The Red River’s favorite pre-show movies

The Red River is an indie-pop band out of Long Beach, California, currently touring in support of its upcoming record, Little Songs About the Big Picture (11/2/10, Brave Recs).

In order to get in the right mindset for its shows, the band likes to project movies on its tour projector. Though ranging in subject matter, almost all the flicks share a common theme: inspirational underdogs overcoming great odds. However, one story of a futuristic crime fighter doesn’t quite fit the bill; it’s just an awesome movie.

1. Major League

A band of unlikely misfits band together for the win. The parallels are endless here.

Autopsy

The Metal Examiner: Autopsy’s The Tomb Within

Every Friday, The Metal Examiner delves metal’s endless depths to present the genre’s most important and exciting albums.

Autopsy: The Tomb WithinAutopsy: The Tomb Within (Peaceville, 10/5/2010)

Autopsy: “My Corpse Shall Rise”
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Following his early stint in death-metal progenitors Death, drummer/vocalist Chris Reifert formed pioneering metal act Autopsy. Like other bands in the late ’80s and early ’90s, Autopsy invented its own rules in its quest for extremity, and its blend of doom, punk, and thrash coalesced into a definitive take on the emerging death-metal sound.

Spandexxx @ Beauty Bar

Event photos: Spandexxx @ Beauty Bar

Two Fridays ago, ALARM and UR Chicago teamed up to present Spandexxx at Chicago’s Beauty Bar. Taking the stage were Mic Terror, Vic Mensa, the20fours, and DJs Adulture and Moneypenny. In addition, the HEY! Cliché! video club screened visuals.

Spandexxx @ Beauty Bar

Mammoth Grinder

Mammoth Grinder: Pure Metal Immediacy

With its second full-length album, Mammoth Grinder combines the simple brutality of death metal with a hardcore rawness that is heard less and less in this age of digital recording programs, overdubs, and pitch correctors.

Rahim AlHaj

World in Stereo: Rahim AlHaj’s Little Earth

Each week, World in Stereo examines classic and modern world music while striving for a greater appreciation of other cultures.

Rahim AlHaj: Little EarthRahim AlHaj: Little Earth (UR Music, 9/28/10)

Rahim AlHaj: “Morning in Hyattsville”
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If you’ve ever dabbled in Arabic music, whether realizing or not, you have probably come across the short-necked Arabian lute known formerly as the oud.  If you’ve never explored the musical styling, however, the recordings of Rahim AlHaj may be the place to start.  Hailed as one of Iraq’s most paramount composers and an esteemed oud musician, AlHaj studied under Munir Bashir, perhaps one of the most quintessential innovators and players of the oud, at the Institute of Music in Baghdad.

Contest: Win passes to Moogfest 2010 in Asheville, NC

Another week, another contest from ALARM. This time, we’re giving one reader a chance to win a pair of weekend passes to Moogfest, a major three-day electronic festival that has moved from New York to Asheville, North Carolina. Total retail value of these babies is $369. Moogfest 2010 is taking place in venues all over Asheville during Halloween weekend, Oct. 29, 30, and 31.

Morrow vs. Hajduch

Morrow vs. Hajduch: Venetian Snares’ My So-Called Life

Scott Morrow is ALARM’s music editor. Patrick Hajduch is a very important lawyer. Each week they debate the merits of a different album.

Venetian Snares: My So-Called LifeVenetian Snares: My So-Called Life (Timesig / Planet Mu, 9/7/10)

Venetian Snares: “Hajnal2”
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Hajduch: Prolific breakcore wizard Venetian Snares (Aaron Funk) is back in 2010 with his zillionth full-length, My So-Called Life. If you’re a fan, you know the deal — furious breakbeats at breakneck tempos in unusual time signatures.

Megane #2

Zine Scene: Megane

Star Graphics’ Yoshi Shimura cites a simple reason for publishing the zine Megane: “I want to liven up the Japanese art scene.” Megane does exactly that by highlighting young, new Japanese visual artists in a society usually more interested in consumer products.

The Tokyo-based Star Graphics group, formed in 2003 by Shimura and a few friends, has published only two issues of Megane and a comic book, but its goal — recognition for its featured artists — is becoming reality. By selling the zine in the United States and other countries, Shimura hopes to “introduce them to the world.”

Megane #1

Megane #2