What are you thankful for?

But you know I wouldn’t leave those of you who are stuck in front of computers for the day without something to do. So let me ask you: What’s your favorite “independent” band or artist?

I put “independent” in quotes because I want to leave that definition up to you. It could be a truly DIY, unsigned band…or a band considered “indie rock”…or an band that just plain does their own thing.

Here’s one that I think satisfies all three criteria: I Come to Shanghai. The band includes Robert Ashley, who you may remember from his stint on the GFW Radio podcast (aka “97.5, The Brodeo”) and his amazing A Life Well Wasted internet radio show. And though I used to work with Robert, that in no way influences my love of his quirky, catchy, funny band. “Another Sunday Morning” and “Salvation is a Country Club” get embedded deep in my brain for days at a time, and while the whole album may not be for everybody, it’s loaded with surprises in the best possible way.

How about you?

[image: Flickr user theedinburghblog]

It’s kind of an odd holiday when you think of it that way.

Anyway, I’m not really going to be around today, so I thought I’d open the floor for discussion. The topic is “memorials.” Tell us your favorite defunct band or deceased musician. What did they mean to you? What did they mean to music?

I’m not sure if they’re my all-time favorite, but I have to put Jawbox up near the top of the list. Even though they recently reunited to play a song on Jimmy Fallon, as far as I know the band has no plans to really get back together. And while singer J. Robbins’ later bands have shared a lot in common with Jawbox’s sound, they were never quite the same.

The thing about Jawbox is that they took this very serious post-punk, indie style (think Fugazi) and managed to make it astonishingly listenable. And as the band progressed and evolved, their music became more complex — almost symphonic near the end — while still maintaining that accessibility. There are moments on their last album, 1996′s Jawbox (Amazon), that are just staggering in their beauty and innovative songwriting. Moments where big, thick, weird chords match with drum beats that really should not work with the song but somehow absolutely do. Snippets of lyrics that are closer to poetry — I mean, real poetry — than you hear in at least 90 percent of other music.

This was by far my favorite album of theirs…so of course they broke up shortly after releasing it. I’ll never forget seeing that they had a show in Chicago while I was living there, but deciding not to go because I had friends in town, reasoning that I’d catch them the next time around. There was no next time.

(Now, to be fair, I also have a soft spot in my heart for the band members themselves, since my old band got the opportunity to open for them a few times, and they were some of the kindest people I’d ever met. Bassist Kim Coletta actually pulled rank on a local promoter because he wanted to knock us off one of their shows — this while I was still in college and our guitarist was still in high school. How nice is that?)

Anyway, the band is still virtually unknown, but so many indie and post-punk bands owe them a huge debt, whether they realize it or not. And I still hold a small hope deep in my heart that they’ll get together for just one more tour so I can make up for that missed opportunity.

You know what, I’ll put a playlist after the break so you can share in my adoration. Meanwhile, who do you love that’s now gone, but not forgotten? Share with us all in comments. And hey: Have a happy Memorial Day.

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My thinking is that we’ll probably get a small dose of dance and/or electronica, but since this is still Rock Band, most of the songs featuring keyboards will probably be from bands with a strong guitar and bass presence as well. (Which means probably no Men Without Hats, more’s the pity.)

I was musing on the Twitters about this before deciding to take it over here, and came up with some obvious ones: Rush, Dream Theater, Yes — and I’ll say it here again, “Roundabout” would be positively killer in Rock Band. Then it occurred to me that we could even further back than the big ’70s arena rock: How great would it be to twiddle along to great ’60s keyboard parts? Think: The Doors, The Animals, hell, pretty much any of the big “The” bands from the ’60s would qualify.

Of course a lot of ’80s hair metal would apply, too. I would certainly not turn down the opportunity to play Bon Jovi’s “Runaway” or “Wild in the Streets” — both songs with big keyboard leads.

I have to say, at first I was kind of put off by the idea of a keyboard controller, but thinking about how many great songs have a strong keyboard component is getting me more and more excited.

How about you? What songs or bands would you like to see take advantage of a keyboard controller?

And as it turns out, I’m probably going to be out of range of even cell service, so if anything important happens, well, I’m not going to hear about it. But I don’t want to leave all you fine people hanging, so here’s an open thread where you can share with one another any interesting news you may come across whilst I’m out of reach of the grasp of the internet.

Remember that any comment with two or more links in it will be held for moderation…and I won’t be able to get notice of that until I return. So if you need to share more than one link, best leave them in separate comments.

Have fun, be nice to one another, and I’ll see you when I get back. Deal? Deal.

Here’s my contribution: After accidentally uncovering that not-yet-announced Look Mexico tune last week, I checked out the rest of the album, and I’m digging the hell out of it. I’d never heard the band before — or heard of them, come to think of it –  but this album (To Bed To Battle, Amazon) is hitting me right in the sweet spot. For some reason it makes me think of Rx Bandits, only a lot less heavy and no discernible ska or Latin influence.

So, er, not very much like Rx Bandits at all, actually. Nevertheless, that’s who they make me think of — perhaps because of the relatively dense, complex arrangements.

The other acquisition: I succumbed to technolust and got myself an iPad. It’s only been a couple days, and I’m still getting used to it, figuring out what it does well and what it doesn’t do, figuring out comfortable ways to hold it, and so on. But already it’s changing my expectations of how web browsing should work, and how information should be delivered over the internet. In a way I feel like it’s kind of what web browsers were always supposed to be — and I’m not just talking about the actual browser, though that’s amazingly fast and pretty and neat. But it’s the native apps that are really impressing me, the way designers are really exploiting the combination of touch control and huge screen to deliver information in sensible, user-friendly ways.

I was hoping to do a better job of explaining it, but I do think it’s one of those things you have to experience for yourself. I will say this: Right now this is definitely not a must-have product. But in a year or so — maybe sooner — as app and web designers get really familiar with it, it has the potential to make a serious impact on the way we consume information.

So how about you?

Things are finally calming down, but they’re not quite there yet. So, today’s Open Thread will be a simple topic: Tell me something you think is underrated. Anything. Of course I’d love to hear about underrated bands or musicians or songs in Rock Band or Guitar Hero, but don’t feel constrained.

Here, I’ll start: Vito Bratta, guitarist (and, apparently, primary songwriter) for ’80s band White Lion. Dude had a crazily interesting style, serious chops, and an ear for a great hook — but you almost never hear anything about him.

What have you got?

So: Got anything in particular you’d like to know about either or both of those topics? Post your questions here, and I’ll pass the best ones on to the folks who are in a position to answer. It’ll be like you’re interviewing Harmonix yourself! Except, you know, through me. I’m sort of like your mouth.

Ew. Wait, no, I’m nothing like your mouth. Gross.

Anyway, ask away!

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t about talking up the latest endeavors of you and your friends, you say? Well, it is now. Behold! The first-ever Plastic Axe Thread of Wanton Pimpage, wherein I invite you to share with the rest of us something you’ve done, or something your friends or family have done — or even something you’ve just heard about — that you think deserves a little extra attention. Obviously I’d love to hear most about musical exploits, but hey, it says “Open Thread” there up at the top, so anything’s fair game. (Well, keep it work-safe, OK?)

I’ll start. In spite of the fact that I can’t seem to gather the time and motivation to get a new musical project going, a ton of friends and family have been chugging along in various musical directions. For example, my friends Pete and Ken have put together a nifty, hard-edged pop-punk-ish project called Restless Habs. My nephew Jon recently joined the Cleveland indie/punk outfit Sun God. And my other nephews Jeff and Steve are in the studio finishing up a new EP for their Christian alternative-rock band Like Jonathan. And of course my brother Matthew continues to tear up New York — nay, the world — with his mad jazz bass chops.

How about you?

I haven’t tried out all the songs — not remotely — but so far I’m partial to Jonathan Coulton’s “Code Monkey,” mainly for the great beat, fun and simple guitar, and ridiculously catchy chorus. On a less well-known note, I’ve also been pretty impressed with “The Heist” from DnA’s Evolution, mainly because of that ridiculous drum track. No, I’m not remotely close to passing it on Expert, but I’m having fun trying.

How about you?