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Yes, it was frustrating when we learned that KMFDM stood for "Kein Mitleid Für Die Mehrheit" (translation: "No Pity for the Majority") instead of "Kill Mother Fucking Depeche Mode," as the rumors had promised us for so long. It was frustrating because we are a people who like archnemeses. Imagine, however, the disappointment poor Dave Gahan and Martin Gore must have felt upon learning that this German industrial outfit was not indeed the black-leather-clad, drum-machine-toting Lucifer to their own personal Jesus. Anyway, instead of just sitting around waiting for a KMFDM vs. DM royal rumble, perhaps we can persuade these gods of electrified noise assaults to change what the acronym stands for when they play the DNA Lounge on Wednesday, June 23; call 626-1409 or go to www.dnalounge.com for more info.

"I was once misinformed about your intentions/ Were you right to burn the rock star?" Mike Doughtysang on a track from El Oso, Soul Coughing's final LP. Among the Space Age yelps and dirty rhythms, we heard these lines, but wouldn't know until later that they were more than an observation. "No!" we thought to ourselves, as we patiently watched Doughty develop his postSoul Coughing all-acoustic solo act. "You were wrongto burn the rock star." Because, sadly, the poignancy of his poetic genius was lost without his über-talented ex-bandmates splaying their sound collages to establish setting. Yeah, Doughty's contributions to the music issue of McSweeney's and that They Might Be Giants album were fun, but they still seemed one-dimensional compared to his Soul Coughing output. For his latest set of dates, though, he's bringing out a full band and some new songs, so maybe we'll get a hint about some of his fresh intentions on Friday, June 25, at the Independent; call 771-1421 or go to www.theindependentsf.com for more info.