Three dollars and 63 cents

Thanks for mentioning it. I was at Barnes and Noble this afternoon and read it, since I couldn't quite justify $6.50 for a 3-page article.

I'm hoping to make it down to Penn's Landing in Philadelphia to see them at the end of July. In the meantime, if anybody is in the NYC-area, they posted on Facebook about an hour ago that they're having a free show tonight:

There have been some really great albums so far this year, but this might be the one of the ones still to come that I'm looking forward to the most

I've been listening to their new album in the last week or so. It's got a very sunny indie pop sound to it, perfect for this time of year, and I think they'd be a good lead-in to Pronto or the Autumn Defense. They're a great choice, I think

I'm looking forward to that, though I'm already thinking about what a sweatbath the Stone will be in mid-July! Any reports from Nels and Glenn's appearance at the Melbourne Jazz Festival?

Wow, that's a nice prize pack. For some reason, I'm picturing Nels surrounded by these guys

A nice review of Initiate from Paste here. I've been playing the first disc sparingly, afraid I'm going to burn out on it, but it seems to get better with every listen. It's so richly layered, and I really love how they all get their own moments to shine. The production and mixing are really top-notch, too--this album seems to have a fuller, more dynamic sound than any of their other albums.

Don't forget that they're sharing a bill with the experimental group Huntsville in Millennium Park on June 28, and that Nels will be joining them. I may come out for that.

Listening to Nels' non-Wilco work has made me really fall in love with the noisiest that experimental music can get. But what I think I love most about the new Singers album is the way that they show that experimental doesn't have to be just noise. Out of all of their albums, this one best showcases the way that electronics and effects can blend into a song rather than interrupt or detract from it. The layering throughout the studio disc is exquisite. At its best, I think experimental music is music at its most adventurous, and that's what I'd love to hear Wilco try on the next album. Not n

Glenn's duo On Fillmore will be playing at the Philadelphia Arts Alliance (sponsored by Ars Nova Workshop) on July 14 at at Le Poisson Rouge in New York July 15. Tickets for both shows are $15. Philly show info is here, and NYC show info is here.

I'm hit and miss with most of the Bright Eyes EPs I have, but Four Winds is top-notch. Cartoon Blues is a great song, and Tourist Trap has become one of my favorite Bright Eyes tunes.

You beat me to it! I was just coming over here to post that. That weekend he'll also play with a reunited L. Stinkbug (w/ Scott Amendola, G.E. Stinson, and Steuart Liebig) at the same festival.

A Washington DC show has finally been confirmed: Thursday, July 8 at 9 p.m. in the Backstage room of Black Cat. Tickets are on sale Friday. Considering Nels starts his stint with Jenny Scheinman's band at the Village Vanguard the following Tuesday, I'm guessing this and the New York and Philly shows will probably be it for that week. Also confirmed: 7 and 9 p.m. sets at Dazzle Restaurant and Lounge in Denver on Wednesday, July 30. I finally had the time to give Initiate the attention it deserves this weekend. It's even better than I was hoping it would be. I'll have more to say once I've sp

Haitian-born Edwidge Danticat and DR-born Junot Diaz are probably two of the best known Caribbean writers. Danticat is probably best known for her first novel (sometimes considered young adult literature, though I'm always puzzled by that classification, since it deals with some very traumatic and very adult themes) Breath, Eyes, Memory. I also liked her novel The Farming of Bones, and I've been meaning to read The Dew Breaker but haven't gotten around to it yet. Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his novel The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, but his short story collection Drown is als

If we're counting related groups, I'd have to guess around 50-60% for me most of the time. That's counting Wilco, Jeff solo, Uncle Tupelo, Pronto, Glenn's solo work, the Nels Cline Singers, Nels' solo work and other experimental collaborations, the Geraldine Fibbers, Scarnella, and Carla B.'s solo work that involved Nels.

RELEASE DAY!

Donna, I love that story There's such a generosity to Carla that I think a lot of people miss in her music, because they hear her screaming or her the effects or "noise" and automatically assume she's angry. That's not it at all. We don't really talk about band members' private lives on here, out of respect to them. I think it would be nice if we kept it that way.

I was up in the balcony because I've been sick and needed to sit. There were these two middle-aged couples in front of us who I wonder if Jeff could actually hear from the stage, because they barely shut up the whole night. The one guy was really into the show, but his wife and the other couple drank probably at least 8 or 10 beers apiece and completely ignored the fact that everybody else around them was actually trying to enjoy the show. It wouldn't have bugged me if they'd been behind us, but the fact that they were taking up rail space and totally not paying attention to the show was aggra

Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. One of the things I've always really admired about Carla is that she's beautiful without to ascribing to the unrealistic stick-thin ideals our society perpetuates. I do wish her work was talked about more, both here and in the rest of the universe, because she's one of the best musicians and songwriters around. Anyway, it's definitely Kristen McMenamy on Nels' guitar.

I had a great time on Saturday. I've been pretty sick for the last few weeks, so we went up to the bar and got stools in the second tier, about even with the stage. It was a nice bird's eye view, which was a perspective I'd never seen them from before. When I realized how high the stage was after the show, I'm glad I wasn't down there craning my neck all night! The setlist was top-notch. Ashes was a huge surprise, since I doubted they'd play it three shows in a row. It's my favorite song and somehow I'd only heard it performed once prior to Saturday, so it was definitely special. I was also th

I saw Carla play in February, and she looked healthy and strong. Not that I wouldn't buy her a sundae, because she's rad, but you're way off base there. She's never been rail thin. You might want to fact check before you make unkind comments.

Nels and Glenn both have non-Wilco shows in Japan next weekend, so there's no way it can happen.

I got my copy, too. It's going to be my reward tonight for finishing my second cycle of paper grading for the semester. The packaging is very nice (as it always is with Crypto releases), and something about the color scheme has me expecting the sort of accessibility and friendliness you described. Also, I came across another show, at the Dazzle Supper Club in Denver June 30. More info is here. It seems like this, the High Sierra Festival, the NYC/Philly/hopefully DC dates in early July, and the appearance at the Solid Sound Festival will probably be it. It would be nice to see them in Chica

That's Pitchfork printing what Lagunitas told them. I've seen it elsewhere, too. Chances are they didn't clear use of their name with the band ahead of time and are now doing a song and dance routine to make sure the band doesn't sue them. Considering the band appreciate tasty beverages, I highly doubt that would've happened, but that's what it seems like to me.