Inspired by this post, Line Out reader Mike Raia brought two more such sites to my attention.
First up, the death metal band name generator. First one I got: Maggot Colon. Awesome.
And... the cover song generator, which may be the most fun one yet.
This Bike is a Pipe Bomb was scheduled to play tonight at the Mix in Georgetown. All-ages columnist Casey Catherwood urges you to go see the band in this week's Underage:
Touring the world's basements and all-ages venues for over 10 years, the band share a message of civil rights and peace through sing-alongs so infectious one can't help but get caught up in them. Hailing from swampy Pensacola, TBIAPB infuse their wild punk with a touch of down-home, bayou folk that separates them from fellow Floridians Against Me. However, they achieve much the same effect as that band live—smiling kids will crowd-surf and yell till their voices go out as the band pound through their short, poppy songs about the toils (like getting arrested at a protest) and triumphs of living life DIY in America
Unfortunately, due to the flooding on I-5, This Bike is a Pipe bomb has been forced to cancel. If only they were This Hover-Bike is a Pipe Bomb.
Currently scrawled on the outside wall of the Comet...

Maybe someone took Greg Nickle's advice in this week's paper to heart?
And on January 3, 2009, he finally died.
Here's the Dylan song that will secure Zantzinger's notoriety for as long as people have ears and want to use them to listen to white guys with guitars.
Metafilter provides some good context on inaccuracies in the Dylan song, and Zantzinger's troubled later years.

Helms Alee were so loud at the Sunset last night, their gear was vibrating off the stage. Really. More than once, a member of the audience had to hop on stage and re-adjust Ben Verellen's amp so it didn't fall. If any other band in the city were playing that hard and loud on a Thursday night when I was battling a cold, chances are, I'd have left. No band needs to be that loud, after all, and I forgot my earplugs. But Helms Alee are an exception—they sound better the louder they get.
I don't know if it's Verellen's custom amps that keep the guitar and bass from getting too muddy or fuzzy at that kind of volume, but Helms Alee could've made me go deaf by the end of the show and I'd have thanked them. Their performance was mesmerizing. Their songs are dynamic exercises in volume control—one minute the guitar is fluttering and sparkling high above your head, then Verellen lets out a guttural yowl, the bass drops low, and, well, shit almost starts falling off the stage.
I could watch that band forever.

Born Anchors' set was impressive as well—they've got that guitar-heavy, driving sound nailed. And even though I've seen 'em a couple times in the past, last night it finally clicked with me who the singer reminds me of. It's Bono. As in the dude from U2. As in Mr. Mirrored Wrap Around Shades.
The band sent over a couple new tracks from their upcoming album Sprezzatura ("Deep Cuts" is my favorite):
Born Anchors - "Deep Cuts"
Born Anchors - "In Disguise"
The Bono thing isn't apparent on the recordings—on record he has an almost J. Robbins quality to him (which I love), but I swear there's just a hint of Bono live. I'm not crazy. And it's not a bad thing either. In this case, it's a good thing. It works. It rocks.
Haggard alleges that environmental non-profit Green Train forged his signature, among other things, in an effort to promote their suspicious environmental awareness effort, which involves a train ride across the country with musicians. Kinda makes me want to start a non-profit too; I've always wanted to take a train across the country with famous musicians, but the train is too expensive, and I don't know any famous musicians.
Read the full story here.
Optimist, Pessimist by Caves from Johnny Le on Vimeo.
Caves are a group that my man Barfly put me up on last year, much to my gratitude. They've got a killer dubflected-pop sound, kinda Duran Duran meets The Police to me. They've been to Seattle a few times now, doing shows with The Girls, The Cops, The Saturday Knights, Champagne Champagne, and Cancer Rising. Shit, They Live played their first show with Caves at a PDX fashion show, which was Rex Manning Day shexy. Yes, their Seattle rap cred is solid, for being a rock band from Portland. And they have a new video! Goddamn, summertime in the NW is looking fantastic right now!
Their Get On With It LP is a banger front to back- I highly suggest you hit the myspace, listen, cop it. Looking forward to more. (H/T to OG triple OG Chris Estey over @ TIG)
Truckasauras are in Pitchfork's Guest List column today:
>> My Dream Merch Table ItemAbsolutely Hummers. Not the H2 or H3 or whatever. The old-school Hummers. Gas-guzzling beasts, with "Truckasaurus" on the side.
Pitchfork: That would be a site to behold.
And each comes with an MP3 download, that's the incentive.
There's a photoshopped mock-up of said Truckasauras Hummer at Pitchfork. Lookin' good, guys.
On our way to Nectar last night, Stranger music editor Eric Grandy, Stranger freelancer Brandon Ivers, and I were talking about music (shocka!). Ivers commented that he wanted to focus more on making music than writing about it. I said, “Somebody needs to fuse country music with dubstep—and I think that person should be you, Brandon.” Mr. Grandy then coined the term “count-step” (pronounced with un-PC short “u” sound, of course). After the laughter subsided, about 18 minutes later, I realized that this hybrid really should happen.
The gauntlet has been thrown, producers. Start your Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard samples in 5, 4, 3…
Asva play King Cobra tonight—here's what Dave Segal said about their new record in this week's CD review:
Like its predecessor, the Seattle quintet's new full-length, What You Don't Know Is Frontier, isn't for the ADD sufferer; it contains four tracks clocking in at around 69 minutes (weighty things come to those who are good). A forlorn majesty permeates the disc. The album title—which sounds like a line from a Flannery O'Connor story—is actually from a poem written by Asva leader G. Stuart Dahlquist's brother Michael, the Silkworm drummer who tragically died in a car crash in 2005 at age 39. Stuart admits that Frontier is largely colored by a profound sense of loss over his late brother.
Read the whole review here.
Also tonight:
John Spalding Benefit
(MUSIC) In November, local musician John Spalding passed away after a long battle with lung cancer. To help Spalding's family pay off the remaining medical bills, at least half a dozen benefit shows have been organized in his honor. Tonight's impressive installment—which features Minus the Bear, the Cave Singers, Rocky Votolato, Past Lives, and Triumph of Lethargy—will be a bittersweet celebration of a beloved man and a reminder of the talent and generosity of Seattle's tight-knit music community. (Showbox at the Market, 1426 First Ave, 628-3151. 8 pm, $20, all ages.) MEGAN SELING
The Lonely Forest, Speaker Speaker, To the Waves, Daniel G. Harmann & the Trouble
(Sunset) Finally, the Lonely Forest are releasing a new record! They've been teasing for months, and now, with a new year, it's happening—the Anacortes trio (which recently became a quartet again) will release We Sing the Body Electric on April 21. The album is more pop rock than anything they've done before, while still maintaining the passion. In many songs, the piano, which has been the star in the past, takes a backseat to flawless, rolling drumming and chiming guitar. The Lonely Forest will undoubtedly be previewing some of the songs at tonight's gig, a showcase for local label Burning Buildings, which had a great '08 with releases from To the Waves, Speaker Speaker, and the Oregon Donor. With the Lonely Forest kicking things off, '09 looks just as promising. MEGAN SELING
Gabriel Teodros, Mystic, Canary Sing, DJ Ian Head
(Chop Suey) A central figure of the second wave of local hiphop that began in 2005, Gabriel Teodros is set to return in 2009. He made his first appearance as half of Abyssinian Creole, a Beacon Hill—based group that detailed in its soul-smooth tunes the experiences, challenges, and desires of young black immigrants. His last (and solo) CD, Lovework, was released in 2007 and provided local hiphop with the classic track "No Label." During 2008, Teodros spent a lot of time in Vancouver recording new material, and this show promises to reveal the effect that Seattle's sister city (its socialism, its black mountains, its Skytrain, its slim towers, its many immigrants) has had on his thinking and music. CHARLES MUDEDE
Miss Massive Snowflake, Bill Horist
(Comet) Miss Massive Snowflake's song "Shock and Awe" isn't the screamo guitar fuck you'd expect a song titled "Shock and Awe" to be: Instead, it's a quiet, thoughtful song with a jerky, lofty little chorus. With MMS, it's best to expect the unexpected. One song begins with something resembling a reggae riddim, tosses in some banjo amid the electronic bleeps and bloops when you're not expecting it, and ties the whole thing together with some Prince-like vocals. Another one sounds like the best Smog song not yet recorded. I don't know what to call it, but I like it a lot. PAUL CONSTANT
Ray Manzarek and Roy Rogers
(Triple Door) Like the Grateful Dead, the Doors polarize music fans into rigid positions of unstinting loyalty and spluttering hostility. Which means they've done something right. Ray Manzarek (who'll be 70 next month) played keyboards for the Doors, of course, and his fluid, rococo riffs and sprightly yet earthy blues-rock vamps won't be leaving the rock world's collective consciousness any time soon. What has he done for us lately? Besides an album of duets with blues slide guitarist and tourmate Roy Rogers, Ballads Before the Rain, and playing in a faux-Doors reunion band called Riders on the Storm, not much, but rarely do figures of his stature come through intimate clubs like the Triple Door. Besides showcasing some Doors classics for tonight's and Saturday's performances, Manzarek will also share anecdotes about his days with Jim Morrison and company. DAVE SEGAL
There's more, if you can believe it. See the rest of tonight's listings in our online calendar.
...and/or how many members of Cradle of Filth does it take to screw in a light bulb?

RIP: British pop singer Dave Dee passes at 65
I hate the future: Pearl Jam to release remastered Ten through Verizon Wireless
I’m guessing it won’t sound very “twee”: Saint Vitus, Neurosis, Melvins, and Sleep members form Shrinebuilder
Get Neutral Milk Hotel on that bill, please: Merge Records announces 20 year anniversary festival
So much for the mystique angle: Mt. St. Helens Vietnam band announces debut album info
Oh, oh, oh my god!
Rap icon Doug E. Fresh - best known for his '80s hit "The Show" - has been socked with three foreclosure actions by banks looking to collect more than $3.5 million in unpaid mortgages on a trio of his Harlem homes.