by TIm McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Mick about to take flight.

I didn’t watch every moment of the 12-12-12 concert last night, but I did catch Rolling Stones, The Who, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys and Paul McCartney. For my money, Billy Joel won the “best remaining voice” competition among the codger squad. The Stones sounded every bit of 70 years old, Roger Daltrey can’t hit the high notes any more and McCartney was, well, better than I thought he’d be. It was a real sausage party. Strange that there was only, what, one woman vocalist all night? Shades of 2011 Maha Festival. As a whole, the production was a few steps below Jerry Lewis Telethon quality, with way too many technical glitches and quick cuts to people in headsets angrily shouting at someone off camera. But hey, that’s live television (or webvision) for ya.

* * *

There’s a lot of “truth” and “growing up” going on with Ladyfinger’s next album, Errant Forms, slated for release Feb. 5, 2013, on Saddle Creek Records, and no track underscores that more than “Galactic,” the auto-biographical epic that explains once and for all the mysterious behavior of frontman Chris Machmuller. The gritty, brutal rock song tells the story of a man who picks up signals in his head — numbers and images — obviously a distress signal about an alien coup, and I’m not talking about an uprising at the Arizona state capitol. It all comes down to this line: “I’m a space invader and I think I can save this planet from galactic destroyers from space.” Unclear if Machmuller is saying he, himself, is an alien or some sort of “super soldier” tasked with leading a mission to destroy an alien onslaught. I’ve listened to this song on repeat at least 100 times in the past 24 hours and I’m still not sure. Maybe I’m not supposed to “be sure.” What I can say is that “Galactic” is one of the most important songs ever released by Saddle Creek Records (and one of my favorites). Watch the skies, people. PS: I can’t wait to see the video. Attention: Ridley Scott.

* * *

Look’s like Statistics, the project by Denver Dalley (of Desaparecidos fame and Har Mar Superstar sideman) has signed to Afternoon Records. The label will be releasing the next Stats full length, Peninsula, in March. More info here. Check out Stats’ first AR single, below:

Statistics, “Rewind, Replay, Repeat”

[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/71102501″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

* * *

BTW, that For Against box set I mentioned on Tuesday slated for release in January? Well its release has been pushed back until May or June of 2013. And I’m also told to not hold my breath waiting for a For Against reunion. One can dare to dream…

* * *

This week’s column is pt. 1 in a series about the joys and frustrations of remodeling a house. You can read it in this week’s issue of The Reader or online right here.

* * *

No shows again tonight, which sucks because I have tomorrow off.

* * *

Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2012 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.