Last chance to do something good in 2007

The next time someone tells you that booze doesn't make the world a better place, you just tell them to go listen to Corrine Bailey Rae and her remix of "Like A Star" at the wonderfully titled website www.generouspour.com. The seasonal website for Clos du Bois Wines has lovely traditonal holiday recipes for things like, um, "stoned crab cobbler with coconut" (what, are we pre-gaming for New Year's at Jimmy Buffett's beach hut?) and "Hot Italian Sausage Stuffing" (I'm pretty sure that's the gay porn version of "Roman Holiday"). Anyway, the website, which will be up through today, has a free download of "Like A Star" by Grammy nominee Rae and every time someone downloads it, Clos du Bois will donate $1 to Share Our Strength, a non-profit working against hunger and poverty in the U.S. It sounds like booze-company guilt to us, and wouldn't Amy Winehouse have been a better choice here for so many reasons? As for the music: The song is pretty much played out and the remix here is a fairly glossy affair but it is also free and unobjectionable as a dinner-party fare. So pass the potatoes...

--Geoff Boucher

The hidden pleasures of 2007: great band names

2007 may have been a great year for music, but I was too busy listening to hateful talk radio to notice. I did, however, notice that ’07 was a banner year for band names. Here are the best of ’07, in no particular order:

1. Gay Beast (what is it about Minneapolis? They always breed the best band names: Husker Du, Babes in Toyland, Muffler Chump, etc.)
2. Raspberry Cocaine (we prefer Boysenberry ourselves)
3. Airborne Toxic Event (otherwise known as sick building syndrome?)
4. Sissy Wish (reminds us of something Sonic Youth might have tossed off in a studio circa ’91).
5. Casxio (sex + casios = genius)

--Charlie Amter

(Pictured: Princess Pop performing at a Raspberry Cocaine show. Photographer: Mark Huddleston)

The hidden pleasures of 2007: saints and sinners

The Blood Brothers: The Seattle quintet's recent breakup is a sad reminder of the ambitions that the Bros had for hardcore. Their larynx-ripping dual-vocal attack sometimes overshadowed their Wagnerian approach to post-punk songwriting, which was the most intelligent take on the idea of 'aggressive music' since Refused's heyday. They were campy enough to call a song "F*ing's Greatest Hits," but scary enough to make the Fueled By Ramen set hide behind their bangs and damn one of the genre's most riveting bands to the shoulda-been-more-famous rack. --August Brown

Rilo Kiley: The big yawn that greeted Rilo Kiley’s 2007 release “Under the Blacklight,” shows how quickly indie rock fans will turn on their fave raves. What sin did the L.A. darlings commit? Trying something new – specifically, sophisticated pop that wasn’t crunk enough for Britney Spears apologists, nor bookishly twee enough for Decemberists fans. But even if she’s using fewer words per line, Jenny Lewis is still the best young lyricist in rock. Don’t give up on her, hipsters!! --Ann Powers

(Pictured: Lewis in flight. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha /LAT)

The hidden pleasures of 2007: jazz, anyone?

And no, we’re not just talking about any number of archive-dredging reissues that happen every year -- though many of these can be welcome. Jazz as a whole is still alive and moving forward in the 21st century; it just takes a little more digging to find the evidence. The double album from Ken Vandermark’s grimy and bass-heavy new project Powerhouse Sound was one of the top releases of the year, featuring contributions from Tortoise’s John Herndon and Jeff Parker on compositions dedicated to such non-typical luminaries as Hank Shocklee and the Stooges. Also keep an eye out for His Name Is Alive’s gorgeous and contemplative tribute to saxophonist Marion Brown, “Sweet Earth Flower,” a shocking contrast to singer-songwriter Warn Defever’s usual slowcore-leaning fare, with a little help from members of Nomo. Both are great ways to expand one’s listening palette, and all without ever getting caught in a "quiet storm, soft and warm." --Chris Barton

The hidden pleasures of 2007: smog cutter and fields of joy

2007: it's slipping right between our fingers. These handful of days between the frenzy of Christmas and the drunken surrender to 2008 are lost times, typically marked by decreased concentration, increase in returns of ill-fitting or otherwise unsuitable gifts, the temporary but nevertheless inconvenient closings of favorite restaurants (what's up, Maroush?) and other trivial follies. But, it is also a time of reflection on the copious gifts of 2007, especially those that didn't get their comeuppance by the typical tabulators.

For the next few days, we'll be paying tribute to those hidden gems -- favorite releases, concerts and sudden revelations, some of which had little to do with 2007 but still count as lively sparks on the great musical continuum. Calendar years are so 2006 anyway. And yes, that sentence only boggles the mind the more you read it.

Anyway, I'll start with a few slept-on albums:

Bill Callahan, "Woke on a Whaleheart" (Drag City): This poor bastard. Will he ever get a break? Will the masses ever listen? Finally, after 456 sad sack records, dude goes and falls in love with Joanna Newsom, hooks up (artistically!) with a gospel singer and makes the first genuinely happy, uplifting record in his career. No one cared, which sort of makes sense in the world of Callahan, formerly known as Smog. He's the hapless troubadour circling the lands with wise songs -- we, as the fools of the Earth, aren't supposed to listen to this kind of wisdom until he's dead or immortalized by the Todd Haynes of 2207.

The Field, From Here We Go Sublime (Kompact) and Field Music, Tones of Town (Memphis Industries): These albums have nothing in common besides an obvious love for the word field but it's fun to compare. On one side, we have the Field, aka Axel Willner, whose publicity picture features a wispish, red-haired Swede in a fantastic, multi-colored t-shirt. His music -- gorgeously icy but supple waves of electronica -- is similarly concerned with heat and light, chill and energy. And don't even get me started on that Lionel Richie sample that resonates throughout then blooms at the end of "A Paw in the Face" like some dirty, delicious weed. On the other side, there's Field Music's "Tones of Town," released in the leaden month of February, seemingly to a handful of critics who either fell in love with this smart set of ticking, racing songs or who never cracked the jewel case. Sometimes these English fops can be a little tea-time restrained but at their best, Field Music makes pop-music geometry, elegant proofs to soothe your jagged heart.

OK, more of these coming on Monday. Stand ready with your champagne. I recommend Freixenet. So underrated.

--Margaret Wappler

Will Call Winner: Jens Hannemann

For the most part, publicists tend to avoid announcing big concerts the week before or after Christmas--unless it's for a New Year's Eve show with a last-minute lineup, like the one rapper Nas will headline at the WeHo House of Blues (tickets on sale now)--so it's a quiet week again at Will Call.

There were a few decent shows popping up among the chirping crickets though, including: The Harry Nilsson Tribute Show with singer-songwriter Ferraby Lionheart and a bunch of other local yokels at Bordello on Jan. 31; the Donnas at Crash Mansion on Feb. 6; Built to Spill and the Meat Puppets at the Glass House on March 22; and Bad Religion at the WeHo House of Blues on March 5 (all tickets on sale now).

But the strangest news comes from the Troubadour, where SNL's Fred Armisen will appear on Jan. 28--as his drum-playing alter-ego, Jens Hannemann--to give a preview of his new faux-instructional DVD “Fred Armisen Presents: Jens Hannemann Complicated Drumming Technique.” If that weren't enough of a draw, L.A.-based musician Petra Haden will be accompanying him on stage.

Could be great fun or a total time-waster. Either way, count on it being weird. Get your tickets now.

The Binges bring on the high-energy rock

If the

Binges had any more energy, they’d plug their amps into themselves. The Los Angeles

quartet (pictured) could be champs at most time spent airborne during a club set, if

they kept such records, but Mayuko Okai — one of two Tokyo-born sisters in the band — is

content with her honorary title of happiest guitarist around.

“It took me six years of experience, with so many other bands ... and now, we have

almost two years with this lineup,” she says. “This is the band I’ve put my heart into.”

Her sister/bassist Tsuzumi Okai, singer Dylan Squatcho and drummer Travis “Skanky”

Smith seem to have bought in too; the foursome’s increasingly sharp, in-your-face punk

rock (as much Stooges as Puffy AmiYumi) must be as fun to play as it is to witness.

“One of the biggest boosts has been the results — little by little, people seem to

find us,” Mayuko Okai says, marveling at the locals who shout along to the Binges’

lyrics even though the band’s output so far remains only “Hear Me Out,” a single

released by indie imprint Sympathy

for the Record Industry (in limbo since label chief Long Gone John moved from Long

Beach to Olympia, Wash.). “We’ve recorded 14 songs, but [releasing them] depends on Long

Gone John,” who is divesting himself of the label, Okai says. “I can’t wait to put out

the album.”

Coming off a raucous three-week residency at Spaceland, Friday’s show at the Roxy

figures to be special — Mayuko and Tsuzumi’s mother, Takae Okai, will be visiting from

Japan and seeing her daughters perform live for the first time.

||| Download: "Pay to Play" from the band's MySpace site.

Photo by

Adam Cohen

Rademacher survives the commute, releases ‘Stunts’

In many ways, Rademacher could have

only called its debut album "Stunts."

After all, the indie-rock quartet is all about maneuvers. Frontman Malcolm Sosa's

real name is Mike Mancillas (he assumed the alter ego of his collegiate doppelganger,

who had a defter touch with coeds). And the band lives in Fresno, "although we just

thought we'd tell everyone we live in L.A.," considering how often Rademacher has

gigged here, says Sosa, all too familiar with the three-hour-plus commute from the

Central Valley.

Then there is the music -- wry, Pavement-inspired ditties that send Sosa's shout-sung

vocals catapulting over barbed-wire guitar licks and acrobatic keyboard lines. The

self-released album, which follows three uneven EPs, was produced by one of Fresno's

finer exports, Earlimart's Aaron Espinoza,

at the Ship studio in Eagle Rock.

If "Stunts' " razor-sharp attitude and jittery paranoia feel familiar, Sosa

confesses his love for "the really early Earlimart sound, when they thought they

were a punk band," as well as "Under the Western Freeway," the first

album by Modesto's Grandaddy ("just the spookiness of it").

The track "If U Got Some Magic" embodies it best: "It doesn't matter

whether it's concrete or abstract," Sosa says of his wordplay. "I just try to

keep it passionate but surreal."

||| Live: Rademacher's record-release show is tonight at the

Echo.

||| Download: "If U Got Some

Magic."

Will Call Winner: Talib Kweli

With the Christmas holidays in full swing, it's been a pretty quiet week for concert promoters and their minions. There are a few reasons not Grinch out over the results though.

Ska fans will be delighted to note that the Toasters will play the Knitting Factory on Jan. 25 (on sale now). P-Funk fans will be pleased to hear that George Clinton has two local shows lined up: Feb 10 at the Vault 350 in Long Beach; and Feb. 15 at the Malibu Inn (both shows on sale now). And hip-hop fans should be thrilled with the latest news from Crash Mansion. The new downtown venue has Bone Thugs-n-Harmony slated for Feb. 22, the Coup on Feb. 23 and Tech N9ne and E-40 tentatively scheduled for April 15 (all tickets on sale now).

So who's the winner? Well, the Coup deserves some press after putting out one of the best albums of 2006 and one of my favorite tracks of the year. But I've got to go with Brooklyn's foremost "conscious" rapper, Talib Kweli, who announced two big shows (for which tickets haven't yet gone on sale so it's doubly newsworthy): Jan 24 at the Grove of Anaheim (on sale Saturday); and Jan. 25 at the West Hollywood House of Blues (on sale Thursday).

If you can't wait till January, of course, Kweli will be headlining the Roosevelt Hotel's New Year's Eve Masquerade Ball in Hollywood. Thanks to my associate Charlie Amter, you can read all about it in next week's Guide.

--Liam Gowing

Ringo: “I wanna hold your hand … with my new album”

The Beatle who earned his famous nickname by covering his fingers with rings is now making news with a bracelet. “Liverpool 8,” the new Capitol/EMI album from 67-year-old Ringo Starr, is being released Jan. 15 as a CD, a digital download and also as a “pre-loaded USB wristband” that includes all 12 tracks and a slew of extras, including “a personal video message, interview and track commentary from Ringo Starr, behind-the-scenes making-of footage from the recording sessions, ringtones, photos and more.” (Shouldn't those be "Ringo-tones"?) There’s more details at www.ringostarr.com but this already opens a whole new world of albums-as-accessories. How soon can we buy “Blackout” by Britney Spears in the ankle-monitor format? And how great would be to work toward the weekend by wearing Loverboy’s greatest hits in your headband?

--Geoff Boucher