by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Yes, I know this is old news, but there are still one or two people in the world who may not have heard it: On July 1, Ground Floor Guitar in the Blackstone District was robbed at gunpoint. Details of the incident are beyond harrowing. The thieves got away with cash and more than $20,000 in musical instruments.

John Svatos, who runs the shop, is an icon of the local indie music scene whose bands include Noah’s Ark Was a Spaceship and Healer. I can’t wrap my mind around why someone would rob a guitar shop, of all places. At least no one was hurt, though there will be scars we can’t see, the kind caused by having a gun shoved in your face.

Phil Schaffart, another member of the Omaha indie music family, set up a GoFundMe to help Svatos while the shop remains temporarily closed. You can donate here.

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I fell down a rabbit hole last night looking at different college music charts and came across the NACC — the North American College & Community Radio chart, based on weekly airplay from college and non-commercial radio stations in North America, or so the site tells me.

Back in the old days before social media, there used to be the College Music Journal and the CMJ Charts. Having your album make it onto the CMJ used to be a big deal. And then one day, CMJ disappeared (BTW, the once important New York City-based CMJ Music Festival still exists, sort of). Is NACC taking CMJ‘s place? No idea, though their site says they’ve been around for five years, and their chart looks… interesting. Most of what I expect to see is there, with Wilco taking the top spot. But where’s Big Thief? And what about Beach House? So yeah, I’m kind of scratching my head.

Right behind Wilco on the chart is a band called Cola, and their album Deep in View. Turns out Cola consists of former members of the band Ought (Ought broke up sometime ins 2021). Cola’s album was released by Fire Talk Records, but looks to be disto-ed by Rough Trade.

And lo and behold, Cola is playing at The Slowdown July 18.

What got me falling down this rabbit hole was a post by Little Brazil that pointed out that their new album, Just Leave, was No. 187 on the College Radio Charts 1000 (it was No. 332 this past week). I have never heard of College Radio Charts and there’s very little info online about the organization. Needless to say, their top 30 is different than NACC’s top 30. Still, congrats to Little Brazil!

The big question: Are college radio charts relevant in the steaming era?

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Tonight at Reverb Lounge, the dynamic duo of Pagan Athletes headlines a show that includes a couple bands I’m not familiar with: Captain Howdy and Thee Bots. $7, 8 p.m.

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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 © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.