girl groups just cain’t stay together

What is this, the Dansettes?

According to Pitchfork, my two favorite Pipettes (of three) have left the band! RiotBecki (the one on the right in the photo above, who I adored, because she reminded me of myself circa Valhalla Kittens – the spunky, glasses-wearing one who made goofy faces when she screwed up the dance moves) and Rosay (the one on the left above, with the best voice) are gone, leaving only Gwenno (the gorgeous, thin blonde in the middle. great). Apparently there are two new members, Ani and Anna (confusing!) and also, they Rick Rolled everybody in their own press release. COOL.

I’m pretty disappointed – I’m not a huge fan of modern pop music, but their show at Great Scott last year was a delightfully entertaining dance party.

Here’s hoping(?) there’s a hilarious rivalry between the new Pipettes and whatever Becki and Rosay end up doing. Though, much like the Nouvellas/Sweet Divines springing from the ashes of the Dansettes, probably no one will care, even if they should for the sake of dancing.

Review: The Hard to Get – “This Is the New Business Plan”

Perhaps because I went to a school known for its film department, some of my favorite people from my college days have absconded to Los Angeles. One is Melissa Kaplan, a guitarist and singer with a sharp pop sensibility, I remember seeing her busking at Park Street station, singing “Borderline” at the top of her lungs. She’s now got a killer pop band, The Hard To Get, and their debut EP, “This Is the New Business Plan,” is a sweet, layered, occasionally raucous gem. Clocking in at a neat 20 minutes, the album opens hard and fast with a frustrated relationship on “Shake,” and transitions in to the sparkling sweetness of “Andalusia.” Melissa and drummer Tim Lee’s boy-girl vocals (and the precise instrumentation of Melissa, Tim, multi-instrumentalist Joe Dahlen and bassist Kevin Davis) remind me of the shimmery, bittersweet music of 90s alt-pop band Velocity Girl, with noisy bits of Sleater-Kinney tossed in, mixing perfectly on the standout track, “Buzzkill.” The instrumental “Chuck Theme” feels like the Pixies, with its weird 50s sex instructional video sample, and “Centerpiece” builds tension to match with its imagery of unbalance, with a pretty guitar part that reminds me of the sweeter side of Sonic Youth’s more recent albums. “Potato Famine” takes us back into the fast-driving feeling of the album opener, and “Late Shift” closes out the EP with the dreamy feeling of life in the middle of the night.

Review: 8BITches – “What Is Chip Hop?”

in my brief tenure as a rock musician, i’ve been lucky to play with some incredibly talented, fun people. some of them have become dear friends, and two of the dearest moved to an island in maine a few years ago. partners in crime for a handful of musical projects, these two have resurfaced as two-thirds of 8BITches, a chip-hop group featuring classic Game Boy blips, vocoder madness, and raucous video-game raps. their debut album, “what is chip-hop?” has just been released on iTunes and USB dongle (aha! technology!) via Red Car Records. the record is in the style of classic hip-hop LPs, with an intro, skits, a ballad with sweet soprano guest vocals (IEC 5009), a shambling chaos track (Sector D: Error Code 458 – okay, maybe this has less to do with classic hip-hop and more to do with Ché’s time in the bands Longknives and Of the Lion) and at least one killer club jam (Whatchu Doen 2nite? – my personal favorite track). check out rapper Big Pick Zel, Gameboy master 8BIT Ché, vocoder queen Lil’ BIT, and guests Sinister Minister and Luv Byte on myspace (for Gravemind, IEC 5009, and Binary Bounce) or Last.fm (streams full-length versions of Gravemind again, Whatchu Doen 2nite?, and Sector D: Error Code 458). look for them to play a live show or two in New York and Boston the weekend of May 9-10. and somebody please remix Whatchu Doen 2nite? – it deserves a Pack -style treatment, for real.