My indefatigable comrade Kaleb is at it again. He’s put together another great mix disc, hand-painted, plus extras. First 10 people get one: kaleb@sctas.com.

Mason Dixon have been in the studio and have emerged with a “studio” version of “Soft and Swollen Summer”:

There’s also a studio version of “All About You” now, but you’ll have to pick up the upcoming March Records compilation to get that one.

I just happened to stumble upon this: Just this week, Darla released 2 discs of My Morning Jacket early recordings and other rarities:

Disc 1- Chapter 1: The Sandworm Cometh
- Weeks Go By Like Days
- What Will I Do?
- White Rabbit
- Downtown
- I Just Wanted to Be Your Friend
- Time Never Gets
- They Ran (acoustic)
- Evelyn Is Not Real (be-mixed)
- Isobella with the White Umbrella
- Josta Dreams and Bitter Hands
- Old September Blues (gaed out version)
- When Will They Come
- Somebody Cares About The Maestro
- Rocket Man

Disc 2- Chapter 2: Learning: The Early Recordings
- Tonight I Wanna Celebrate With You
- Just One Thing
- Take My Breath Away
- West End Girls
- Dream a Little Dream of Me
- Death is the Easy Way
- Bermuda Highway (live at KVRX)
- Nothing To Me
- I Won’t Cry
- Why Don’t You Love Me?
- That Someone Else Was You
- Tyrone
- I Will Be There When You Die (2 meter session)
- Good Nights In Others’ Beds

Finally, one more thing:

“Mea Culpa: 2004″

There are a number of records that, for whatever reason, I
never actually got around to adding to my recs list for the year. Here, I shall make amends:

The Fiery Furnaces - Blueberry Boat
I was so excited for this one to come out, but the transition
from 2-minute Gallowsbirds Barkers to 9-minute Blueberry Boaters
was a tough sell on me. I mean, I still thought it was a good
record and all, but…this wasn’t a collection of songs,
it was an album, and ultimately, that just made it
take a hell of a lot longer to grow on me. Now, I get it.

The Hidden Cameras - Mississauga Goddam
Now, I *loved* The Smell Of Our Own, and the
songs on that record hooked me on the first listen. Mississauga
Goddam did not, unfortunately, hook me on the first listen. Or
the second, or the fifth. It’s only now, months and months later,
that I realize that I would hate to part with it (although I still
like The Smell Of Our Own better).

Midlake - Bamnan and Silvercork
Quite honestly, I was surprised just the other day when I
noticed that I hadn’t put this in the recs column; I really
thought I had. This record was one of the best surprises
I got this year. My 75orless review is here.

The Pink Mountaintops - s/t
This one’s a sludgy, slabby, sexed-up delight. The press materials
ask “Can a sexually frustrated Canned Heat seduce a hot and bothered
Neu into a cheap one night stand?” The answer is apparently “yes”.
This record, coupled with the slow-sweating groove of the prerelease
single, “Druganaut”, has also put that Black Mountain full-length
onto my list of most-looked-forward-to releases for ‘05.