In this week’s City Paper, intrepid reporter Arthur Delaney takes a break from his, well, intrepid reporting to voice his disappointment with DragonForce’s new album, Ultra Beatdown. This, of course, has made the DragonForce fan club unhappy. Here’s Robius the Horrible:

This reviewer doesn’t know jack. DF is a powerhouse of power.

But it’s not all tautological outrage below the kicker. Commenter Dazey, who believes that Delaney “know JackSxxx,” questions Delaney’s invocation of the term “butt rock.” “What they [sic] heck is that? Must be something they do in Maryland.”

Ha-ha, Dazey! I figured Delaney made the definitions of “butt rock” clear in the review—it’s the posture-heavy glam-metal of two decades past—but he’s gone ahead and clarified for the angry masses: “DF isn’t guilty of spandex (yet), but the fundamental quality that it shares with other Butt Rock practitioners is artistic insincerity. And that is a sin!”

Matter settled, yes? Now we can all get back to playing Guitar Hero—or, for we impoverished folks, the cheap Web-based analogues.

Peter Margasak at our sister paper the Chicago Reader brings word that WFMU’s Web site will stream the Ex and Getatchew Mekuria’s recent New York gig, a bill that also included semi-locals Extra Golden and the Either/Orchestra with Ethiopian singers Mahmoud Ahmed and Alemayehu Eshete. The show starts streaming at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

If you were planning on checking out Nico Muhly’s show on Thursday, you’ll need to head a little farther north than planned. The show has been moved from its original spot at the Birchmere to the Silver Spring’s Episcopal Church of the Ascension, 634 Silver Spring Ave. For more on Muhly, check out our review of his new album, Mothertongue, which Brent Burton said features “the kind of composition that goes a long way toward explaining that thick stack of press clippings.”

From the label’s Web site over the weekend:

This Dischord “digital” site offers a unique hybrid of the direct sale and subscription based download services (as well as the usual CDs, LPs, DVDs, etc). Customers have the option to download entire albums for a set price (usually $7), purchase Digital Credits (15 credits for $10) that can be used to download individual songs, or receive a free album download with the purchase of a 12″ vinyl LP from our store.

Never mind: We already told this story.

A publicity firm that shall remain nameless saw fit to send this e-mail to me ten times today:

Mark:

Yesterday, it was Bernie Mac. Today it was Isaac Hayes. Could Samuel Jackson be next?

[Redacted], president of [redacted], an Atlanta based publicity firm, a former music reviewer and record company executive notes:

“This photograph, taken from Isaac Hayes’ official site at http://www.isaachayes.com/myframes.html is as eerie as the time I read a newspaper obituary on its own obituary writer….”

It’s turning into a D.C. summer over at Paper Cuts, the New York Times‘ book blog. George Pelecanos submitted a playlist for its “Living With Music” feature last week. Today’s entry features author, Atlantic blogger and former City Paper staffer Ta-Nehisi Coates, weighing in with a sweet set of hip-hop classics, from Slick Rick’s “A Children’s Story” to the Geto Boys‘ deathless “Mind Playing Tricks on Me.”

Thanks to the folks at Idolator for letting us know that “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Dusty Horwitt’s in-depth story about the trials and tribulations of the Rockville band Hotspur, received an honorable mention in this year’s edition of the Best Music Writing series. Horwitt tells a heck of tale, and I’m not just saying that as the guy who edited the piece. Please do give it a read.

Hotspur’s next local show is Aug. 16 at Jammin’ Java.

Photo of Hotspur bassist Dave Cooper by Darrow Montgomery.

D.C.-area crime novelist George Pelecanos has submitted a playlist of some of his favorite songs to Paper Cuts, the New York Times’ books blog. Among the local selections: William DeVaughan’s  “Be Thankful for What You Got,”  Slant 6’s “Time Expired,” and Fugazi’s “Cashout.”

Kalani at Gypsy Eyes Records sends news that live music is coming back to Comet Ping Pong. (We’ve covered ANC commissioner Frank Winstead’s antics regarding outdoor ping-pong at the spot, and even paid a visit to his house.) The details from the press release:

For those that do not know, Our shows at Comet Ping Pong were shut down in the Spring by an overzealous ANC Board Member. We had our day in front of the Council and the ABC Board and, with overwhelming community support, were granted the proper licenses to have shows!

So let us begin, once again, to bring you the music we like.

Friday August 8th – 08/08/08 – with a date so special it can only happen once every 100 years!!!
Comet Pizza and Ping Pong
5037 Connecticut Ave NW

Apes
Fiasco
Double Dagger
Doors: 9pm
Tickets $10
All Ages

Monday’s Extra Golden show, originally scheduled for the Birchmere, has been moved to the Black Cat Backstage. A quick primer on the semilocal Afropop act:

Christopher Porter on the genesis of Extra Golden.

Brent Burton on the band’s latest album, Hera Ma Nono.