I've Upped My Standards.

(Read 4 orsell your soul)

Subject:	MORE DTC NEWS!
Time:	12:33 am.
Music:	The Cruxshadows Everything We've Ever Recorded Fucking Sucks.

As though you were sick of hearing about it?!

The SmartAlix advice column should be up and running imminently. And the Twin Cities will have a new Starlet.

I've been interviewing Matt Fanale, a.k.a. Caustic a.k.a.

not_eurotic. It's going to be a loooong interview, because the guy just won't shut the fuck up (kidding!). Seriously, it wasn't what I expected. I've always liked the guy and enjoy reading his stuff online. The music's cool too. With the DTC Interviews page in dire need of some fleshing out, I figured I'd contact him to see if he'd be game for an interview. Being the terminally nice guy he is, he capitulated. I actually thought the whole thing would devolve into a silly affair about dick jokes and ludicrous gags but he's actually a thoughtful individual with a lot to say. And I appreciate the diplomatic way he says it all. Even if you aren't familiar with him, or have heard his music and don't care for it, I think you're going to like the interview. It may not mean much considering we only have five interviews so far, but it's the best one yet and I'm really grateful that the guy has devoted so much time to our discussion. He's an entertainer, to be sure, and the interview will definitely be an entertaining read. I'll let you know when I post the final version.

Aaaaaand then there are the reviews! Local act Mach Fox put out their latest release, Build It Down, a couple weeks ago. And I finally got around to posting reviews for all the CDs Dancing Ferret sent me, such as Carfax Abbey's It Screams Disease, Angelspit's Krankhaus, Ego Likeness' The Order Of The Reptile and The Cruxshadows' (UGH!!!) Dreamcypher. I listened to that horrendously bad album 5 times in its entirety before writing that review. It was fucking excruciating. They have to be one of the most horrifically awful bands in music history. I'm sorry if you're a fan, but that is one of the worst, most pathetic acts I've ever been forced to listen to. Fucking terrible. I had to listen to Slayer's Reign In Blood six times in a row to get myself right again.

Oh, and I also reviewed Goldfrapp's Seventh Tree, another of my early frontrunners for "album of the year" honors. Honestly, my top ten for 2008 is filling up fast and it's only March. I hope you people are paying attention because this is a pretty damn good year for music, no matter what genre trips your trigger.

I have a stack of CDs to review, so stay tuned. More and more Labels are growing hip to my jive, so my mailbox is pretty active. And one of these days I'm going to have to head out to Hard Mondays. I may even check out the new Ground Zero night sometime soon. And drok_vox is celebrating his birthday this Saturday, so I may be forced to make an appearance at that fiasco as well. I know you all miss me. I will do my best to make amends and grant you your devilfix.