilleRock.net will help: "No electronica, no horn-rimmed glasses, no samples, no retarded costumes*. Just pure, unadulterated rock & roll from Sex & Patriotism."

Tiny aside: Pure, unadulterated rock & roll could mean AC/DC or Fats Domino. In this case, it means GnR-meets-Bang Tango. *Hot band pic after the jump!

* Skeletor and Early Man. Just because. (HT: Brandez.)

* Oh, fine. You want Sesame Street Slayer instead?

* For the six of you who have not already heard through vines of various kinds, Hotpipes have broken up. Let's just say we weren't happy to hear that.

* Someone/something called Live on the Green just started following Nashville Cream on twitter. Their web address is Lightning 100's site and they tell us to "get ready for the official announcement." Sounds like a concert series of some sort, right? We'll let you know.

* Guitarist Jason Yeary has quit Shoot the Mountain.

* Speaking of guitarist Jason Yeary, he is a member of Hammertorch, who have a new song up on their MySpace for your listening. The 'Torch will get to torchin' it up for their CD release shows on July 23 (at The 5 Spot w/Chris Crofton and the Alcohol Stuntband and Eric Zarycki & The Persuasion) and July 25 (Wall Street w/All We Seabees and The Bohannons).

* This weekend's midnight showing of Point Break at The Belcourt has been canceled, due to a "change in rights." Totally extreme bummer.

Even though Roman Candle's Daytrotter Session has been out for over a week, it just came to our attention today. They re-cut three tunes from their latest record, Oh Tall Tree in the Ear--including that pretty sweet "Why Modern Radio Is A-OK" song from their Lake Fever Session--as well as a previously unreleased song called "Starting From Scratch." And while you're trotting about everyone's favorite Illinois-based daily recording session website, you might as well peep Deer Tick's sesh from last week as well. Happy Thriday. Or Fursday. Whatever, bring on the three-day weekend already.

On the one hand, you've got Me and My Arrow: Harry Nilsson Tribute Night at Mercy Lounge. It's a benefit show for a local musician--Terry Price of Oblio was recently diagnosed with Bell's palsy--and features a strong lineup of locals in support: Oblio, The Features, Eureka Gold, David Mead, James Wallace & the Naked Light, Heypenny, The Silver Seas' Daniel Tashian, and a supergroup featuring Mike Grimes, The Raconteurs' Brendan Benson, My Morning Jacket's Carl Broemel, Hotpipes' Jon Rogers, and Marc Pisapia. To get you psyched for that one, Out the Other's got a Nilsson mini-mix.

On the other hand, you've got the (maybe just a little bit over-) hyped two-dude guitar-slashing action of Japandroids. And while this show is not a benefit for medical cost, Japandroids singer dude Brian King did suffer a perforated ulcer recently, so they're no strangers to how weak the flesh is. Read Dustin Allen's feature on Post-Nothing here, and/or check out the band playing "Young Hearts Spark Fire."

What's it going to be?

All I could think while watching this Young Buck photo shoot for Concrete: I need to get one of those bandanas.

Japandroids

Pay for Play: Drummer Josh Freese sells himself, his famous friends and all-you-can-eat shrimp at Sizzler

The Boys Are Coming to Town: Japandroids deliver no-frills noise rock.

Everything's Relative: Holly Williams' fetching new album, Here With Me, brings her family to mind.

In The Spin: How I Became the Bomb and KinderCastle play ELO, Those Darlins and more.

Critics' Picks like you wouldn't believe: Nilsson night at Mercy Lounge, Kink Ador, Les Claypool, Poolapalooza, Biscuits and Gravy and plenty more. Believe it!

Whether you love or hate Nashville's The Armed Forces (meaning you probably hate them), perhaps you can at least appreciate their tenacity. Despite increasingly poor results in Nashville popularity polls, this rag-tag crew of hipster misfits doesn't have "quit" in its vocabulary. They continue to play out and tour at every opportunity where the empty rooms and progressively crueler criticisms only seem to push them harder. And of course you remember last year's Next Big Nashville debacle.

Honestly, it seems the only thing that's been keeping the band from assuming a lovable underdog image in our eyes, is, unfortunately, better music. The Armed Forces have always worn a who's-who list of seminal punk and soul influences on their sleeves, but ones that didn't quite translate into audio gold on their debut EP Modern Gospel for Modern Men and Women. Well, whether or not you want to believe it, the band may have actually managed to cough up that missing ingredient with their newest effort. And no, I'm not shitting you. Read on.

Judging by the sheerly fanatical response a friend and former roommate of mine had to The Black Lips' performance with Those Darlins last weekend--documented above by YouTube user RMichael--I'm guessing he and at least another two-dozen of you will flip your shit over some news we just received. Atlanta's most P4k-beloved, eardrum-rupturing, dirty-sexy four-piece will be returning to Mercy Lounge Oct. 29, and this time they'll be joined by local pot aficionados and movie stars Turbo Fruits. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 the day of, and you can go ahead and purchase those here.