A house so nice they named it twice.

Floating happily through my early twenties, when Thursday night rolls around I often find myself in the same pickle: What the hell am I gonna do this weekend? This is Nashville. And there has to be some tragically hip yet ultimately listenable act rolling through town, right? Right. But sometimes $12 admission + a quarter tank of gas + overpriced alcohol doesn’t add up to fun night for a girl with an already light pocketbook. Thank god our town has seen a recent resurgence of a classic ingredient to the proper collegiate experience: the house show. And when it comes to house shows, my hands down favorite venue is House House.

Murfreesboro’s House House prides themselves on hosting shows consisting primarily of "experimental/weird/art'ish/fun'ish music of various sorts." Now, before you start to judge (either the venue or myself) let me do it honest with you for a second. This girl loves pop music. I clap my hands to Of Montreal, shake my head to Talking Heads, shuffle my feet to Wanda Jackson, and generally freak out to Roxy Music on a fairly regular basis. I mean, you might catch me listening to Deerhoof once in a blue moon, but isn’t that every pop-lover’s go-to "experimental" band? What I’m trying to say is that my feel for the whole experimental music scene is extremely limited. Ain’t no shame in that. But I’ve genuinely enjoyed every show I’ve seen at House House. There is definitely something to be said about standing in a room full of interesting, cool, ecclectic, and all-around badass people, appreciating music that you would otherwise not have been exposed to. And don’t be suprised if you, my fellow pop-lover, feel your knee start to jerk to the, um...non-beat.

Some local bands that have played at House House in the past include: The Most Amazing Century of Science (pictured), Lazer Slut, High on Life, and German Castro. A full list of artists that have graced the place can be found on the venue's myspace page. Though I admit that I may not be jammin’ to these bands in my car anytime soon, I definitely give them props for amazing and fun live show experiences.

But wait, there’s more! House House also hosts regular art shows! Past gallery themes have included "antidepressant" and "ROBOTS!"

House House is located on Greenland Drive across from the cemetery (insert joke about no noise complaints from the neighbors). It’s always BYOB and donations are most appreciated for touring bands. Keep an eye on their myspace for upcoming event dates. If you’ve never been, you should really give it a shot. Sure, the air may be a little smoky, but it’s definitely free of pretention.

(This photo is by a House Houser, not me.)