I remember when I thought a seven or eight person band would have to take a lot of practice to stay in sync on stage. Well that seems like a piece of cake after watching the zany Chicago marching band Mucca Pazza perform yesterday. I counted about 20 people on stage (they were packed up there and moving around so much that it was tough to get an exact count) but they list 30 members on their MySpace page.

I saw them by chance yesterday at the Do Division street festival in Chicago. I went to see Tally Hall, who were pretty awesome as usual, and stuck around to check out the next band, who were doing their soundcheck in full uniform.

Mucca Pazza perform at the Do Division street festival yesterday. Photo by my brother, Danny Collins.

I’d like to know where Mucca Pazza do their shopping because they’ve got some great vintage band gear. Their attire fits their sound, I’d say they fall somewhere in the marching band gypsy punk genre. Watching a band like this play isn’t something you see every day, even if you go to a lot of shows.

When they started it was obvious there were a lot of people in the band, but it was hard to tell how many. Some of them started in the crowd and some were ducking down on stage while they weren’t playing their instruments. With so many people on stage, members who weren’t playing at the time were often ducking down during the set to draw attention to the people who were playing.

When cheerleaders jumped up in the middle of the stage during the first song, I knew I was seeing something I’d never seen before. My explanation of Mucca Pazza can only convey so much of the experience of actually watching them play. You have to see the movement, the facial expressions and the reactions from the crowd.

The songs are instrumental, aside from occasional interjections and cheers. Trombones, trumpets, a sousaphone, a mandolin and clarinets are just some of the instruments involved.

Moral of the story:

Listen to “Alarm” on their MySpace page.

Go to their CD release show on June 19 at The Mansion, 2408 N. Kedzie in Chicago (All ages, $12 or $6 if you are under 18).

Trent Reznor posted a link to download the new Nine Inch Nails album on the band’s Web site earlier today. The album, called “The Slip” has 10 tracks and clocks in at 43:45. I just downloaded it, so I can’t tell you how it sounds but it is a full-length, full band release.

Reznor’s post reads “thank you for your continued and loyal support over the years — this one’s on me.” Free music seems to be getting more and more common as bands are finding a way to circumvent record labels and traditional distribution.

Earlier this year Reznor released a four part instrumental set called “Ghosts I-IV,” with various payment options including one that allowed fans to download some of the tracks for free.

I like to see bands pushing the boundaries of the music industry. Record labels are in trouble if they can’t completely adapt to the Internet. Obviously this “give it away” model will only work for established bands that can afford to make music for free (Nine Inch Nails, Radiohead, even Pennywise).

So where is the music industry going? Any thoughts on whether free music is the future?

Last weekend I was laboring through a10 page paper. This involves a lot of writing but it also involves a lot of other distracting activities (after a while I just can’t look at Microsoft Word anymore). So I was Web site hopping and came across this thing called The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation Marks.

People submit pictures of signs that were apparently made by people who don’t really know what quotation marks are for. I thought this was hysterical and could just barely keep myself from making any noise in the Undergrad while I was looking through it. Looking back on it now, while I’m in a more normal state, it’s not really as funny as I originally thought it was. It is still amusing, though.

In any case, I’d recommend you check this blog out when you’re at that point in the studying cycle where you feel like your head is going to explode. Maybe then you’ll find it as hilarious as I did at first.

In case you haven’t heard, today is Record Store Day. The day is meant to celebrate independently owned record stores around the country. Free stuff, live performances and signings are going on at some of the participating stores.

Locally, Exile On Main Street (1 Main St. in downtown Champaign) is participating in the event. So give iTunes a rest and take this chance to go support an independent record store in town. They have a good selection of local tunes too.

In unrelated news, local record label Polyvinyl is having an online garage sale. Apparently sometimes their CDs get shipped in with the jacket cut wrong or something and they stash them away. Well, the pile has gotten pretty big and now we’re looking at a bunch of $2 and $3 CDs and some stuff on vinyl as well.

Last night I ordered of Montreal’s “The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy” and Decibully’s “Sing Out America!” at $2 each. This is the kind of shopping I like.

I can’t stand reality TV. In theory, nothing about it appeals to me and yet I end up watching it from time to time. “True Life” is probably my favorite (check out “I’m an alcoholic” and “I work in the sex industry”). There is something about watching “reality” that’s kind of entertaining. Last week I caught a few minutes of an awards show just for “The Real World” (categories included best meltdown and hottest girl). My gut reaction was that it’s ridiculous to have an awards ceremony for one show, especially that show.

But then I got to thinking. This is a show that pioneered a genre (for better or worse). There are few shows that can claim as much influence on the television industry. Don’t forget that the reality show filming style has also influenced scripted shows like “The Office” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm”. “The Real World: Hollywood” will mark the show’s 20th season (it started in 1992, so there were actually a couple years with two seasons).

To put that in perspective, “Seinfeld” had nine seasons, “Friends” had 10, “Cheers” had 11, “ER” is in its 14th and “The Simpsons” is in its 19th. Why is a show like “The Real World” able to have a longer run than shows that are considered to be classics?

This is where my problem with reality TV lies. They can make so many seasons because every season is the same as the last one. They just bring in new people, put them in a new location and follow the formula. They don’t have to worry about resigning actors or writers. Each season is self-contained, so they could make 100 seasons if people keep watching.

I watched season two of “Survivor” and season one of “The Apprentice” on the edge of my seat every week. I really got into those shows. I followed the drama, I guessed who would get sent home and I had a good time with it. When the next seasons came along, I tried to watch but I just couldn’t get into it the same way again. It felt like I was getting in line for a ride I had just been on.

Apparently not everyone felt the same way because both of those shows are still on. Reality TV series will live for as long as they have an audience. So if you’re watching a show you don’t really like, do us all a favor and change the channel. Then again, there might not be anything better on.

When I think about the prospect of seeing Rage Against the Machine live, I can’t form real words. Their recorded music is so exciting that I can hardly imagine what it must be like to watch from a moshing crowd — when Zack de la Rocha calls out guilty parties at the end of “Know Your Enemy” or when Tom Morello makes you wonder how that sound came out of a guitar during several of their songs.

Eight years ago they broke up, and remained apart until last summer when they started playing concerts again. Now they have been confirmed as a headliner of Lollapalooza in Grant Park this August. I was all set on going to Pitchfork and Warped, a couple more affordable festivals (that still have some good looking lineups), but now I’m rethinking what I’m going to do.

Rage Against the Machine is one of my favorite bands and I never thought I would have a chance to see them live (and who knows if I’ll have another one, they could break up again at any time for all I know). On the other hand, right now a three day pass would run me $190. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have that kind of cash lying around.

I’ll probably end up going for a one day pass at the last second, although those will probably be more expensive than a three day pass to Pitchfork. We’ll see. Anyway, the whole Lolla lineup was announced today, the other headliners being Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails.

Also playing are Bloc Party, The Raconteurs, Kanye West, Wilco, Lupe Fiasco, Gnarls Barkley, The Black Keys, Broken Social Scene, Flogging Molly, Gogol Bordello, Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s, Tally Hall and a bunch of others. Check out lollapalooza.com for the full lineup.

We all know the music industry is changing fundamentally, whether it likes it or not. It seems that lately it has become trendy to ditch record labels and give music away for free. Let’s hope this becomes the norm in the future, because my bank account is just loving this little experiment.

The latest full album to come out free of charge is from punk/skate rock staple Pennywise. Their album is available for free download (and DRM free - yum) through MySpace. All you have to do is add Textango as a friend and then click on the link they post in their bulletins. Its as free as it gets, and you’ll be able to download it for about the next week and a half. Otherwise it will be available in stores where you pay for things.

I just listened to the album, called “Reason to Believe,” and its a fun venture that sticks to the punk genre. It was certainly worth the time it took to download it, and it will be a good way to prepare for seeing them out at the Warped Tour this August.

Exciting new music can be a tricky thing to find. Especially if you aren’t satisfied with finding the same three new songs everyone else is finding through the radio and Apple commercials. Luckily, the Internet has made it a lot easier to listen in to garages around the world. My favorite place (and I think the easiest place) to explore new music is MySpace.

When I signed up for MySpace I didn’t actually think I was going to use it much. I already had a Facebook account and did not know too many people using MySpace. Eventually I found the music section and the rest is history. Through MySpace I’ve become more familiar with the local music scenes both in the CU and in Chicago. I’ve also gotten into new bands from across the country and a few from different parts of the world.

Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with all the bands and random people that decide to friend you on MySpace. I usually like to listen to at least one song by a band before accepting a friend request, so sometimes these requests pile up in my inbox for months at a time. After a while I felt like I was friends with all these bands but couldn’t remember what half of them sounded like.

The solution I came up with for this problem has provided me with some of my favorite mix CDs to listen to. A lot of artists put up songs for download on their profiles, so I usually grab the ones I want as I come across them. Every so often I accumulate enough to burn them onto a full-length CD. I’ve made three of these MySpace mixes to date. The only rule for these mixes is that the songs on them have been made available for download by the artist, whether I found it on their MySpace profile, their Web site, et cetera.

I’ve discovered some of my favorite new bands this way, and I’d encourage any other new music hunters to give this a try. I put together my third mix during spring break and I think it’s my favorite one so far. Check out the tracklisting (some of these are still available for download):

1. “Robinson” - Learn to Fly (Charleston, Ill.)

2. “Khalil” - New Black (Chicago)

3. “Dance Dance Revolution” - Agents of Change (Chicago)

4. “This One” (live) - Headlights (Champaign-Urbana)

5. “Even in His Youth” - Children’s Masterpiece Theatre (Chicago)

6. “Sh*t a Brick” -  Alleyway Sex (Champaign-Urbana)

7. “To Him” - Noah Harris (Chicago)

8. “This is Life Krukid” - Curb Service (Champaign-Urbana)

9. “Bronx Dance Party” - Daly’s Gone Wrong (New York City)

10. “Antonymity” (live) - Elsinore (Champaign-Urbana)

11. “Scalliwag” (Simlish version) - Gaelic Storm (Los Angeles)

12. “Please Come Back” - Catfish Haven (Chicago)

13. “Dead Man’s Hand” - Tritone (Champaign-Urbana)

14. “One of a Kind” (live) - Lorenzo Goetz (Champaign-Urbana)

15. “Explain” - The Scarlet Harlots (Birmingham, England)

16. “The Very Last Messenger” - No Torso (Oslo, Norway)

Last night I headed out to downtown Champaign, to take in an elsinore show at the High Dive. Ryan Groff and company have become one of my favorite local acts. Watching them transition from their folk-y tunes on their 2006 album “Nothing for Design” to their heavier, guitar solo enriched new material has been a lot of fun the last few times I’ve seen them.

I’m getting familiar with “Landlocked,” which they closed with last night. It’s the first new song I heard them play, and I’ve heard them play it a few times now. The last section of the song is the best part, it is an instrumental build from scratch into chaos and its fun to watch in the live setting. They also played “The General,” “Gasoline” and “Antonymity,” all of which should be on elsinore’s new album, although lead singer Ryan Groff hinted that “Antonymity” may be some sort of bonus track.

The band has been at work on this new album for quite a while (they’ve been playing “Landlocked,” “Gasoline” and “Antonymity” for a while now), and it should be released in the summer. However, Groff gave the crowd a juicy tidbit of information when he said they plan to release a tour EP so fans don’t have to wait until July or August to hear some of the new material. He didn’t give a specific release date for the EP, but keep your ears open because I have a feeling it will come out sooner rather than later.

“The Long Run” was the sole representative from “Nothing for Design” in elsinore’s set last night. I definitely like watching them play the new material, but I have to say I missed “Vampire in My Town” and “Timid Maggie Mae,” which are usually standards in their sets. On the other hand, I wouldn’t want to have to trade the lively cover of Beck’s “Debra” with an appearance from Larry Gates. All in all it was a good way to spend a Saturday night.

The Oscars went on tonight in all the glamorous spectacle the ceremony is known for, thanks to the dissipation of the large storm cloud over Hollywood known as the writers strike. Luckily award season’s biggest night was spared the fate of the Golden Globes, which more or less went the way of Old Yeller.

Tonight all the doubt is behind us and Hollywood is looking back to normal. That’s good news for Joel and Ethan Coen, who took home the award for directing. Their film “No Country for Old Men” earned the top honor, best picture, as well as awards for best adapted screenplay and the no-surprise supporting actor win for Javier Bardem.

Jon Stewart added the humor one would expect from him as host of the show. Stewart joked about the alternate, montage heavy Oscars ceremony that was being planned in case the writers strike was not resolved, introducing montages of binoculars and periscopes and bad dreams in film.

The most heart-warming moments of the night came when the little guys won. Diablo Cody bawled through her acceptance speech for best original screenplay for “Juno.” I was pulling for Ellen Page, who played the title character, to win best actress but the prize went to one of the front-runners, Marion Cotillard (”La Vie en Rose”.)

Another underdog, the song “Falling Slowly” from the film “Once,” the low-low budget film that pretty much spread around by word of mouth, won in the best original song category. Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, the adorable couple from the film, delivered an acceptance speech that captured the idea that a small film, made in a short amount of time with a low budget can make it to Hollywood’s biggest stage.

After Hansard finished speaking Irglova moved up to the microphone but was drowned out by music cueing them offstage, before she even got a word in. Following the commercial break, Irglova was brought back onstage to make her own speech, this time uninterrupted. Even though it pointed out an imperfection in the show, bringing Irglova back onstage and letting her speak earns points for the Academy and the show’s producers in my book.