On the Record

10. She Wants Revenge, She Wants Revenge (Geffen). There are plenty of reasons I shouldn't dig She Wants Revenge. For starters, the act's sound is completely derivative -- and obviously so. I mean, a song titled "Tear You Apart"? And the skuzzy, minimalist electro come-ons seem too calculated, in a Hot Topic-goth sort of way. In spite of all this, though, there's something oddly riveting about a band that can deliver lines like "She's in the bathroom/She pleasures herself" with a straight face.

Upbeats and beatdowns: For broke, sentimental saps like me who get wistful when they hear the first few bars of "Do They Know It's Christmas?," there's a worthy cause this holiday season. Homeless for the Holidays, slated for Friday, December 22, and Saturday, December 23, at the Toad Tavern, will feature performances by Rubber Planet, Buck Wild, King for a Day, Robert Eldridge, Something Underground and Prayata, among others. And 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Denver Public Schools Educational Outreach Program, which is geared toward helping homeless kids and their families.

For the second year running, Rainie Kelso -- aka the "Royal Mouthpiece" of Maris the Great and VP of the Lowry Optimist Club of Denver -- has teamed up with Planet guitarist Brice Hancock to put together the show, which raised more than $1,400 last year. Kelso hopes to double that amount this time around; any other venues that would like to contribute a portion (or all) of their door charges to the effort on those two nights should contact her at deadfrogent@msn.com. On the Record