Weekly Music Picks: Turkey Hangover Edition

If you ventured out after Thursday's holiday to participate in the great American tradition – shopping – you likely were subjected to all sorts of Christmas music. From Clay's Merry Christmas with Love to Nat King Cole's classics it's upon us. More and more radio stations are picking up the radio formatting. It may not be "too early" but it's certainly not what you'll find if you check out this weeks shows. And remember you can always catch 24/7 streaming of Boston's (no xmas tunes) local rock on Exploit Boston Radio to get you through December.

Monday, 11/27
Berklee Gospel Ensembles
Berklee students perform traditional and contemporary gospel music in a variety of styles and settings. With Dennis Montgomery III.
Berklee Performance Center, 8pm, $5 -$10

¡Forward, Russia!
Leeds: birth place of political punk funk legends Gang of Four, Delta 5, Au Pairs, and the Mekons. And now Leeds spits forth ¡Forward, Russia!, who "meld floor-filling disco punk funk party music, epic post-rock, and larynx scorching yelps to devastating effect." With Snowden and DJ Carbo,
Great Scott, 18+, $10, 9pm
!Forward, Russia!: website | myspace | four.mp3
Snowden: website | DJ Carbo: myspace

Amanda Palmer, Boston Typewriter Orchestra
You may be familiar with Amanda's work, even if you only know the Dresden Dolls. Her spirit is vibrantly displayed every time she takes the stage. The Boston Typewriter orchestra seems like a brilliant accompaniment to her performance. They don't make it to stage very often. Last time they played a gig was at the Somerville Arts Festival (maybe they've been hitting the private function scene real big?). The collective really does play the typewriter. All the sounds come from typewriters – so what if they use a few of them like drums? A couple of samples of their music are up on their website. Take a listen to "customer confidentiality" and think about how they might have tore it up as part of The Shining soundtrack.
Paradise Rock Club, 7pm doors, 18+, $16
Amanda Palmer: myspace | Bio at Dresden Dolls
Boston Typewriter Orchestra: website

Tuesday, 11/28
Joe Lovano
Want a great introduction to the most important and influential jazz artists and movements of the past 50 years and get a chance to hear a living tenor legend at the same time? Just catch Joe Lovano. His new Blue Note album, Streams of Expression, is a suite that pays homage to Miles and Gill Evans, Dolphy and Mingus, Ornette and Keith Jarrett, Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, Rahsaan, and more. It also incorporates Gunther Schuller's "Birth of the Cool Suite."
Scullers Jazz Club, $20; 8pm & 10pm
7pm "meet and greet Joe Lovano" pre-reception and 8pm show: $30 ($10 goes to benefit JazzBoston, Inc.)
Joe Lovano: website | myspace

Wednesday, 11/29
Dinosaur Jr. & Thalia Zedek
Two of Massachusetts' influential contributions to indie rock: Come co-founder Zedek opens for the original Mascis/Barlow/Murph line-up of Amherst's Dinosaur Jr.
Paradise Rock Club, 18+, 8 pm, $25
Dinosaur Jr.: myspace | web site
Thalia Zedek: web site | 1926.mp3

Thursday, 11/30
Rock the Bells Tour with Ghostface, Redman, Raekwon & Supernatural
The mighty Ghostface is about to follow-up Fishscale, one of the year's best releases, with More Fish. And you can get a deep fried taste when Ghostface joins the "Rock the Bells" tour with fellow Wu-Tang Clan member Raekwon. Redman and Murray will perform material from their side project Def Squad and Redman will preview his upcoming Def Jam release Red Gone Wild. Just don't expect Supernatural to beat the 9 hour freestyle world record he set back in August.
Avalon, all ages, $25, 7pm
Ghostface: website | myspace | purchase
Redman: website | myspace
Raekwon: website | myspace

Hallelujah the Hills
Hallelujah the Hills, who recently rose from the ashes of now-defunct Stairs have been showing up on stages for the better part of this year. They took week 2 in the Salon.com Song Search. And we just got word that you'll find the last full band appearance until February rolls around will happen before December begins. Catch them now before the two month hiatus.
Great Scott, 18+, 9pm, $10
Hallelujah the Hills: Myspace | Hallelujah the Hills.mp3

Friday, 12/1
Shepherdess
Useless fact: one-third of Shepherdess co-owns one-fifth of Magpie, our favorite purveyor of handmade ipod covers and vintage dishes in Davis Square. And their songs are jaunty, too. At P.A.'s, additional adorableness will be provided by bands from Boston & Brooklyn: The Big Disappointments, Palomar, & Wonderful Spells.
Shepherdess: myspace | Upside.mp3

Monday, 12/4
Serge Gainsbourg Revisited
The Cultural Services attaché of Boston's French Consulate and the French Library host an evening celebrating the genius of Serge Gainsbourg. DJ Christopher Muther will spin the recently released Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited album, which features Gainsbourg classics reinterpreted and remixed by the likes of Chan Marshall (Cat Power), Franz Ferdinand, The Rakes, The Kills, and trip hop legends Portishead and Tricky.
Middlesex Lounge, 9pm.
event website

Matt Durutti and C. Fernsebner contributed to this week's picks