GO! TEAM GETS A GRIP ON #1: Sub Pop’s Go! Team grasp a “Grip Like a Vice” on the #1 spot of the Mediaguide Specialty Airplay Song chart, utilizing support from KEXP Seattle, WWCD Columbus, OH and WXDX Pittsburgh, helping full-length Proof of Youth remain strong at #2 on the Album side. Topping things once again on the Album side are Editors, whose An End Has a Start reclaims #1 with the help of airplay at WFNX Boston, WXPN Philadelphia and WLUM Milwaukee. A big debut on the Song side for Louisville natives VHS or Beta--the first single, “Can’t Believe a Single Word,” from their forthcoming Astralwerks effort Bring on the Comets, bows at #2, helping the album to a #5 entry on the Album chart (for more on VHS or Beta, check out this week’s “Streamer”). The Shins (Sub Pop) also make a return to the Specialty charts, with new single “Australia” entering the Song chart #7, helping full-length Wincing the Night Away re-enter at #4 on the Album end. Also bowing big are Matador’s New Pornographers, whose new album Challengers debuts at #3 on the Album chart, thanks in part to support for single “Mutiny, I Promise You,” which enters the chart at #9 on the Song side. The Specialty panel also seems to dig destruction…at least, of the Turbonegro variety, as the Scandinavian Leather/Cooking Vinyl artists move 27-12 on the Song chart with the musical question, “Do You Do You Dig Destruction?” In a word…yes!

Record Of The Week: VHS Or BETA

Pee Wee Herman on Joan Rivers, 1986 – Twenty one years ago, the world was a very different place. The Berlin Wall still stood…Ronald Reagan rode high in the White House, with Oliver North manfully manning shotgun…the Cold War still raged and the USSR remained whole…and, somewhere in Tinseltown and its environs, enough cocaine was being consumed that the idea of giving Joan Rivers her own late-night talk show was actually green-lighted. Scary stuff, eh kids? But wait, there’s more: one of Joan’s guests on her very first show was none other than Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman, whose “Pee Wee’s Playhouse” was in the process of warping a whole generation of young’uns…at least, before an ill-timed visit to a porno theater left Reubens with…erm…“egg” on his face. But thanks to YouTube, there remains an opportunity to journey back to that more innocent time and, not incidentally, wonder just what was holding up Joan’s hair…so, please click HERE.

If you were a music blog and you were going to war with other blogs, what would you want in your arsenal? Mp3s? Check. Videos? Check. RSS Feed? Check. The list goes on and on, and it’s quite funny to think about. However, wouldn’t you also want some backup, perhaps in the form of an online magazine? Of course you would, it’s like a bigger stronger cousin of the blog. On that (stupidly random) note, I bring you Daytrotter. While the site has only been around for around a year and a half, the site has already created a lot of buzz in the music industry as a true tastemaker music destination. So much so that hushhush ATTACK!’s very own Molly Peters has been a fan for over a year now! So, big ups to her for bringing it to our attention! The site has a bit of a funny background, as most do, it was created by a guy who writes about highschool sports and mixed martial arts for a newspaper based in Iowa. He started working there in junior highschool and eventually parlayed a phone interview with Ben Folds and somehow convinced them to hook him up with a full-time gig writing for the entertainment section! (managers and label reps listen up) The blog is infamous for its live sessions in which bands are suckered into coming through Iowa on tour and take a break from cow-tipping to record some kick ass exclusive tracks that are offered as free mp3 downloads! They’ve had everyone from the likes of Dappled Cities, Sondre Lerche, Mr. Simon Dawes, Of Montreal and Cold War Kids. Best of all, they are all archived for your listening pleasure. If that doesn’t make you want to check out his online magazine, I don’t what else would. Oh wait, there ARE graphic photos of blogs fighting blogs, and I heard that Michael Vick is the ringleader of the blogfights, he’s a winner.

VHS OR BETA “Can’t Believe a Single Word” (Astralwerks) – Louisville, Kentucky has become something of a hotbed for up-and-coming indie talent…and native sons VHS or Beta take full advantage of that happy fact on their forthcoming Astralwerks album, Bring on the Comets (streeting August 28), adding a twist to their traditional sound with the help of fellow Louisville natives Jim James, Carl Broemel and Bo Koster of My Morning Jacket. “My Morning Jacket are one of the best bands out there right now, and collaborating with them turned into its own magical thing,” notes VHS or Beta founding member Craig Pfunder. Not that the VHS or Beta guys are any slouches, themselves--first founded in 1997 but now working as a three-piece consisting of guitarist/vocalist Pfunder, bassist Mark Palgy and drummer Mark Guidry, VHS or Beta has been deemed one of the “best new bands” by Blender, while similarly being hailed as an “Artist to Watch” by Rolling Stone. For a sneak peek at Bring on the Comets and more band info, try hitting the group’s official website (www.vhsorbeta.com), or check out their MySpace (www.myspace.com/vhsorbeta) for a chance to hear first single “Can’t Believe a Single Word.” Or Click HERE.