A lot of things make me tired, but few things make me more exhausted than elitist whiners, "purists" if you will, who bitch about things being "faux" or "mock" before they've even set eyes on the person, place, or thing in question. Some "purists" assume incorrectly that metal two-piece Crictor is drenched in irony. Anyone who knows Crictor guitarist Jenn Ghetto, or has even just seen the band, will testify to the contrary. You don't have to be old and gray to get "it," and it is possible to be crazy about a genre of music that was up and roaring in the days when your own head-banging was confined to your crib (toddler-style, not MTV). Though the crowd wasn't huge, a new contingent of folks who turned out to see some heavy shit--be it rock, metal, or hardcore--at the Alta May/Crictor/Cutthroats 9 show last Saturday at Chop Suey can tell you that Ghetto is edifying in her enthusiasm for what she's playing. And drummer Creighton Barrett? I haven't said this in a while, but baby, FUCK YEAH! And I'll reiterate: That's 100 percent authentic appreciation for Crictor; no irony shall be detected or accepted. (By the way, Barrett just may be the new Jason Finn. He's not only drumming for the aforementioned and his other outfit the New Mexicans, but I'm told he just added Carissa's Wierd to his resume.)

Speaking of enthusiasm, The Stranger has been nothing if not a passionate backer of the Catheters. We've watched them grow from teenagers to legal drinkers over the past three years, and are so happy to report that the band has taken the U.K. by storm. Currently the group is on a 20-city U.K. tour, including four dates in London that feature an NME showcase and an appearance on MTV2's Metalhammer. At least 50 folks were on the guest list, including label reps from Virgin, Sony, and Columbia, and writers were dispatched from British publications including Kerrang!, Mojo, Slant, Careless Talk (former Stranger music editor Everett True's new magazine), Time Out, Play Louder, Rocksound, The Fly, and The Independent. Now in the works is a John Peel session (the Catheters are already getting play on BBC's Radio One, Radio Six, and XFM). Both Mojo and Uncut have given them very positive reviews in their current issues; NME has given the band many accolades, and Kerrang! loves the hell out of them, to say the least. Q's Dan Gennoe summed up his ardor like this: "It's very infectious. God knows what the singer is on about, but it's a great record."

Enough enthusiasm, already. Let's get to the drudgery: Hole has officially disbanded. As John Bender said in The Breakfast Club, "B-O-O, H-O-O." I wondered why all of a sudden Love got so loose with the TV and print interviews--and why she chose now instead of any other time since Eric Erlandson first started flappin' his gums about quitting the band--to make the "official" announcement of Hole's demise. We've been hearing about her collaboration with 4 Non Blondes' Linda Perry for months now, right? And then, before a screening of J.Lo's crap new film, I saw the trailer for C.Lo's new movie, Trapped--and it all made sense. What's going to happen with the legal battle between Universal and Hole now is anyone's guess. Thank goodness she has all those gentlemen friends to keep the lawsuits straight....

kathleen@thestranger.com