I’ve never been to Bonnaroo, and I was hoping to keep it that way in 2012. Nothing against AC Entertainment (the promoters of the fest) or the thousands of stinky hippies that populate Manchester, Tenn. a few days each year; massive outdoor festivals just aren’t conducive to a great live music experience most of the time.

Sadly though, it looks like my streak will end here, thanks to three words: The Beach Boys (even though it’s with John Stamos). You can also throw in these two words: Bad Brains. Sure, there are some good undercard acts as well, but I’ve either seen them or could see them without the gentle waft of patchouli.

Oh yeah, and Radiohead is headlining. Yawn.

See the Bonnaroo 2012 lineup.

In about 63 hours, I’ll be throwin’ some ‘bows at Ear X-Tacy to make sure I get my hands on every Record Store Day release I need. Of course, “need” is hardly the proper term, but when you’re standing there holding the last copy of a Japanese Les Savy Fav import on coke bottle clear and orange swirl vinyl — well, that’s when “need” is the right word.

With that in mind, here is my list of RSD desirables. In looking through the list, there were some entries I objectively knew I should care about. For some reason, though, they just didn’t make me tingle. Below, you’ll find the tinglers. Not all of them are must-haves, but they’re all tinglers nonetheless.

• Bad Brains – Pay to Cum seven-inch
• Bad Brains – God of Love
• Big Star – Third (test pressing edition)
• Buck Owens – Close Up the Honky Tonks/My Heart Skips a Beat seven-inch
• Deerhoof/Xiu Xiu – Almost Xiu Xiu, Almost Deerhoof seven-inch
• Lady Gaga – Born This Way picture disc (for my wife, I swear)
• Mastodon/ZZ Top – Just Got Paid seven-inch
• Manchester Orchestra – Simple Math seven-inch
• Piebald – Vol I-III Triple Gatefold 3LP Special Edition
• Rival Schools – Wring It Out seven-inch
• The Beach Boys – Good Vibrations/Heroes and Villains 10-inch
• The Flaming Lips – Heady Nuggs box set
• Arthur Russell – World of Echo
• Fucked Up – Town Comp
• Superchunk/Coliseum – Horror Business/Bullet seven-inch
• Touché Amoré – To the Beat of a Dead Horse
• Joan of Arc – Presents: Don’t Mind Control

Needless to say, my eyes are bigger than my wallet. But what about you? What are your tinglers? And by that, I mean records that you want to buy this Saturday. Perv.

Records like this make me actually ask philosophical questions about the nature of album reviews. Weird, right? I know. Well, the issue at hand is how exactly to evaluate Spiritual, Mental, Physical, a rough album of pre-1975 demos and impromptu jam sessions from Detroit’s unsung punk heroes, Death.

As a musical distillation of the band’s journey — from the moment Alice Cooper planted rock in the Hackneys brothers’ hearts to the realization of what would become …For the Whole World to See — it’s a fascinating listen. There are explorations in fast and loose proto-hardcore punk, parenthetical psychedelic flourishes and laid-back melodies, all of which paint a picture of how the trio developed into a band that almost makes Bad Brains look like a tired rehash in retrospect (bold words, I know; that’s why I said almost).

Taken as a standalone record apart from Death’s made-for-the-movies story, however, it’s just a meandering conflagration that showcases stellar musicianship without an eye toward crafting stellar songs. That’s not to say no stand-out tracks exist, but you can certainly tell the band’s time-tunnel-riding sound hadn’t yet crystallized.

So the final decision on my obviously authoritative rating ends up somewhere in between. Spiritual, Mental, Physical is historically significant (especially within the narrative of the band), and it’s a somewhat lackluster album that was never really intended to be an album in the first place.

Also, this isn’t the metal band. Sorry to ruin your day.

Louisville’s Coliseum has a new album, House With a Curse, out today. And in honor of the hellacious record’s release, frontman Ryan Patterson is taking the reigns of Buzzgrinder today.

I’m currently reading the flawed, yet enjoyable Spray Paint the Walls: The Story of Black Flag, which has not only put me onto a serious Black Flag kick (I forgot how awesome the Slip It In and Loose Nut LPs are!), but has gotten me thinking about my favorite books about music. Here are a few of them…

DANCE OF DAYS: Two Decades of Punk in the Nation’s Capital by Mark Andersen and Mark Jenkins

As a D.C./Dischord fanatic, Mark Andersen’s name has been familiar to me since I was in my mid-teens. He was the head of D.C.’s Positive Force collective, who released the best compilation ever, State of the Union, which came with a huge booklet about political ideology and activism, vegetarianism and counterculture that truly changed my life and inspired paths in life that I follow to this day. When I heard that Andersen was working on a massively inclusive book about D.C. punk and hardcore, I was chomping at the bit. I was in my early 20s by the time the book was released, but my obsession with D.C. music has never faltered, and I was beyond excited for this book. It did not disappoint. From very damaging stories about Bad Brains‘ homophobic past, to stories as simple as where Swiz got their name, this thing was like a bible to me, I only wished it was longer!

See more of Ryan’s favorite music-related books.

That’s right, more Halloween funny business. This time it doesn’t involve elaborate costumes or covers. It’s just about how much Vice’s Halloween party — which featured Bad Brains and Jesus Lizard among others — sucked. Or at least Patrick Stickles, Batman-loving frontman of Titus Andronicus, certainly felt that way:

Well, this whole scene was fucked, clearly, and my ladyfriend was getting more and more disturbed by the assholery on display (or sexual harassment, as she would call it, and perhaps rightly so) and the constant picture-taking by stangers, that she had to go home and try and live like a reasonable person. I wish I could have followed her, but as will become a theme throughout this sad tale, I really needed the money. So, I escorted her out of the building and out of the hellish nightmare that was this party, and I was glad to see her moving towards a more peaceful and decent evening.

Titus Andronicus – Titus Andronicus

:: I’m jealous of you Brooklyndians, for Halloween anyway. Bad Brains and Jesus Lizard are playing Vice’s Halloween party to celebrate their 15th anniversary!

:: Johnny Foreigner recently had a microphone stolen. Needless to say, they want it back.

:: Want to win a Where the Wild Things Are prize pack? Of course you do.

:: Maura at Idolator lays down the law with regard to Madonna‘s less-then-listenable catalog.

:: Nick Cave is thinking his new novel would make a great TV show. I think my novel would make a great TV show, too. Think about it — Wiggle Puppy Meets Uncle O’Grimacey: The Series. Eh? Eh?

:: Bad Brains will be playing some dates in early November – if you know what’s up you’ll be there.

:: Poison The Well posted a new song titled Purple Sabbath.

:: The video from Slipknot, Dead Memories, bores me.

:: Check out this video of Mechanical Douche Machine; dudes from Metal Blade Records, Heavy Hitter, Inc, etc. I love when Jose Mangin (of Sirius Hard Attack) reads the lyrics from his iPhone.

If, for some reason, you haven’t seen the lineup for Fun Fun Fun Fest ’08 — taking place in Austin on Nov. 8 and 9 — after all of the blogosphere hoopla, we’ve got it here for you.

It’s not just the typical festival for gold-shoe-wearing chicks and handlebar-mustached dudes, either. From Bad Brains to Dan Deacon to Young Widows, the folks at Fx3 have all the bases covered.

Speaking of Young Widows, the band is planning an album release show this Thursday in Louisville. But anyway, back to Austin in November. Take a gander at all the bands after the jump. More »