I’ve been pleased to see this sweater set break out ever since writing some of their early press at WashingtonPost.com. Just escaping D.C. is an endorsement since it tends to be swampy, sticky musical terrain. Awhile ago, Spin also gave Middle Distance Runner this same dubious compliment of being the most likely local band to get mainstream success while likening them to The Strokes. Point is, they’re coming — see them.

Lately, Annie and I, agree they’ve been sounding more Arcade Firery, but in a more light-hearted way. And that’s mighty good considering you don’t want to be too heavy sitting on just one freshly produced album.

This is where I get more convincing to stir concert-spoiled East Coasters to do themselves a favor. MDR creates pop that doesn’t plod a catchy melody across three minutes, but freely crosses styles, tempos and sentiments. MDR remains tasteful while sort of unconsciously nerdy

11/29 - New York, NY - The Bowery Ballroom
11/30 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse Music Hall
12/02 - Cambridge, MA - Middle East Restaurant & Nightclub
12/04 - Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
12/06 - Orlando, FL - Backbooth
12/07 - Tampa Bay, FL - The Crow Bar
12/08 - West Palm Beach, FL - Respectable Street
12/09 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbit’s
12/10 - Charleston, SC - The Map Room
12/11 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
12/12 - Norfolk, VA - The Boot
12/13 - Baltimore, MD - Lo-Fi Social Club
12/14 - Washington, DC! - The Rock & Roll Hotel
12/15 - Philadelphia, PA - North Star Bar
*All w/ Mobius Band & The Epochs

Featured Song: “Man of The People” by Middle Distance Runner



Featured Song: “That’s A Lie” by Middle Distance Runner

Source
Middle Distance Runner MySpace
Official Site
Image courtesy of KingPhoto.com

The world at large thinks of three things when it comes to music from Houston, Texas: Destiny’s Child, Lyle Lovett and ZZ Top. Well, okay. Maybe just Destiny’s Child.

But you, dear reader, being the well-informed renaissance person that you are, know better, don’t you? You already know about The Mathletes, and now you’re about to learn about The Dimes.

Hailing from West Houston, the land of grossely similar home developments, spawls of franchises and the densest collection of SUVs per capita, The Dimes is the union of then-high school friends Carlos Sanchez (vocals/guitar), Cley Miller (guitar), Iram Guerrero (drums) and Jose Sanchez (bass), who came to together in 2004. Together, they’ve managed to create a sound not unlike The Pixies, who they’re routinely compared to. Harnessing one of the strongest rhythm sections in Houston, their sound is raw but completely focused. Maybe that’s why they’ve already opened for the likes of 120 Days, Ratatat and Tapes ‘N’ Tapes (who sported one of the nifty Dimes shirts at Coachella.)

The band officially released their “Animal” EP last year, and are in the studio working on a full-length. They do a show here and there, two of which are the weekend of the 19th in Houston, I’m told. If you can’t catch them live just yet, distract yourself with their first video for the “Delilah” single:

Yes, The Dimes are poised to take over the world before they can even legally drink. We submit to their awesomeness.

Featured Song - “Teenage Sex,” by The Dimes
Featured Song - “Delilah,” by The Dimes

(EDITOR’S NOTE: If you ever catch them live and they take requests, scream out “Psycho Killer.” Actually, do it even if they don’t take requests.)

Okay, a few months ago it dawned on me that myspace is dead. But now it’s really, really dead. I got like 50 “friend requests” from people named natasha and trixie today, and they had a butt as their picture. This happens a lot.

Admit it. You’ve used MySpace to play Spy Kid more than once. Can we blame you though? Inquiring minds want to know if any of the kids you hung out with in high school are doing any worse than you are right now. But if the 8, 4, 5, 6 and 10 o’clock news are right, then there are some creepy people using the News Corp.-owned site for…sex. Whodathunk?

Well, no more. The icky sexual predators are being blocked from stalking your little sister by MySpace’s new partnership with Sentinel Tech Holding Corp, says AP. Supposedly, the blessed union will help build a database with “names, physical descriptions and other identifiable details on sex offenders in the United States.” Not age though. So you can still pretend to be a 14-year-old or a septagarian.

The database, to be called Sentinel Safe, “will allow us to aggregate all publicly available sex offender databases into a real-time searchable form, making it easy to cross-reference and remove known registered sex offenders from the MySpace community,” Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace’s chief security officer, said in a statement.

Heads up, Maf54.

Featured Music:

33Hz - “Digital Lover”

(Yeah. We know it’s not necessarily appropriate for predatory stories, but we’re trying here.)