Squeeze the Day for 1/31

Music Tonight: On this last day of February comes the first political event with a cool local music component in Cincinnati, as singer/songwriter Serenity Fisher, Margaret Darling (pictured) from The Seedy Seeds and Jason Wells of folky, evocative Indie band for algernon team up for a special collaborative performance at Sitwell's in Clifton. The local artists have joined forces in support of Luke Brockmeier, a Democrat running for Ohio's new-look 31st House District seat (click here for more info on the candidate). The event kicks off at 7 p.m. There is a "suggested donation" of $5. Below, check out clips featuring Darling, Fisher and for algernon.






Momentous Happenings in Music History for January 31
On this day in 1979, The Clash kicked off its "Pearl Harbour" tour with a warm-up date at Vancouver's Commodore Ballroom. The band played with tourmate Bo Diddley and all-girl Canadian Punk band, The Dishrags. Check out a clip of the ’Rags below, as well as The Clash's "Hateful," which — like a bazillion other Rock songs — borrows Bo Diddley's trademark beat.  



Born This Day: Musical movers and shakers born Jan. 31 include: Blues/early Rock & Roll singer/songwriter ("C.C. Rider") Chuck Willis (1928); Minimalist composer Philip Glass (1937); contemporary Blues bandleader/singer/songwriter Charlie Musselwhite (1944); Pop Renaissance man Justin Timberlake (1981); and Sex Pistols/P.i.L. leader John "Johnny Rotten" Lydon (1956).

Rotten's contributions to music are only a part of his legacy; learning from one of the greatest sly, creative music managers ever (Pistols manager Malcolm McLaren), Rotten developed brilliant PR acumen. To this day, every two or three weeks, Johnny pops up in news headlines, usually for insulting someone or being cheeky and/or rude. Wanna save the music industry? Hire John Lydon to run spin for it.

This month, Lydon made a quip about how shows like The X Factor are the reason he can't get a record deal today; as usual, the purposefully provocative line (to NME) was picked up by innumerable sites. Today, the site contactmusic.com ran an item suggesting Lydon was looking to sue former bandmate Jah Wobble over his plan to perform tracks from PiL's Metal Box with fellow former member Keith Levene. The site quotes Wobble as saying they're just having some fun, but admitting that Lydon was pissed.

Cheers to the bratty, master publicity-maker on his 56th birthday. Here's PiL's notorious appearance on American Bandstand from 1980: