Idolater, Gawker Media's red-headed music stepchild (full-disclosure: Idolater thinks I need some writing lessons) has a full investigation into the "scandal" surrounding this year's Pazz and Jop music critic's poll.

This could be of interest to you for two reasons: Either you remember Bill Jensen, the purported writer of the missive under discussion here, as the former editor of the Boston Phoenix (double disclosure: I've written for Bill before). Or you just really like gossip. Whatever. Wear your mouthguard -- this is going to get ugly.

I've spent about a week with the new Clap Your Hands Say Yeah album, and I can't say that the trepidation has worn off. Not trepidation vis-a-vis the music (it's as grand and brilliant and engrossing as you'd expect), but trepidation for the band.

To make a short story shorter, "Some Loud Thunder" isn't exactly listener-friendly -- in a way, actually, it's almost listener-repellent. The whole disc is full of sharp edges, rough patches, discordant stretches of noize; occasionally, listening to the thing on my headphones, I wondered if Ounsworth and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was actually making a conscious effort to shove the listener off their shoulders.

And would you blame them? The self-titled, self-released disc of yesteryear -- one of the best received albums of '05/'06 --- was graceful and melodic and quite beautiful, and it offered itself up to audiences eagerly. It didn't take long for CYHSY to become indie fanboy/fangirl favorites. As far as I'm concerned, from there, Ounsworth had three choices: follow up the self-titled disc with a similar pop-inflected gem (something Ounsworth is perfectly capable of), explore a totally different genre, or write a big, raging punk rawk album and tell everyone, politely, to [expletive] off.

"Some Loud Thunder" is certainly not a pop album, and is mostly a mixture of a sneering push-off and a genre exploration. Gone is some of the melody, some of the expansive, self-mythologizing stories of proms and growing up; in is a song about Satan and then a song about Arm & Hammer.

So the trepidation? Yeah.

Will fans of the band's first album take the time to understand? Will they put up with the electrobabble interludes and Ounsworth's pronounced squeal (even louder --- more pitched --- here than on the debut)? In other words, does anyone have the time to spend lots more time understanding why an indie rock band --- even a very good indie rock band --- is doing what its doing? Lily Allen certainly doesn't require that from her listeners, nor, really, do the Shins. Alec Ounsworth does, and in doing so, he's put a tremendous amount of faith in his listeners. My fingers are crossed for you.

I count my love for the music of Ted Leo up there with other unalienable rights: Life, liberty, the pursuit of "Happyness" (natch) and the ability to use 15 minutes of every workday to watch last night's Colbert report on YouTube.

So when Mr. Leo releases new material, it's not just manna from heaven; it also sends me into lip-smacking, mouth-foaming, paroxysms of joy.

Do you believe the hype? Did I get drool on your sweater?

Listen: "Sons of Cain," from the forthcoming (due in March) Ted Leo and the Pharmacists' album.

Hint: Click the link, and you'll be able to save the track in your iTunes. Don't get greedy.

On Saturday in Brighton and Sunday at the Mid East Downstairs, Piebald was shooting video footage for their new "Accidental Gentlemen," which is set for release on Tuesday, the 23rd. (CD release party at the Mid East Upstairs that night. Yow!)

Stopped by the club on Sunday, and picked up (in addition to the excellent "Gentlemen") a new(-ish) disc by rawkers Barnicle (Luke Garro, of Piebald, doubles as Barnicle's drummer.) Some of the clips are available on the band's MySpace page.

In some club-related news, word is the Zeitgeist is about to be reborn in Union Square, near P.A.'s Lounge; the Diesel Cafe, one informant says, is going to split the space with the Zeitgeisters. Also: The Lily Pad, in Inman, looks to be -- after a few weeks of utter reconstruction disarray -- in much better shape. And hey, what's happening with O'Brien's, in Allston? It's all closed up and shuttered-down.

Lots of noise about Ben Folds' gig with the Boston Pops in May. Man. Any predictions?

Also: Soul Touch, at the Middlesex Lounge (on Wednesdays) is winning some converts. If you're into that whole revival thing, this should be next on the checklist.

Also, ALSO: WERS, the best, *best* radio station in Boston -- and chosen wake-up soundtrack for a generation of part-time, low-level local rock critics -- just got with the whole interweb/MySpace thing. Make them your friend.

Last year, when I spoke to Zach Condon, he mentioned that there was an EP floating around somewhere in his head/apartment/studio, or on the pages of his notepad/diary/laptop, whatever. So the "Lon Gisland" collection is now floating around online, although links are scarce (we're nearing the official release date of Jan. 30).

You'll notice, right away, that Condon seems to be experimenting with a spare sound. That's OK, since "Gulag Orkestar," his debut full-length, suffered from a few overwrought marches. I'll willing to bet, anyway, that "Postcards to Italy" was the most popular song on the album because it was the most like a pop song; that, in turn, was because the brass was peeled back enough to expose that gooey, liquidy, warm pop center. Write some more good lyrics, Zach, and victory over the buzz-bin backlash is already at hand.

I'm really fond of the new Hidden Cameras album, "AWOO," which was released by Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts in September. It's been said that Arts & Crafts -- home of introspective acts like Feist, Broken Social Scene, and New Buffalo -- was an odd match for the flamboyant "gay church folk music" of the Cameras. Well, yeah, "AWOO" ain't exactly "You Forgot It In People". But it is an extremely interesting disc, and in that way, it'll probably be scooped up by the same audience fascinated by Leslie Feist's starry-eyed soliloquies. Anyway, the Hidden Cameras play the Middle East on Nov. 14, and you should go. Video and clips here.

A long time ago, I wrote a review of a favorite CD of mine, by the electro-duo The Knife. Due to space constraints, it never got published. But although "Silent Shout" hasn't made an especially big splash on this side of the Atlantic, it was an important album in Europe, where the market is much hungrier for this kind of stuff. Anyway, here's the review. Buy this CD:

“Silent Shout” is new territory for The Knife’s Olof Dreijer and Karin Dreijer Andersson: conceptual art disguised as startlingly vivid freak-out. Dreijer and Andersson are electro anti-heroes in their native Sweden, and in the U.K., where the laptop-pop of 2004’s “Deep Cuts” was a hit. But until now, the duo has been hesitant to assign a personal accountability to their music. They prefer theatrics – The Knife only performs in costumes and baroque masks, like a Euro Gnarls Barkley without the sense of humor. So “Shout” is also an unveiling of sorts. From the horror show vocals of the title track – “In a dream all my teeth fell out / a cracked smile and a silent shout” – to the portentous backbeat of “The Captain,” the album feels like a messy secret, spilled on tape. There is the whispered threat of violence physical (“Marble House”) and emotional (“Na Na Na”). And later, the black humor of the hyper-sexualized “One Hit.” The surprise on “Shout” is The Knife’s apparently newfound ability to flesh out a psychological landscape with more than ambiance: lyrics count here, as do the pulled-like-taffy vocals. When Andersson announces on “Neverland” that she’s “doing it for dollars,” there’s no need for a more explicit explanation. The music has already closed around her like a guilty conscience.

A good friend of Sound Effects wrote in today with a heads-up on the Age Rings residency at T.T. the Bear's. (Sorry, Will and company, know there's more to the band than just Ted; that's all I could find on the web.) Here's a Jonathan Perry story on the Rings, and here's the schedule:

October 4:
The Teeth
Age Rings
Drab
Tulsa

October 11:
Hooray for Earth
Age Rings
The Dents
Movers & Shakers

October 18 (N.E.S.T. Fest):
Hallelujah the Hills
Age Rings
Christians & Lions
Headband

October 25:
The Sterns
Age Rings
Ketman
Ryan Lee Crosby

P.S. These dudes rock. Mark your calendar... now.

According to local musician Rachel Koppelman, Cambridge's Lily Pad is being forced to shut by the Cambridge Licensing Board. I'll post again on Monday, but here's an excerpt from a recent email sent to the press, and to friends of the Pad:

the lily pad - boston's beloved forum for original,
creative music - has been forced to cancel all shows
until further notice. due to noise complaints, the
cambridge licensing board is obligated to follow the
letter of the law in serving the lily pad with a
'cease and desist' order.

since its opening in march, when it replaced the
zeitgeist gallery, the lily pad has begun to flourish
as a venue honoring creativity and quality by
showcasing the best new original music from boston and
beyond. performers have included the best of the new
york avant-garde, such as the claudia quintet, as well
as members of boston strongholds like reverend
glasseye, humanwine, and the dresden dolls. but
equally valuable are the performers who may have no
other forum in the boston area.

According to a Capitol Records press release, The Decemberists have finished their new disc, "Crane's Wife," and have set a release date of Oct. 3.

Jason Roth, of Capitol, writes that, for "Crane," Colin Meloy and "his fellow Decemberists -- multi-instrumentalist Chris Funk, keyboardist Jenny Conlee, bassist Nate Query and drummer John Moen -- set about creating a rich collection of songs which leap off from the story itself into a deeper, more unpredictable musical world."

Sounds about right.

I've been sitting on this for a day, trying to decide whether or not to share. But a friend shared it with me, and there's good karma and bad karma and then there's just not sharing well with others. So enjoy.

Sorry, no good blog headlines were forthcoming. Anyway, I was looking through the Austin City Limits line-up for this year, which is generally a mixed bag. Most attendees are probably going to be able to do without Los Lonely Boys; and listening to Nickel Creek for extended periods of time is hazardous to your spiritual and emotional health. But Husky Rescue (below) is slated for the undercard, as is the excellent Wolf Parade and excellent-in-a-different way Stars.

In other news, next Wednesday, the 19th, Danielson is playing with funky local performance artists U.V. Protection, at the Middle East. This is a good, and musically stimulating line-up. Kudos to the booker. Not yet sold out, I believe...

"We Jam Econo," the new documentary about the Minutemen, was released on DVD late last month; I finally dug up enough change from in between the couch cushions to walk down to Newbury Comics and buy the thing. I'd seen it before when it was in Boston, but this edition of the film has tons of scrapped-together concert footage and some mid- and late-career interviews with the whole band. Anyway, I think it's on sale at a few places for fairly cheap (only 15 bucks at Newbury Comics, which isn't bad. The Gram Parsons DVD is going pretty cheap there, too).

If you're all interested in the history of punk, "Econo" is a stimulating, if saddening, experience. The whole thing could have used some editing, yes -- Watt does some rambling in the first hour that is explained later, more ably, from sources outside the band -- but the guys behind the film assembled a formidable line-up of supporting interviews.

But if you wear big, thick purple earplugs to rock shows or like your music and movies melodic and consonant and uplifting, skip the flick: like the Minutemen's material, the documentary is spare, in-your-face and noisy.

So someone out there is listening, and they've added a Band of Horses date at the Paradise at the end of this summer. BOH have a good album, which resembles, thematically, Sun Kil Moon; in others, it sounds like just plain ole' Red House Painters. Which is better? Depends on how depressed you are, I guess.

Also worth taking a look at the Phoenix's "20 Bands You Need To Hear Now," which spotlights the awesome Cold War Kids. You can listen to some of the band's stuff here.