(In other words — I tried, but I couldn’t come up with anything.) Need to decompress? Head over to PPAC for a free performance on the 1927 mighty Wurlitzer. The Wonders of the Wurlitzer concerts are held at lunchtime on specific Mondays and Wednesdays in the spring and fall. All concerts are free and open to the public. People bring in their own brown-bagged lunches (complimentary soft drinks) and relax for an hour. Today’s show features Bob Legon, with a silent movie.

Free, noon to 1pm, PPAC, 220 Weybosset Street

The Homosexuals are playing at AS220 tonight.  Not to be confused with The Queers, The Gays, or The Gentlemen Who Are Somewhat Light In The Loafers,* The Homosexuals came out of the UK in the late seventies.  They released a couple of singles and EPs and put their only album in 1984.  Twenty years later they got the fancy deluxe reissue treatment (thanks to Hyped To Death Records) and now they’re back together.

They’ll be at AS220 at 9-ish (soon!) alongside the terribly named Swamp Tease, the possibly even more terribly named Sexy Prison, and SHV, which may or may not be an acronym for something terrible.  It’s six dollars.

AS220
115 Empire St
9 pm tonight (soon!)
$6

(*Okay, I made that one up.  But I’m sure by the end of the year it will be taken, albeit with lots of unnecessary punctuation in the middle.)

Yma Sumac, the songstress who was either an Incan princess or a woman from New Jersey who wrote her name backwards, recently died at age 86.  Though details of the woman’s mysterious life vary widely, her personal assistant claims that she was “born Zoila Augusta Emperatriz Chavarri del Castillo in Cajamarca, Peru, on Sept. 13, 1922.”

She became a sensation in the 1950s with her crazy voice, which occasionally sounded like birds or, oddly, drums.  It’s hard to imagine the straitlaced Americans of the fifties falling for a Peruvian singer with a five-octave voice, but her album Voices of the Xtabay actually topped the charts back in the day.

She stopped recording after making a psychedelic rock album in 1971 (which, oh my God, if anybody has this can they make me a copy?) but toured until 1997, right when exotica was coming back into fashion thanks to Stereolab and Combustible Edison and that whole weird Swingers phenomenon.

[LA Times via Idolator]

Got a little something left in the tank? Then get back out there.

Lupo’s, Joe Jackson, 7pm, $50, $32.50

AS220, Pow!!, Rose Theory, 10pm, $6

Tazza, Infinite Darkness, 10pm

Don White plays the Stone Soup Coffeehouse tonight. With great ad-libs, Don just might be one of the funniest singer/songwriters on the scene, but he balances the funnies with sweet, beautiful ballads and spoken word. From humorous ditties on parenting teens (he’s a musical Mark Patinkin, or maybe a coherent Bill Cosby) to nods to his Massachusetts roots (my fave: “I’m from Lynn, What Can I Say?”), Don always entertains. Warwick’s own Joanne Lurgio opens.

On Stone Soup: OK, it’s a bit weird to attend concerts in a church basement. But it’s a good-sized space with a real stage, encourages local talent through open mics, and if you’re lucky, Stone Soupers will have homemade treats for sale.

St. Paul’s Church, 50 Park Place, Pawtucket / 8 p.m. / $15

If you, like me, are totally not feeling the Halloween spirit this year, here’s some stuff that might get you in the mood:

1. Christopher Walken reading “The Raven.” I’ll let you argue amongst yourselves about whether or not Poe’s writing is scarier than Rihanna’s (because, if you didn’t know, Disturbia’s the first song she’s gotten a songwriting credit on.)

2. This Ladyhawke video.  Smoke Machine is actually a pretty good costume, I think.

3. America’s 25 Scariest Conservatives.

ps–Sorry for the whining above.  But I thought you all needed something bone-chilling, and hearing that voice come out of someone who’s staring right at me is way creepier than anything else I can think of right now.

This band would be perfect there. We need a club that size.  Happily, it would appear that tickets are still available for Earl Greyhound this Sunday at Harpers Ferry in Allston.  Portugal The Man is headlining (the band’s name has this annoying internal punctuation that just looks all screwed up, so I refuse to do it).

I love Earl Greyhound, a Brooklyn power trio that is guaranteed to amp up all those weary souls who are sick to death of seeing cellos at a rock show.  Guitarist Matt Whyte is right out of central casting (in a good way) — lean and lovely, long blond hair. Bassist Kamara Thomas rocks a band-of-gypsies look with this huge afro stuck with feathers. As to Big Ricc the drummer, look at the pythons on this guy.  Ben Ratliff writing for the NYT compared the drums to “a slug in the jaw”.  Blender described Earl Greyhound as “A roadhouse riff-rock monster so unbelievably brawny it sounds like it’s crushing beer kegs on its forehead.” Videos of Earl Greyhound and Portugal The Man after the jump. Compare and contrast.

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See, isn’t that much better than the insane racism that attends a Palin rally? You know, like the type that gets so bad that when someone straight up yells out that Obama is a “n*****”" DURING her speech, LOUD ENOUGH FOR HER TO HEAR , then she just goes on without saying anything? Like the type that gives sanction to idiots like this guy, to say nothing of Ashley Todd?

I suppose the simple point is just GOD BLESS THESE CHILDREN, not only for whats actually a pretty catchy version of T.I.’s Whatever You Like, but also for being awesome. You can vote however you like. Damn right.

Full video and lyrics after the jump, along with the tale of how Joe Biden became a Florida 5th grader’s “homeboy.” more »

The exciting news that Karen Dreijer Andersson of Swedish duo the Knife will release a solo album early next year is as good as reason as any to spend this whole dreary day watching Knife videos.  The reclusive, camera-shy Swedish duo put out some of the most consistently weird and awesome videos of the last decade.  Like this one, for the song Pass This On:

(It’s also worth seeing this clip of them doing it live on Swedish TV.  The brother-sister duo, it should be noted, refused to perform live until 2006, although holy crap was it awesome when they did.)

More after the jump:

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Apparently I was mistaken when I thought that former L’Trimm singer Lady Tigra was the only one singing optimistic political songs in this fretful election year; her ode to Michelle Obama is flawed, yet wonderful anyway because it’s more about the American psyche and less about, say, war and our impending environmental downfall.  Or economic downfall.  Or whatever.

Anyway, I don’t know why you’d want to dance around for half an hour to clunky political rhetoric, but Los Angeles-based DJ Paul V disagrees and I’m sure some of you Obama enthusiasts will too.  His Obama megamix, featuring Ratatat, Jay-Z, the Crystal Method, and a bunch of other people, is here and also here, if the first link doesn’t work.  Okay, I admit some of it’s kinda funny, but at this point I’m ready to start digging an underground bunker so I’d rather not be dancing.

Because nothing says harvest like asphalt, pigeon crap and the Dress Barn (hey, we do have a barn).  Oh well, any excuse to get out of the house and away from the kids. No wait, bring the kids.

2pm — kids costume contest/3pm adult (15+) costume contest

Music, and then ‘Movies on the Block’ continues with Beetlejuice.

Westminster and Union Streets

AS220, Cable, Tinsel Teeth, Whitey, Kintaan, 9pm, $7

Firehouse 13, Stepanian with Barefoot Truth and more TBA, 8pm, $6

Jerky’s, What Lies Beneath the Tide, Masamune, Death Haven, Damsel in Distress, Stain of Faith (Halloween Party w/costume contest)

An Oregon woman now says that she’ll give back The Book of Bunny Suicides, a book that her thirteen-year old son had checked out of his school library.  Taffey (Taffey?!) Anderson announced that she wasn’t going to return the book and was, in fact, going to burn it.  The book, which isn’t actually very funny, shows an animated rabbit attempting suicide in all kinds of ways.  It’s silly, not gruesome, but the book, which comes recommended by the American Library Association, is nevertheless very popular with teenagers.  I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that this made international news; I mean, it’s good that gung ho book banners aren’t being tolerated these days, but on the other hand come on.

In other news, Jeff Koons is now in Versailles and it’s reeeeeeeeeally cool.

And, this isn’t actually news per se, but I really like this picture.  Oh, and now there’s a lady rapper from Brooklyn named Bunny Rabbit.  I kinda like her, I think.

Some Guns n’ Roses (or GNfnR for you potty-mouths) fans like adorable Justin at Patrick’s Pub are excited about the release of their new album, “Chinese Democracy,” for the music.  Others are excited that Dr. Pepper promised a free can of soda to every American if the album was released this year.   Both dreams are coming true: “Chinese Democracy” is scheduled to release on 11/23 through Geffen Records and Best Buy stores, and folks visting www.drpepper.com that day can download a coupon for a free bottle of Dr. Pepper.  Personally, I’m not too crazy about the pairing of a washed-up band (all downhill since their awesome Foxboro show w/Metallica in ‘92) and a can of corn syrup, but to each her own.

Most people like lists.  In fact, I’m working on a list of people who like lists.  This week’s Phoenix celebrates its 30th birthday with several, including ‘Long Gone — 30 Things We Miss’.  One entry is the Safari Lounge. Last show I saw there was To Live and Shave in LA, Andrew WK on drums. Happily the iconic Safari sign survived that show, the wrecker’s ball, the wrecker’s other ball, and a fire… and is enjoying a well-deserved retirement at The Hub on Brook Street.

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Or as Nathan Explosion would say — brutal.  Get out of the rain today by taking a tour of The Steel Yard. Wednesdays and Fridays at 1pm it is possible to get an inside view of the foundry, and the blacksmithing and ceramics facilities.  This is the real deal with welding and hammering and forging and pouring.  (Just keep your hand out of that metal punch; see picture.)  If you were inclined to head over this Friday, you might want to call first as I think the Woolly Fair has been scheduled to start Saturday at 3pm, and they might be busy. (I see that CZECH iz your Master is slated for an appearance at the fair — same guys from the Viennagram, but with different clothes and a theremin. More on Woolly Fair later.)

tour 1pm Wednesdays and Fridays, the Steel Yard, 27 Sims Street, 273.7101