FRIDAY:

Prophets & Kings, Gangster Rainbow, Scale Model, Lines in the Sky @ The End. 9pm $5. (As you may know, I’m in Scale Model. This is one of those shows where we got billed but I honestly don’t know much at all about any of the other bands. But it’ll be fun no matter!)

MiMOSA w/ Cherub and special guests @ Cannery Ballroom. 8pm $15.

Hate Life ft. Puffy Areolas, The Black Faces, Obnox, and Cheap Time @ Dino’s. 9pm $???

SATURDAY:

Yacht Rock Revue @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $10 adv./$12 DOS

Boom Bap 4-year anniversary @ The 5 Spot. 9pm $5

The Paperhead, D. Watusi, Denny & The Jets, and Ranch Ghost @ the Zombie Shop. 9pm $5

And even though it’s technically next week, I must go ahead and mention that I’m hosting a pretty killer 8 off 8th on Monday 1/30. I’m the happiest with this 8 off 8th lineup as I’ve ever been, so please do come out. Bands: I Believe in Hotpants, Scale Model, Honey Locust, King Arthur, Bows & Arrows, Magnolia Sons, Sugar Sk*_*lls, and Bravo Max.

Have a great weekend!

Uncle Skeleton, a project of Ross Wariner of Kindercastle fame, released the first single “Sophisticuffs” from their forthcoming new album All Too Human today. It’s available digitally now via their bandcamp. It’s a fun, breezy, disco-inspired tune with strings, funky guitars, and a smattering of cleverly cut-up vocals. I’m very happy to share the news that my (Burgers) remix of the track was deemed good enough for inclusion as a B-side/bonus track! Thanks to Michael Eades and his YK Records for making it all happen!

Credit: NASA

As I’ve mentioned before, our Sun is steadily heading toward the peak of its next 11-year sunspot cycle. The peak is expected in 2013. That means we can expect a steady increase in aurorae as well, because sunspots lead to solar flares and coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and when those happen to be aimed at earth, we get dazzling displays near the north and south poles. Sometimes those displays can even be seen as far south as Tennessee. Over the weekend there was a massive solar flare and CME, one that released the same amount of energy as millions of nuclear bombs, and it headed straight for earth. The blast of particles reached earth last night/this morning and created an astonishing auroral display, which was captured by many photographers at various locations. Here are a few blog posts and other links I’ve come across today showing some of those photos as well as explaining the physics of what actually causes the upper atmosphere to glow when bombarded by these particles.

Spectacular Aurorae Erupt Over Norway (Discovery News) Absolutely breathtaking photos by Bjørn Jørgensen.

Huge Solar Flare Seen By Solar Dynamics Observatory (Space.com)

The Sun Aims a Storm Right at Earth! (Bad Astronomy) Good explanation of the science behind the aurorae.

Can Solar Flares Hurt Astronauts? (Universe Today) Good explanation of why the flare/CME poses little risk to astronauts onboard the ISS.

Before my show picks for this weekend, I should mention that Cannery Ballroom has been undergoing some renovations that will greatly improve the show-going experience there. Those annoying poles in front of the stage and in the middle of the main crowd area have been removed! GM Drew Mischke tweeted about it yesterday and the Cream posted about it as well. And the good news is there are stage and sound improvements in the future as well. Good news all-around.

Shows to see this weekend:

FRIDAY:

Mercy Lounge 9th Anniversary party, night 1: How I Became the Bomb, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, Ponychase, Wild Cub, ReLapse & more. FREE. 9pm

Graveyard w/ Radio Moscow @ Exit/In. 9pm $15

SATURDAY:

Mercy Lounge 9th Anniversary party, night 2: Heypenny, The Nobility, Mayhem performing Elvis Costello’s This Year’s Model, Escondido, & more. FREE. 9pm

Vermicious K’nids reunion show w/ Reid Magette, Ben Spinks Supermelt, and The Salamanders @ The End. 9pm $5

Mom & Dad, Little Viking, Schools @ Mt. Swag. $3 (address redacted)

Nashville Rollergirls benefit ft. Take the Power Back, Ponychase, and The Granny Whites @ Exit/In. 9pm $10 min. donation

That’s all I got for ya. Have a great weekend!

This weekend offers a lot more than last in terms of good shows to see in Nashville. Check it:

FRIDAY:

D. Striker, Ri¢hie, Birdcloud, and Mystery Twins @ The Basement. 9pm $5

The Paperhead, D. Watusi, Feral Beat @ Dino’s. 9pm FREE

SATURDAY:

The Features, Evan P. Donohue, Kingston Springs @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm SOLD OUT

John Langworthy, Fly Golden Eagle, Majestico, Chrome Pony @ fooBar. 9pm $???

Useless Eaters, D. Watusi, El Fossil, Spanish Candles @ The Other Basement. 8pm $3

SUNDAY:

Crybaby, Fox Fun, King Karl, White Pages @ The End. 9pm $5

Have a great weekend!!

Lineups:
Jan. 20th- How I Became the Bomb, Cheer Up Charlie Daniels, Ponychase, Kyle Andrews, Wild Cub (ft. Keegan Dewitt & members of Pico vs. Island Trees) and local funksters ReLapse will close it out.
Jan. 21st- Heypenny, Evan P. Donohue, The Nobility, Mayhem performing Elvis Costello’s This Year’s Model, Escondido ft. Tyler James, and ReLapse will once again close the night out.

Both nights are FREE so arrive early in case things reach max capacity.

As he always does, Dr. Phil Plait of Bad Astronomy lays out the truth on this. Universe Today has an excellent post on it as well.

This weekend is a tiny bit slow when it comes to rock shows, but here are a few things worth mentioning (and some shameless self-promotion):

FRIDAY:

Vitalic Noise presents CRAVE at Tavern. FREE, 21+, ft. resident DJs Losici (Josiah Lester) and Dali Drama (Jenn Harbin), and guest BURGERS (aka me). We’ll spinning the best in nu-disco/house/french touch/indie dance. Did I mention it’s FREE? It’s free.

The Dead Towns, Siberian Traps, The Bad Swears, & The Dirty Holidays @ The End. 9pm $5

SATURDAY:

The Tendoor, Kat Smo, Taxicab Racers, Ugly Kids Club @ The End. 9pm $5

Metal at the Mercy: a KISS tribute @ Mercy Lounge. 9pm $5

KIDDING!

Happy Holidays!

Credit: NASA

The Kepler team at NASA announced yet another exciting discovery yesterday: the first confirmed earth-size alien planets, Kepler 20f and 20e. The mission has found other exoplanets that pretty close to earth-size, but these two are by far the closest yet. What really befuddled me about this announcement was that that in addition to those two smaller, rocky worlds, there are three bigger gas-giant or super-earths in this system as well. No only that, but all five of these exoplanets’ orbits would fit inside our own Mercury’s orbit around our sun! That’s a lot of planets crammed into a tiny area! Of course that also means that these planets are scorching hot- far too hot to be habitable. But, it’s very reassuring to confirm that Kepler can positively identify alien planets that are earth-size and even tad bit smaller (Kepler 20e is about 87% the size of earth). As usual, Dr. Phil Plait at Bad Astronomy has a very good explanation of the whole thing. And I’ll also point you toward this article on space.com about the likelihood of us finding a true earth-twin within the coming year.

And now I will simply tell you to go take a look at this amazing set of volcano photographs and have a a few eyegasms. You’re welcome.