A great line-up from Athens and Atlanta in support of our own legendary record store (and comic shop). Patterson Hood, Kelly Hogan, Magnapop, Carnivores, Back Pockets, something for everyone. $20 at the door. Patterson Hood - Pride of the Yankees Carnivores - Darker Days Kelly Hogan & the Mellowcremes - Hanky Panky Woman
Magnapop getting back together isn't a big deal. Well, it was, when it happened in 2002, but as a reunion that's lasted nearly a decade, it's pretty much business as ususal. What is exciting, though, is the original line-up of Magnapop getting back together . Don't worry, it's not a Sugababes battle of the iterations; Sharon Mulvaney and David McNair are coming back for one gig, in aid of Criminal Records in Atlanta. Paste reports: According to Mulvaney: "The inspiration behind bringing back the original lineup was that back around when our first [...]

And while we're on the subject of writers, why not spare some time for the existentialist charms of French Algerian author Albert Camus? Mark E. Smith named his legendary band after one of his books ( La Chute ), the Cure based their early classic Killing An Arab on his debut novel L'Étranger , while Magnapop mourned his tragic end in their Michael Stipe-produced Favorite Writer . "In Corsica the engines blew, your favorite writer died... in a car, in a crash, died in a fire, imagine that..." After the crash, which took place somewhere in [...]
"No help topics found?! You heap of garbage. You can't help me with that?" -- Tom, criticizing his unresponsive Macintosh computore "Without his tireless efforts, this show would not exist. Well, actually, it would exist, but it would really stink." -- Tom, praising the production work of David in D.C. "Yeah, the guy dances around and smokes cigarettes. Puts that, uh, clown makeup on in the mirror. Gets heart surgery." -- Tom, figuring out Fosse "What are you talking about ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?" -- Neil Mahoney, [...]
Magnapop - Bring It To Me mp3Magnapop - Q-Tip mp3both from 2009 release,Chase Parkon The Kraft RecordsI previously told the exhilarating story of my first listen to these noble Athenians, so shan't repeat it. (You're welcome [to click the link, if you please].) Chase Park snuck under my radar, so I was thrilled to find mention at the excellent blog, Underneathica. (jonder and I might not share
If you missed the remarkable Chuck Prophet when he visited the Star Bar earlier this year, here's your chance to see him again. Chuck will visit Eddie's Attic on July 22. He will be joined by the ladies of Magnapop. Here's Chuck bridging the gap - a song he wrote with "his pal" Alejandro Escovedo [...]
The California blues-folk-rock band performs songs by Bob Dylan, Magnapop, Frank Sinatra and more!
Friends unite to raise funds for the former Magnapop guitarist who lost most of her recording equipment and studio space after the recent flooding in Atlanta

I can't believe another 2 months have gone by since I last updated! Not that anyone cares but I've moved AGAIN, hopefully I don't have to move for a while. The end of the year is rapidly approaching, hopefully I can get in a few more posts before the year ends, who knows if any of them will have any substance, but they will have covers. Here are Five covers of "Thirteen" by Big Star for Friday the 13th. [...]

Fifteen years ago I went to New York with my best mate John and one of our intentions while we were there was to go and see a live band. Any band would do - we just wanted to go to a gig in the Big Apple. We were browsing in a record store in Greenwich Village one day where we spotted a small poster for a venue called Tramps where the ever cantankerous Mark E Smith and his latest line up of [...]

I wasn't going to post anything SXSW related because, you know... I'm not there. But a friend sent me this link , and it's too good not to share. A writer for The Morning News listened to all of the official MP3s submitted by showcasing bands (763 of them) and wrote a six word review for every single one of them. The results are often hilarious. Some of my favorites (the [...]
"Alright, this is the big one. This is the big one. All eyes on you. All eyes on you. All eyes on you tonight, Tom. All eyes. All eyes on you. All eyes on you. All eyes on you. Let's do this! Let's just do it! That's enough!" -- Tom, gearing up for his latest battle v. everyone "What? February? Whatever . You know how I am with that stuff -- I just go where I'm told." -- Tom, willing to accept [...]

Magnapop es un grupo de pop-rock afincado en Atlanta (Georgia) compuesto por Linda Hopper (voz), Ruthie Morris (guitarra, voces), Scott Rowe (bajo, voces) y Chad Williams (batería). Empezaron llamándose Homemade Sister para pasar posteriormente a denominarse Swell y finalmente Magnapop. Publicaron su primer single allá por el año 1990, todavía con su primer nombre, se llamaba "Merry" y fue todo un éxito a nivel local, sonando en diversas radios. Entre los que quedaron prendados de su música se encuentra Michael Stipe de R.E.M. quien se convertiría en el productor del álbum de debut del grupo, se trataba de un disco [...]
I'm kind of late on mentioning this, but I just wanted to congratulate Rich who runs the great blog Cable & Tweed on being named one of five Atlanta bloggers "who matter" by Creative Loafing . He definitely deserves the praise, as he's always on the ball when it comes to new bands in Atlanta and Athens. Plus the fact that he has no problem blogging about comic book movies and baseball among other things. To be honest, there wouldn't even be a Yellow [...]

I'm not sure how I managed to do this blog for six months without mentioning Magnapop . We'll fix that right now... Hot Boxing is one of my favorite albums ever. It's one of only a handful of albums I could cite as not having a weak moment. Through fourteen songs and 43 minutes, its a non-stop thrill ride of unadulterated punk-pop gems. Today's monday morning b-side is one of three demos for the album that were included [...]

I remember exactly (more or less) when I first heard Magnapop . A friend and I had just emerged from a Steven Wright concert in February 1993 at which I laughed harder than I ever have in my life, so hard I was sitting there thinking things like, "It's gotta be dangerous to be laughing this hard, the human body cannot tolerate this kind of strain, oh, well, what a way to go." More or less. Anyway, he had earlier spoken of these Athenians in glowing terms, and I was primed. Into the car, the request was heeded, ignition, [...]
"Soylent Green is made out of 78s!" -- Tom, finally revealing the secret ingredient in this food product, now available in sour apple flavor from Kern "I’m gonna listen to this cool new format aimed at me -- the reel-to-reel tape." -- A young kid rejecting his parents' unhip turntable "What I would do right now for a vanilly cone …" -- Tom, craving a snack whose only crime is being too good "Why bother with the apple? Why not just put that stuff in a bag? [...]

If happen to be in Atlanta this weekend, Grant Park should be calling your name. I've never been to the Summershade Festival , but it looks like they've arranged for a pretty impressive roster of music acts this year, especially on Saturday , when The Peakness , Silent Kids , and The Jupiter Watts play back-to back-to back on the Rock Stage. Headlining the day's festivities is Magnapop , a band near-and-dear to my heart. I'm pretty certain I saw them live more times in the '90s than I did any [...]