The Thermals Heat Up Maxwell's

Portland, Oregon's The Thermals rocked a sellout show at Maxwell's in Hoboken Friday night, August 10th, even sparking a minor mosh pit at a couple of points. (This can be a somewhat unsettling event in a small room that holds only a couple hundred people.)

The trio, which calls its music "post-pop-punk," put on a set of relentlessly loud, fast, catchy tunes, including "Here's Your Future, "A Stare Like Yours," and "Pillar of Salt." The band's Web site says "The Thermals are well known for their joyously punishing live shows," and after seeing them, it's hard to disagree.

The combination of Hutch Harris (guitar and vocals), Kathy Foster (bass), and Lorin Coleman (drums) make a wonderfully tuneful racket. While it's not always easy to catch what Harris is singing, there's often a sharp-edged commentary on the world and society. The band's Web site says that their latest full-length, "The Body, The Blood, The Machine" (produced by Brendan Canty of Fugazi), is about "a young couple who must flee a United States governed by fascist faux-Christians." A couple of times Harris held up his guitar to show the crowd a message pasted on it that seemed to say "This machine kills fascists" — the same phrase that Woody Guthrie had written on his folk guitar.

As a big fan of music podcasts, I must note that it was podcasts where I first heard of The Thermals and their music. The IndieFeed podcasts, which feature daily downloads of one free track accompanied by a bit of description about the artist, introduced me to "Here's Your Future," I heard "A Stare Like Yours" on the defunct Free Radio Sub Pop, and a video podcast I used to follow featured a live performance of "Pillar of Salt."

After their show at Maxwell's, The Thermals are playing to a much bigger crowd today at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool, on a bill with Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. That show should pack in about five or six thousand people, and should win The Thermals some new fans.

Free tunes: some great music podcasts

With all the hubbub about music being downloaded illegally from the Internet, podcasting has opened up a great way for artists, radio stations, and record companies to share their music legally. And since commercial radio is so bland and repetitive, podcasts have become the best way for me to discover new (and not-so-new) music.

I'm hoping artists and labels keep participating in podcasting. It's a good deal for them, since it has enticed me to buy the recordings and concert tickets of many artists I wouldn't have heard of otherwise. Here are some of my favorite music podcasts, covering different types of music. All can be found in Apple's iTunes.

KCRW.com: This public radio station from Santa Monica, California offers several music podcasts. The Morning Becomes Eclectic podcast presents live in-studio performance from the station's acclaimed show of the same name. Two sets of music enveloped by conversation. There have been performances from everyone from indie rockers to alt-country bands, from Spanish-language pop bands to electronica artists.

KCRW also features a Today's Top Tune podcast that features one song daily.

CBC Radio 3: Who'd have thought so much of today's innovative rock and pop music would come out of Canada? This one-hour (give or take) podcast from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation features full-length versions of songs from rock, pop, folk, and hip-hop artists from the well known to the unknown.

The Roadhouse: An hour of "the finest blues you've never heard"–old-style, contemporary, and everthing in between–comes your way in this podcast from Iowa City, Iowa. Host Tony Steidler-Dennison knows his stuff and plays a wide range of blues styles and artists. And with his deep voice and informal approach you'll feel like you're sitting next to a buddy on a barstool in a honky-tonk with a great blues jukebox.

Ritmo Latino: Like The Roadhouse, this podcast covers all styles and genres of its chosen form–Latin music, in this case. The host, an American living in Micronesia, spins tunes ranging from old-school music from Tito Puente and Carmen Miranda to modern Spanish-language rock and pop stars including Mana, Cafe Tacuba, and Shakira to reggaeton superstars Daddy Yankee.

The Tartanpodcast: Host Mark Hunter claims that Scotland is one of the leading centers of great music in Europe and, after listening to a few shows, it's hard to disagree with him. Singer-songwriters, pop bands, rock outfits, and more are all featured here, and while Hunter doesn't work in the music business, he nevertheless has a good ear for talented musicians.

All Songs Considered: Despite the clunky name, this podcast from National Public Radio offers a great wealth of pop and rock music in several forms. The weekly ASC podcast covers songs from about a half-dozen artists with snippets of each tune (you can hear full versions at the show's Web site). What I really enjoy are the archived live concerts that ASC Webcasts monthly from a Washington, D.C., also at the show's Web home. You can hear the full concerts from artists such as Sleater-Kinney, The New Pornographers, Toots and the Maytals, James Brown, and many more. For some you can even download the entire concert in MP3 form; the others you can stream to your computer.

Radio Without Borders: From radio station KUT in Austin, Texas comes this podcast of live performances from their studios, with one song each from several different artists. As you'd expect from its location, the program leans toward country, alt-country, and singer-songerwriter genres. It's often interesting to hear a song you know performed in a more stripped-down, live acoustic environment.

Indiefeed: This podcast gives you a free tune each day, along with a bit of introduction about the artist. Indiefeed has channels for alternative/modern rock, Americana/roots/folk, blues, electronic, and hip-hop music. Includes tunes from up-and-coming artists as well as established ones.