Built to Spill Headlines 2009 Siren Festival on Coney Island

After missing every previous Siren Festival, the all-day, two-stage indie music festival on Coney Island, I'm determined to make it to this year. As usual the festival, which takes place Saturday, July 18th, features a fine lineup of indie/alt-rock acts. Built to Spill headlines on one stage while Spank Rock leads the way on the other stage.

The bill also includes Danish duo The Raveonettes, Scottish band Frightened Rabbit, Frank Black's band Grand Duchy, and up-and-coming Canadian rockers Japandroids. Each stage will have a DJ spinning tunes between sets.

Check the official Web site for the 2009 Siren Festival schedule as well as directions, frequently asked questions, and more information. To answer a few of the main questions:

• The Siren Festival is totally free, and no tickets are required.
  
• The event is an all-ages show, and goes on rain or shine.
  
• The live music starts at 1 p.m. (Tiny Masters of Today, on the Main Stage)
  
• The last band to play is scheduled to go on at 8:00 p.m. (Spank Rock, on the Stillwell Stage. Built to Spill takes the Main Stage at 7:30 p.m.)
  
• The D, F, Q, and N trains will get you to the Siren Festival. Check the official Web site for the stations to use on each line. Note: as the site says, the trains to Coney Island can take about 45 minutes.
  

You can find updates on the festival at the Siren Festival's Twitter page, www.twitter.com/SirenFestival.

The New York City tourism site NYCgo.com has an interview with Siren Festival headliners Built to Spill.

Pylon Guitarist Randy Bewley Dies at Age 53

Just when the influential 1980s band Pylon was staging a series of reunion concerts, guitarist Randy Bewley has died at age 53. He reportedly suffered a heart attack on Monday and died on Wednesday. Pylon emerged from the same Athens, Georgia scene that gave rise to R.E.M. and the B-52s, a year before R.E.M. Bill Berry, the former R.E.M. drummer, once called Pylon "the best band in the world," even though Pylon had already broken up at that point.

I wrote about Pylon in December when they played their return engagement in New York. Unfortunately I didn't make it to that show, and it seems pretty clear that Bewley's death means the end for Pylon. Losing one member is obviously a blow for any trio, and for Pylon Bewley's guitar playing was responsible for much of the group's distinctive sound. Online Athens notes that many guitarists have cited Bewley's influence on their own playing.

Besides playing the reunion shows, Pylon last year released a collection of many of their recordings on one CD called Gyrate +.

It's sad that Pylon was exciting old fans and winning new one with its reunion gigs, which were showing people why the band has been such an influence on later groups.

BuzzCuts CD Packed with Alternative Rock Hits

A lot of those CDs you see advertised on late-night TV are pretty lame, but here's one that sounds pretty tasty. It's called "BuzzCuts" and it's a two-CD set from the mail-order music company MusicSpace (the same one that sells titles such as "Monster Ballads."

"BuzzCuts" has a lot of top alt-rock singles ... what it calls the "30 biggest and best alternative rock hits of all time." Some are great tunes, others are catchy hits that I'd consider guilty pleasures. Here's the track listing from the MusicSpace Web site:

Disc 1
01 Kryptonite | Three Doors Down
02 Fat Lip | Sum 41
03 I Miss You | Blink 182
04 Blurry | Puddle Of Mud
05 I'd Do Anything | Simple Plan
06 Celebrity Skin | Hole
07 Sour Girl | Stone Temple Pilots
08 Last Resort | Papa Roach
09 Running Away | Hoobastank
10 Hangingaround | Counting Crows
11 Lakini's Juice | Live
12 Hanging By A Moment | Lifehouse
13 The Way | Fastball
14 What It Is To Burn | Finch
15 The Chemicals Between Us | Bush
16 Smooth Criminal | Alient Ant Farm

Disc 2
01 Higher | Creed
02 Meant To Live | Switch
03 Butterfly | Crazytown
04 Hemorrhage (In My Hands) | Fuel
05 My Own Worst Enemy | Lit
06 I Will Buy You A New Life | Everclear
07 Amber | 311
08 Somewhere Out There | Our Lady Peace
09 Bodies | Drowning Pool
10 I Hate Everything About You | Three Days Grace
11 Inside Out | Eve 6
12 Send The Pain Below | Chevelle
13 Wherever You Will Go | The Calling
14 Fly | Sugar Ray f/Supercat