It's Hard to Find a Friend

Blogging Somewhere Else

2009-10-02T23:25:00.002-05:00

Hello friends.
I'm on tour with David Bazan selling things. I'm also tour blogging.

Check in here.

love.
Caleb

I've been hanging out here waiting for something to start

2009-08-14T12:49:00.003-05:00

The end of summer is a beautiful thing - the most mild and easy to enjoy days of the lazy season. The sunsets begin to come earlier, it's already happening, and the leaves start to fade from a brilliant green to a duller, paler, shade. Then to yellow, then to orange, finally to brown. The pools close, you have a final cookout, and dig your jackets out of the untouched end of your closet. The school zones show up on your morning commute again.

The end of summer will soon be here.

[mp3] Belle & Sebastian - There's Too Much To Love

The Casino, in a Cubscout Tee

2009-08-07T05:00:00.000-05:00

The almost robotic, staccato eighth notes, the undercover disco beat, the mid-verse noise loop wherein someone hits the body of their jazzmaster with a fierce force, throwing their input switch to and fro as quickly as they know how. It's funny how musical the most robotic song from one of the most truly minimal bands of our time is. On minute and fifty-six seconds of hinting. Gesturing shyly at a coming release of purposeful, steam-rolling, polite tension. Soft-rock in the truest, unpasteurized, un-bastardized sense of the word. Thank you for the American Analog Set, Lord.

[mp3] American Analog Set - The Hatist

Inside Yr Guitar

2009-08-05T01:01:00.004-05:00

Get in your car and head for the interstate. Pick up your friends and go somewhere. Strum furiously at the conditioned air. Dive bomb on the imaginary tremolo arm with reckless abandon. Stop for coffee at a time-loop, ghostly shell of a gas station. Get back in your car.

[mp3] It Hugs Back - Unaware

Let me know you know, so I can leave it alone

2009-07-30T13:31:00.005-05:00

I am going to the beach tomorrow - fear not, this is not a "see you in eight days," sort of thing a mere two days after my return to form. I'll still be around - but I'm going to the beach tomorrow, and while at the beach, one finds it difficult to listen to music that does not possess that certain sunny quality. Things with a lot of room, lots of fresh air and sunshine, plenty of opportunities to play nonexistent instruments. You know the type.

I'll be posting some of these songs throughout the week.

[mp3] Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Beach Song (Wilmington Demo)

And then nothing turned itself inside out

2009-07-29T08:51:00.005-05:00

From time to time I get the desire to really listen to Yo La Tengo. These phases can range from as short as a few hours to as long as a few weeks, but sometimes I get an insatiable urge to jam on some mathy, chilled-out, art-school hipster, noise rock. The unquenchable urge to put And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside Out or I Can Hear the Heart Beating as One on and wish I had saved my money as a teenager and bought myself a Fender Jaguar instead of a Squier '74 Telecaster ripoff so I too could be doing everything in my power to physically destory my guitar while assaulting my pedal board.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not insulting the noise-rock guitar solo, but exhaulting it, in fact. There's a real science to making it look like you're just making a bunch of noise and randomly moving fingers across a fretboard. A calculated, mathmatical, methodized approach to picking exactly the right combination of feedback-inducing heavy compression, long bursts of analog delay, and dirty, fuzzy, distortion to form a proper solo.

As the song title states, Yo La Tengo is an American band - they might not make what most would consider American music, certainly there's little folky about "Sugarcube" or "Let's Save Tony Orlando's House," but the beautiful part of every Yo La Tengo song is that there is a ton of stuff hiding in it. For one, a pop song lies beneath the exterior of every one of them, secondly, while the Hobokenites have long been considered a "minimal" band, known for their drums, guitar, bass/organ setup, anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing them kick out the jams live and in person can tell you that there is a lot to making music that is sonically powerful while still retaining a "minimal" feel - a lot of medling, a lot of science, a lot of experimenting, a lot of playing multiple roles.

I would encourage you to not be intimidated - put these songs on way louder than you should. Right to the point where you get sort of nervous that your neighbors are going to be mad, then a little louder. Lock the door, and pretend you're Ira Kaplan, and dig for the gold.

Of course, if you just can't get into these, YLT has a new record out in 2 months that doesn't seem to sound anything like these songs.

[mp3] Yo La Tengo - Cherry Chapstick
[mp3] Yo La Tengo - We're An American Band

State of the Union

2009-07-29T08:22:00.005-05:00

I vanished for 43 days. A whole bunch of you emailed and commented with pretty much two standard responses: either wondering where I was, and asking that I return to blogging, or being curiously angry and calling me an asshole. While I'm honored that you felt strongly enough about HTFAF to call me an asshole, I'd ask you to say you're sorry.

Blogging is hard - harder than people realize. Quite frankly, I just didn't feel like doing it anymore. In the almost three years I've maintained HTFAF, I've done it alone, editorially, with the exception of less than 20 guest posts. I've posted at least once, as many as four times a day and really enjoyed it. I made two Christmas records that I'm still totally in love with, with some of my favorite bands, and me and my associates had a really good run at Backstage Sessions, capturing alot of awesome things on tape: performances from Bon Iver and Fleet Foxes right when they were on the cusp of being on everyone's lips, academy award winners at the Ryman, Will Johnson playing in front of a rusted out coal-train at sunset - those felt good. All of this has felt good, but it became overwhelming, and took a backseat to having a personal life and working. It wasn't fun anymore, it was a race to create the best content.

This sounds like a retiring letter - it's not. In fact, it's another "I'm back" letter (I'm for real this time), but I'm not sure what back is going to look like yet. Backstage Sessions, as you've noticed, have been on a bit of a hiatus - this will remain for the time being. I might do one every few months in special circumstances, but for the most part, those are on the shelf. Lots of people have started running with the live performance video (not that we were the first) and doing several a month started to feel like white noise. HD Video cameras are getting really cheap, go get yourself one and start making films and music videos for your friends. There is not going to be a third installment of Peace on Earth this year. I might do one next year, but I'm not sure yet.

HTFAF is not going anywhere, killing it after a month-and-a-half lazy-session wouldn't feel right, but it is changing. I will probably post less frequently - I'm shooting for 3-4 a week total, and I think it will be more editorial. That is to say, more writing, less awesome mp3 mixtapes and video sessions. More interviews, I think, and definitely more random posts featuring lengthy essays about random songs you probably don't know that are 6 years old. If this sounds like your kind of thing, if you're here for the discovery music, and hopefully some creative writing you'll find enjoyable; the original reason music blogging became so popular, then read on. If you were here for reposts of what people said on twitter, Pitchfork has you covered.

Fight the good fight,
Caleb

Andrew Bird Covers Smog!

2009-06-16T10:16:00.001-05:00

In one of the more excited moments of my week, I came across this video from one Mr. Andrew Bird's in-store performance at our local record store here in Nashville, Grimey's, which happened earlier this week. I didn't attend the event, due to prior commitments, and now I'm really wishing I would have, as he covered one of my favorite songs in recent memory, Smog's Cold Blooded Old Times. Video of the cover, and an mp3 of the original below.

[mp3] Smog - Cold Blooded Old Times

AA Bondy Announces New Album

2009-06-08T13:37:00.005-05:00

Good news for me, freshly back from vacation:

In case you care about anything other than Snow Leopard and the new Macbooks, I thought you might like to know that AA Bondy will be releasing the follow-up to his spectacular American Hearts. It's called When The Devil's Loose, and it will come out September 1 of this year. The track titles and location of recording (Water Valley, Mississippi) suggest that it will be another decidedly dust-bowl affair. HTFAF is excited to see that the song Mightiest of Guns, which we were lucky enough to have Bondy perform for our Backstage Session with him last year, will be included.

[mp3] AA Bondy - Lovers Waltz

R.I.P. Jay Bennett

2009-05-25T11:27:00.005-05:00

Jay Walter Bennett died late Sunday night / early Monday morning in his Urbana, IL home. I've often very loudly made my case that Jay Bennett's presence was the best thing, and his absence the worst thing, to ever happen to Wilco. Jay was a huge part of the band's production, songwriting, and instrumentation from Being There to Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. He also released several solo albums in the past 7 years, as well as recently completing and operating his own Pieholden Studios in Urbana. His production work on Summerteeth and Yankee Hotel Foxtrot has influenced countless members of our musical generation for the better. He was only 45.

He will be sorely, sorely missed. Rest in peace, Jay.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone Announce Tour

2009-05-22T14:37:00.007-05:00

Owen Ashworth, the tall quiet dude behind Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, knows a thing or two about playing music for people in rock clubs - he does it a lot, both on this continent as well as Europe, and he's going to be doing it for a very extended period of time this summer. Some of June, and all of July will find CFTPA in a sweaty van, drinking gas station water, and sitting around doing nothing while waiting to soundcheck - that is to say, living the dream.

You don't want to miss it.

05/28/09 - Chicago, IL - The Hideout >
06/25/09 - Bloomington, IN - Russian Recording
06/26/09 - Columbus, OH - Cafe Bourbon Street
06/27/09 - Louisville, KY - Skull Alley
06/28/09 - Nashville, TN - The End
06/29/09 - Knoxville, TN - Pilot Light
06/30/09 - Atlanta, GA - 529 (529 Flat Shoals Ave) /+
07/01/09 - Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506 /+
07/02/09 - Philadelphia, PA - First Unitarian Chapel /+
07/03/09 - Brooklyn, NY - Market Hotel /+ &
07/05/09 - Keane, NH - EF Lane Hotel /+
07/06/09 - Cambridge, MA - TT The Bear's /+
07/07/09 - Montreal, QC - Il Motore /+
07/08/09 - Toronto, ON - The Boat /+ *
07/09/09 - Grand Rapids, MI - DAAC /+
07/10/09 - Chicago, IL - The Hideout /+
07/11/09 - St Paul, MN - Turf Club /+
07/12/09 - Fargo, ND - The Aquarium /+
07/14/09 - Seattle, WA - Healthy Times Fun Club /+ ^
07/15/09 - Portland, OR - The Artistery /+
07/16/09 - Vancouver, BC - The Biltmore Cabaret /+ #
07/17,18,19/09 - Anacortes, WA - What The Heck Fest 2009
07/21/09 - San Francisco, CA - Bottom of the Hill %
07/22/09 - San Luis Obispo, CA - Steynberg Gallery %
07/23/09 - Los Angeles, CA - The Echo %
07/24/09 - San Diego,CA - The Casbah%
07/25/09 - Phoenix, AZ - Trunk Space %
07/26/09 - Tucson, AZ - Solar Culture %
07/28/09 - Denver, CO - Hi-Dive %
07/30/09 - Omaha, NE - Slowdown
07/31/09 - Iowa City, IA - Public Space One

> w/ Lineland & Animal Hospital
/+ w/ Cryptacize
& w/ Katie Eastburn
* w/ Mantler
^ w/ Ribbons
# w/ No Kids
% w/ Concern

[mp3] Casiotone for the Painfully Alone - Optimist Vs. The Silent Alarm

Brent Knopf of Menomena to Release Solo Record

2009-05-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

Well, well, well. It seems those clever dudes in Menomena are constantly coming up with ways to take your hard-earned money for some songs, not that you're complaining, and this time it's in the form of a solo album. No, not from Danny Seim, or Lackthereof as you may know him, who released a solo album last year on Barsuk (and many before that on his own). No, this time it's Brent Knopf - the one pictured above looking like Jim Halpert at Menomena's 2007 Halloween show in Nashville.

The album is called Intuit, and the "band" name is Ramona Falls, which is not a very good band name, but oh well. You can purchase this record on August 18th from - who else - Barsuk. In the meantime, you can hear some of the tracks at the Ramona Falls myspace - promo track coming soon, I'd imagine, where you can also read some interesting details about the album's creation such as the fact that there are a sort-of-astounding 35 guest musicians along for the ride including people you may know from The Helio Sequence, Mirah, Loch Lomond, 31 Knots, Talkdemonic, and a bunch more.

So, get excited, and don't start worrying that the band is breaking up or anything - they're just over-creative (again, not that we're complaining), and Barsuk tells us that they are working on the next Menomena LP diligently.

[mp3] Menomena - Muscle n' Flo

Awesome Judee Sill Tribute Announced

2009-05-19T12:24:00.002-05:00

Judee Sill is a cult-hero of sorts - dead, incredibly talented, and maybe slightly unwell mentally, her music contains all the proper ingredients to make me swoon, and swoon I do. I only pretty recently got into Judee's legacy and have been trying to get the melody Jesus Was a Crossmaker out of my head ever since - un-succesfully, I might add.

So imagine my glee when I found out that there is a Judee Sill tribute album in the works - and on it would be Bill Callahan, Daniel Rossen, Ron Sexsmith, and a bunch of other awesome people. It comes out on September 22nd, via American Dust, and it's Called Crayon Angel. That's the artwork up there.

The Tonight Show with The Decemberists

2009-05-14T14:17:00.004-05:00

The Decemberists - friends of Barack Obama, talk good with words, excellent and advanced readers, and tonight's guests on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno - make sure you tune in as Jay's days are numbered until Conan takes over - coup style. I don't think anyone's complaining about that one.

The D's also ahve some touring to do if you'd like to go pretend you're being eaten by a whale, watch John Moen chase a floor tom around the stage, or marvel at how well-starched Colin Meloy's pinstripe linen pants are - it's all there for you, and the dates are here.

Indie Rock Tacos - Brought to you by Ex-Shins Drummer

2009-05-13T13:32:00.003-05:00

Remember when we told you about the Shins frontman James Mercer firing his longtime drummer and bassist? Well, as it turns out the drummer side of that equation - one mr. Jesse Sandoval, has already filled far more satisfying ways to fill his time - namely opening a taco truck in Portland.

I'm not sure what the taco truck scene is like in Portland - the Pac. NW is not exactly a haven for south-of-the-border activities, but Portland seems to be a pretty hipster-filled town, and if there's one thing I learned at SXSW it's that hipsters LOVE taco trucks. It's a genius business model - come meet the (former) drummer for one of your favorite bands and enjoy a tapas and one of those hard-to-identify fruit-flavored sodas for $3.50.

Nuevo Mexico - that's New Mexico en Ingles, will open next week at the corner of 3rd and SW Stark in Portland, Oregon. Someone in PDX please go and report back with pictures. Double points if you snap a picture of Jesse serving you your taco.

[mp3] The Shins - Know Your Onion

Finish Your Collapse and Stay for Breakfast

2009-05-12T13:18:00.002-05:00

Well - slow music day, but luckily I have an exciting tale to recall for you: on the way to get a nice Tuesday brunch this morning at our favorite eatery, we noticed a building had collapsed. Exposed steel beams and all, and half the building was now resting on an SUV and a pickup truck. Turns out it was a wreck gone awry that lead to the partial collapse of the Gallatin Rd. Hair World and Beauty Supply - you will be missed, Hair World.

This building happens to be on the corner of the end of my street, so naturally we did a little gawking, and I must say, I haven't had a more exciting Tuesday in quite some time. Details here.

[mp3] Broken Social Scene - Finish Your Collapse and Stay for Breakfast
[mp3] Pavement - Cut Your Hair

Centro-matic does Twitter Chat, Announces Only Tour of '09

2009-05-07T11:39:00.004-05:00

Centro-matic is arguably the hardest working band in Indie Rock. They routinely spend half the year in a van, and half the year in a studio as if it's nothing, but eventually everyone needs a little downtime, so the boys will be taking some this year for various reasons. Those reasons include having babies, making records for side-projects, recording other bands, and hopefully some sleeping in there.

But before they do, they're making one short, sweet swoop through the Midwestern United States of America with labelmates Monahans to play rock shows for you and I. These will be the only shows the band plays in 2009, so I strongly urge you to get in the car and drive a few hours if there's one near you.

In other cool news, you can e-hang with the band tonight, May 7th and ask them anyhing you want (although I'd imagine it's mostly confined to Centro-matic related topics....I wonder how many women Will Johnson has been with?) via the band's Twitter page at promptly 7:00 PM Central Time - that's 5 on the west coast, 8 in New York for those who don't know much about time.

Centro-matic 2009 Tour Dates

Thu 05/07 - Dallas, TX - Granada Theater
Fri 05/08 - Springfield, MO - Randy Bacon Studio
Sat 05/09 - St. Louis, MO - Off Broadway
Mon 05/11 - Chicago, IL - Schuba’s
Tue 05/12 - Minneapolis, MN - 400 Bar
Wed 05/13 - Dekalb, IL - The House Cafe
Fri 05/15 - Austin, TX - The Parish

*All dates with Monahans

[mp3] Centro-matic - The Mighty Midshipman (Live at ACL Fest 2006)

Buy Centro-matic records here.

The Shins Shed Members, Gain Members, Make Album, Etc.

2009-05-06T10:36:00.004-05:00

Say bye-bye to #2 and #4

In what I would imagine is a pretty messy situation, despite James Mercer's insistence otherwise, the Shins frontman decided to replace long-time (like before the Shins were the Shins) drummer Jesse Sandoval and keyboard/auxiliary man Marty Crandall. In their sted, the Shins now feature Ron Lewis of Grand Archives, and the Fruit Bats on Bass, and Joe Plummer of Modest Mouse fame on drums. According to Mercer, "It's an aesthetic decision. It's kind of hard to talk abut stuff like that, isn't it? Because I don't want to bum anybody out. I'm on good terms with those guys, I hope to maintain that." Riiiiight, firing band members is never, ever the kind of thing where you're not on good terms.

Apparently, the terms of these new members runs at least through the Shins current tour and next album, which is still in "very early stages," and....maybe longer than that? Whether or not the Shins turn into a revolving-cast, Bright Eyes kind of Indie Pop band or not remains to be seen and what it is that was just too interesting aesthetically for James' old band mates is also a mystery at this point, but I'm pretty excited about future output after Wincing the Night Away. Other interesting points include Mercer saying he has nearly 30 songs to choose from for the record, and that they're all "more up-tempo" and not "ballad-y."

Also in case you've forgotten, the Shins no longer belong to Sub Pop and will be putting out their record on Mercer's own label Aural Apothecary -- possibly with distribution through a larger channel. Why? "Because you get more money, I mean, it's more work and it's more headache and all that, but I think it'll be worth it in the end."

This entire article unintentionally, and quite hilariously, makes James Mercer look like a cold, "it's just business," pitiless, shrewd Indie Rock capitalist. But really, such a trying-hard-to-be-unassuming scene could use some of that every once in a while, and I'm looking at you Tweedy V. Bennett.

[mp3] The Shins - Sleeping Lessons

There are Kings, There are Queens

2009-05-01T13:51:00.004-05:00

Athens, Georgia's newest example of excellent Indie Pop, Casper & The Cookies are here just in time for summer to usher in the month of May with some new tracks. I have a huge, unashamed soft spot for bands who write sugary pop songs - SSLYBY, Beulah, The Little Ones, The Long Winters, etc, etc, I'm just a fan of feeling happy sometimes, you see, and that's never more true then when the sun starts shining for the first time.

Unfortunately, the rain came along and ruined the first day of May here in East Nashville, bringing with it night-like darkness, but I'm not worried about it, because I've got Little Kings to keep me upbeat with it's hook-y, riff-y, gleefulness.

[mp3] Casper & The Cookies - Little King

John Vanderslice Announces Huge Tour

2009-04-30T14:43:00.005-05:00

JV is a lot of thing - incredibly kind, the owner of an incredibly awesome studio, and apparently completely and fully tireless. Ya see, John has been releasing records for a really long time, especially compared to most other dudes in Indie Rock, and you'd think by now he'd just want to stay at home for a while and garden for a while, but he doesn't. He wants to get into a van, and drive thousands and thousands of miles across the United States to play music for you. Then he wants to fly to Europe, get in a slightly cooler looking van and do it all over again. God bless you, John Vanderslice.

Of course, if you didn't know, you'll be there to listen to new songs from John's first album on his new label home, Dead Oceans, titled Romanian Names. It's out May 19th, and you can pre-order it here. Also, if you haven't yet, you should check out our Backstage Session with JV from last March (time flies really quickly).

5/17/09 Merced, CA - The Partisan w/ The Morning Benders
05/18/09 San Francisco, CA - Amoeba Records - FREE In-store
05/19/09 San Francisco, CA - Rickshaw Stop w/ Special Guest
05/21/09 Portland, OR - Mississippi Studios w/ Mimicking Birds
05/22/09 Seattle, WA - Easy Street (instore)
05/24/09 George, WA - Sasquatch Music Festival
05/27/09 Provo, UT - Velour w/ The Morning Benders
05/28/09 Salt Lake City, UT - Kilby Court w/ The Morning Benders
05/29/09 Denver, CO - Hi Dive w/ The Morning Benders
05/30/09 Omaha, NE - Slowdown Jr. w/ Special Guest
06/01/09 Minneapolis, MN - Turf Club
06/03/09 Iowa City, IA - The Mill
06/03/09 New York, NY - Bowery Ballroom
06/04/09 Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall
06/05/09 Madison, WI - High Noon Saloon
06/06/09 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
06/06/09 Chicago, IL - Metronome Celebration (Early Evening) w/ Here We Go Magic, Apostle of Hustle
06/08/09 Newport, KY - Southgate House
06/09/09 Pittsburgh, PA - The Warhol Museum
06/11/09 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brendas
06/12/09 Brooklyn, NY - Music Hall of Williamsburg
06/14/09 Boston, MA - Middle East Downstairs
06/16/09 Washington, DC - Black Cat
06/17/09 Chapel Hill, NC - Local 506
06/18/09 Atlanta, GA - The Earl
06/19/09 St. Augustine, FL - Cafe Eleven
06/23/09 Orlando, FL - The Social
06/23/09 Nashville, TN - Exit/In
06/25/09 Dallas, TX - Pontiac Garage @ HOB
06/26/09 Austin, TX - The Parish
06/28/09 Phoenix, AZ - Modified Arts
06/29/09 Los Angeles, CA - The Troubadour
06/30/09 San Diego, CA - The Casbah
07/11/09 Ottawa, ON - Cisco Systems Bluesfest
07/12/09 Ottawa, ON - Cisco Systems Bluesfest @ Barney Danson Theatre
08/28/09 San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Music Festival w/ Akron/Family
08/29/09 San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Music Festival w/ Akron/Family
08/30/09 San Francisco, CA - Outside Lands Music Festival w/ Akron/Family "September - October in Europe" (-JV)
10/03/09 Austin, TX - Austin City Limits Festival

[mp3] John Vanderslice - Too Much Time

Chris Garneau Unveils New Album Title, Artwork, Tracklist

2009-04-28T15:00:00.004-05:00

Here at HTFAF, we love us some Chris Garneau. It's really that simple, folks, and so it is with great pleasure that I bring you this bit of news: C.G. is releasing his way-too-long-awaited followup to Music For Tourists on July 7th via Absolutely Kosher. That' the album art up there, and the tracklist is below, no promo track at the moment but we'll keep you posted.

Chris Garneau - El Radio
1. The Leaving Song
2. Dirty Night Clowns
3. Raw and Awake
4. Hands on the Radio
5. No More Pirates
6. Fireflies
7. Home Town Girls
8. Over and Over
9. Cats and Kids
10. Les Lucioles en re Mineur
11. Things She Said
12. Pirates Reprise
13. Black Hawk Waltz

[mp3] Chris Garneau - Halloween

It's hot outside. Yay.

2009-04-27T09:00:00.000-05:00

Call your friends, roll the windows down, cook your food outside, get plenty of ice, make sure to not wear sunscreen, etc, etc.

Happy Summer, 2009. I'm looking forward to a few things that will accompany your warm breezes - Veckatimest (I've been holding out for the real thing like a good boy), the announcement of more Summer tours, a new Thermals record, a new Conor Oberst record, a new Wilco record. Truly, there is much to be thankful for, oh glorious sunshine, and as you smile on us with your magnificent flourescence, we smile back with gratitude. Amen, and amen.

[mp3] Throw Me The Statue - About to Walk
[mp3] Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin - Pangea
[mp3] Beulah - Score From Augusta

New (Old ) Sujan Stevens

2009-04-24T13:08:00.004-05:00

Here is a song that the Suf-man decided to make public this sunny spring day - a song from "forgotten boxes, forgotten tapes, forgotten shelves, forgotten hard drives, etc." While this is somewhat maddening, since he's supposed to be penning heartbreaking ballads about North Dakota's Black Hills, and Georgia's roadside Peanut attractions, it's a lovely song in it's own right.

According to the Suf' the song was made in "an imaginary world where Sofia Coppola was my confidant," during a week where his parents gave him his blessing to change his name if he wanted (good thing he didn't, hard to forget a guy named Sufjan).

[mp3] Sufjan Stevens - Sofia's Song

Wilco + Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band = Classic (Indie) Rock Overload

2009-04-23T14:19:00.005-05:00

Whoa - Conor Oberst (and the Mystic Valley Band), who just released a totally free documentary on their world tour and subsequent recording of their second LP, announced some dates today in which they will be supporting Wilco.

These shows will be made up about 72 percent of guitar solos, 9 percent of stage bantering, and 19 percent of other music. But seriously, these are going to be pretty awesome shows, and if you're lucky enough to be near one of the dates that features Oberst in the support slot I'd suggest you have your pointer finger ready the very second tickets go on sale to this, because there hasn't been this hot of a pairing since this.

[mp3] Conor Oberst & The Mystic Valley Band - Nikorette (Live on Conan)

Wilco with Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band:

07-08 Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap
07-10 Wilmington, DE - Frawley Stadium
07-11 Lowell, MA - LeLacheur Park
07-17 Portland, ME - Maine State Pier
07-18 Wappingers Falls, NY - Dutchess County Stadium
07-19 Lewiston, NY - Art Park

Wilco:

04-23 Oxford, MS - Lyric Oxford #
04-25 New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
05-23 Tenerife, Spain - Tenerife Auditorium
05-25 Malaga, Spain - Teatro Cervantes !
05-26 Madrid, Spain - Teatro Calderon !
05-29 Seville, Spain - Territorios Festival, La Cartuja
05-30 Oporto-Braga, Portugal - Teatro Circo
05-31 Lisbon, Portugal - Lisbon Coliseu
06-01 Santiago de Compostela-Galicia, Spain - Palacio de Congresos, Sala Braque
06-03 San Sebastian, Spain - Kursaal
06-04 Barcelona, Spain - Auditori Barcelona
06-12 Cincinnati, OH - Aronoff Center
06-13 Manchester, TN - Bonaroo Festival
06-15 Oklahoma City, OK - Bricktown EventsCenter
06-17 El Paso, TX - Abraham Chavez Theatre
06-18 Tucson, AZ - Centennial Hall **
06-19 Las Vegas, NV - The Joint
06-20 Pomona, CA - Fox Theatre
06-22 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theater
06-23 Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theater
06-27 Berkeley, CA - Greek Theater
06-28 Stateline, NV - Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena
06-30 Jacksonville, OR - Britt Pavilion
07-03 Morrison, CO - Red Rocks
07-23 Detroit Lakes, MN - 10,000 Lakes Festival
08-13 Oslo, Norway - Oya Festival
08-14 Gothenberg, Sweden - Way Out West Festival
08-21 Erfurt-Hohenfelden, Germany - Highfield Festival
08-23 Brecon Beacons, Wales - Green Man Festival
08-25 London, England - Troxy
08-27 Dublin, Ireland - Vicar Street

* with Pronto
# with A Hawk and a Hacksaw
! with Akron/Family
** with Grizzly Bear

Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band:

06-17 Colorado Springs, CO - Black Sheep
06-18 Telluride, CO - Telluride Bluegrass Festival
06-19 Moab, UT - Star Hall
06-20 Salt Lake City, UT - Library Square
06-21 Boise, ID - Knitting Factory
06-22 Missoula, MT - Wilma Theater
06-24 Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
06-25 Milwaukee, WI - Summer Fest
06-26 Omaha, NE - Anchor Inn
06-28 Kansas City, MO - Beaumont
06-29 Columbia, MO - Blue Note
06-30 Louisville, KY - Headliners Music Hall
07-01 Cleveland, OH - Grog Shop
07-02 Bearsville, NY - Bearsville Theater
07-03 New Haven, CT - Toad's Place
07-04 New York, NY - The Lawn at Battery Park *

* with Jenny Lewis

American Analog Set Release New Rarities Comp!

2009-04-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

How could this be!? A new AmAnSet release?! Well, in a way yes - everyone's favorite slowcore-er's have decided to release a follow-up to Through the 90's, the prior rarities comp featuring material from 1990-1999, called Hard to Find (a clever reference to a fan favorite) - this one features mostly unreleased tracks, some released on limited edition vinyl, zine comps, etc, from 2000-2005.

It's excellent - and even though I'm a long time AmAnSet fan, and rarities comps are usually the farthest from a good place to start with a band, this one is a great jumping in point for any of you who have yet to take the plunge.

Of course, if you haven't heard: Andrew Kenny, the ringleader of Amanset, has a new band called The Wooden Birds, who will be releasing an album called Magnolia on Barsuk on May 17th. It's also excellent, but I can't share anything from it just yet.

American Analog Set - Hard to Find
01. Stoney Chariots
02. New Equation
03. Make It Take It
04. Sharp Briar (feat. Matt Pond)
05. Choir Vandals (demo)
06. Cool Kids Keep (12" version)
07. First Of Four (12" version)
08. The Only Living Boy Around (Know By Heart version)
09. Hard To Find (original)
10. Hard To Find (reprise)
11. All I Want For Christmas (feat. Ben Gibbard)
12. Green Green Grass (12" version)
13. Everything Ends In Spring (12" version)

Buy it from Amazon mp3 right now.