Yeah, it's kind of a slow news week. (Or is that news weak ? Yuk yuk!) Anyway, no matter what there is to say, I'm still here to say it and you're still there to read it so let's get back in our proscribed roles and carry on with tradition. Start here…

It's More Than You Think: DJ Twin Powers has been spinning (so to speak) like mad lately with a weekly Wednesday residency over at the Go Bar. The gig is billed as "New Wave" night and you should take this description literally. New Wave is not a synonym for "'80's." You won't get to swing ironically to some crap by Toto or some funky-ass beats by Prince. No, sir. What you will get is healthy dose of Devo, Blondie, Human League, etc. After making that point loudly enough, I should concede that, yes, Dan Geller will also be spinning some of the Britpop that he's known for. And Britpop in this sense does not mean Boyzone and Take That, but rather Blur, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, etc. Okay, so there's some shoegazer stuff in there, too. Oh, damn, just show up and be thrilled, okay?

Say Good-bye, Folks, And Hurry Up 'Cause You Ain't Got Much Time: Local musician Matthew White will be leaving Athens - in his words, "for good" - at the end of July in order to pursue his a degree in jazz studies at the University Of New Orleans. (And, really folks, isn't this the obvious place to become a jazz master?) At any rate, he will be taking his wife, Shannon and daughter Moe, who is currently in-utero and could not be reached for comment, stepson Rufus and a cat named Claudius Bulbous Maximus. In addition to notably producing and engineering Five-Eight's wonderful album The Good Nurse, White has been a member of The Good Cows, Mile Zero, The Miracle of Birth, King Daddy Zeb, Eli and The Cook, DeRevere & White Trio. White, for the past five years, has also been manager of production and operations at WUGA 91.7 FM in Athens, where he was a daily classical music announcer and producer/host of the late-night "Jazz Beyond" program. If you wanna say good-bye to the man and wish him well, please write to gymnopedies13@yahoo.com.

What's in a Name?: Seems there's a little competition going around in terms of names. There's the Mutual Admiration Society, a local pop band - Brett Tatnall, Andy Tyminski and Mike Jones - fronted by classic rocker Carla LeFever, and there's the Mutual Admiration Society fronted by ex-Toad the Wet Sprocket vocalist Glen Phillips and rounded out by members of Nickel Creek. Seems LeFever ran into a little confusion in the last several weeks, as people asked her if she was touring and such. In an email exchange with Flagpole discussing the issue, LeFever wrote "At least we're in good company. Maybe we'll just become The Society. Who knows?" [Chris Hassiotis]

We're Oh So: Local acoustic "apocalyptic folk" band The Quiet recently played a gig at the Caledonia Lounge (Friday, June 24, to be specific) to a warm reception; core members Jesse Thompson (guitar/ vocals) and Kathleen Thompson (drums) then booked it down to Florida to perform at a friend's art/ music gallery the next evening. The Quiet have an upcoming EP titled Junebug, released by now-local PoorFish Records. In 2003, the record label settled down in Athens, "intent on making new friends and making new art." In its own words, "PoorFish is a collective of musicians, artists, writers and friends. PoorFish was spawned in the bedrooms and garages of South Florida in the late 1990s. Countless albums and 500+ songs later, the fish scattered. Some strayed, some hopped trains, some wrote books, and others relocated." The Quiet has a show scheduled at Tasty World on Monday, August 2, and are worth a good long listen. For more information, hit up PoorFishRecords.net. [Chris Hassiotis]

Earplugs Be Good: Simply put, Olympia, WA, ruled The Caledonia last week. Former Melvins member Joe Preston brought the massive rock with Thrones and pretty piano-based duo Sedan brought the, um, massive pretty. A fair amount of people showed up, but nowhere near the amount that would have enjoyed it. The point of this paragraph, folks, is try your best to get out there and see bands even if you've never heard of them. You will enjoy living in Athens so much more. I promise.

Potpourri For $200: Looks like a number of Athens and Athens-related bands are popping up on compilations left and right. First off, Narnack Records will release Confuse Yr Idols - A Tribute To Sonic Youth this week. It contains an Elf Power cover of Sonic Youth's "Kotton Krown" recorded way back in 1994 with a lineup of Andrew Rieger on vocals and guitar, Laura Carter playing piano, Roxanne Martin singing and Dave Wrathgeber on sitar. Martin also performed with Laura in the female art troupe Dixie Blood Mustache and with Wrathgeber in FableFactory, so "Kotton Krown" is something of a time warp. Next up, Merge Records has issued its three-disc compendium Old Enough to Know Better: 15 Years of Merge Records. The comp begins it all with Neutral Milk Hotel's "Song Against Sex," and you'll also find The Rock*A*Teens and Elephant 6 bands The Essex Green and The Music Tapes. Finally, Brooklyn's The Leaf Label commemorates its tenth anniversary with the Delivery Room comp, on which you'll find two tracks by A Hawk and a Hacksaw, the solo project of Jeremy Barnes (Neutral Milk Hotel, Bablicon, Broadcast, etc.). If that slightly exhaustive rundown doesn't prove that the world - or at least the nostalgiacs out there - are still hungry for E6 stuff, then I don't know what would… [Chris Hassiotis]

And that's it for this week folks. Please keep sending your news in and as always reference me or Threats & Promises in the subject lines of any and all emails. Get up for the downstroke via email at music@flagpole.com, voicemail at 549-2360; or by post at P.O. Box 1027, Athens, GA 30603
Gordon Lamb