Last night, $10 got me in to see the Long Winters, Sondre Lerche, and Nada Surf.
Can’t beat that shit with a stick. For those not good with math, that
was Nada Surf for $3.33, the Long Winters for $3.33, and Sondre Lerche
for $3.34 (tariffs and shit). Disregarding the fact that I spent
about twelve grand on beer, this show is YOUR CONCERT VALUE OF THE SUMMER.
There are few more dates left:

May 28: The Shelter, Detroit, MI
May 29: Horseshoe Tavern, Toronto
May 30: La Sala Rosa, Montreal
May 31: Babylon, Ottawa
June 1: Kashmir, Quebec City
June 4: Maxwells, Hoboken, NJ
June 5: Southpaw, Brooklyn, NY
June 6: Valentines, Albany, NY

Sondre will be along for the ride until June, when he hooks up
with Ed Harcourt:

June 2: Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA
June 3: Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco, CA
June 5: Richard’s On Richards, Cabaret Vancouver, BC
June 6: Crocodile Cafe, Seattle, WA
June 9: Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
June 11: Ascot Room @ The Quest, Minneapolis, MN
June 12: Martyr’s, Chicago, IL
June 13: St. Andrews Hall, Detroit, MI
June 14: Lee’s Palace, Toronto, Canada
June 16: Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
June 17: North Star Bar, Philadelphia, PA
June 18: T.T. the Bear’s, Cambridge, MA
June 20: Club Cafe, Pittsburgh, PA ?
June 21: Uncle Pleasants, Louisville, KY
June 22: Exit / In, Nashville, TN
June 23: Smith’s Olde Bar, Atlanta, GA

Better go see ‘em now, ’cause after the Toronto show
they’re all gonna die of SARS. Everyone in Toronto
has SARS.

[mp3s]

[clips]

[mp3s]

You Know So Well and Hi-Speed Soul are my two favorite songs of the year.

Haters, get ready to start hatin’. If that Saturn commercial wasn’t enough reason
for you indie snobs, Miss Modernage’s report
that the Walkmen have signed to a major should do it for you. God forbid
a rock band should actually make some money. Let them keep doing day jobs like
waiting tables or copy editing.
In case your skull is of the extra-thick variety, note that I’m being facetious here. I’m of the opinion that the
world doesn’t need more than one Fugazi.

The latest from the Weekly-John-Vanderslice-News-Department is TMT’s
note that JV will be touring in October with Beulah, whose
new album, Yoko, drops September 9 on Velocette.

Also:

6/3/2003

Big Star

Big Star Story
1. September Gurls
2. Thank You Friends
3. Don’t Lie To Me
4. The Ballad Of El Goodo
5. Holocaust
6. I Am The Cosmos
7. In The Street
8. You Get What You Deserve
9. Thirteen
10. You & Your Sister

11. Back Of A Car
12. Jesus Christ
13. Mod Lang
14. Baby Strange

15. O Dana
16. Motel Blues
17. Nightime
18. Hot Thing

The John Darnielle/Vanderslice split that I mentioned awhile ago has been released, in a one-time pressing of 500, and was available for purchase for approximately 3 minutes. If you catch someone re-selling these on eBay, do me a favor and kick them in the dick.

bedside recordings vol. 1.2
“The second installment from Bedside comes direct from John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats) and Barsuk’s own John Vanderslice. soft targets and advancing army clip, by J.D. and J.V. respectively, rank amongst each writer’s finest work, so be sure to scoop this one while they’re still available!”

GBV uberfan Largeheartedboy
points out 2 new MP3s, for
your listening pleasure. The new album’s out in August.

Tomorrow, though, is the release of The Starlight Mints’ new
album, Built On Squares. Lest you’ve forgotten, their last album, The Dream That Stuff Was Made Of, was
the Shizzle-Bin-Izzle of 2000. There are RealAudio tracks from the new album on
their (Flash) site.

Also, a new Lilys album drops tomorrow. Precollection

will mark the first LP of new material since 1999’s completely-perfect-in-every-way The 3-Way. UPDATE: Precollection is definitely not in the same vein of cranked-up-British-Invasion-sound as The 3-Way. It’s much more subdued, quieter, and slower-paced. Better or worse, I cannot yet say, just different.

For those of you that haven’t heard of this new thing called
“THE INTERNET”, wherein a consumer can “ORDER” merchandise
without regard to “INTERNATIONAL BORDERS”, this news is for
you:

Rough Trade has
quietly re-released Royal City’s
most excellent Alone At The Microphone to non-Canadian spaces on May 5th. There’s also now a vinyl
version for all you hardcore music snobs.

(Please note that Royal City is responsible for the one single solitary fanboy gush of my whole life,
when I, filled to the gills with vodka, approached singer Aaron Riches after the show and blargled, “HOLY
MOTHER FUCKING SHIT, MAN! THAT WAS FUCKING INCREDIBLE!)

In other news, The Shins are sportin’ a new website and
set to tour in September.

Also set to start touring is Joe Pernice, I mean the
Pernice Brothers. Joe has apparently borrowed Bigger
Lover Pat to lend his mad drum skillz to the tour. Should be a good show. The Pernice Brothers’ new album,
Yours, Mine, and Ours, drops on the 20th. Tour dates here.

Also, Spoon will be releasing a seven-track audio/video
EP in August (that’s one studio track (The Way We Get By), and 6 live tracks).

Tracklist:
The Way We Get By
Metal Detektor
I Am the Key
Anticipation
Someone Something
Me and the Bean
Advance Cassette

Videos:
The Way We Get By
Small Stakes
Jonathon Fisk

Plus also, the video for the Postal Service’s
Such Great Heights.

From the “Certain-To-Piss-Off-The-Arr-Eye-Ay-Ay” Department comes news that
apparently, someone has already written an app that allows you to use
’s “revolutionary” new sharing
features to DL songs from anyone with a shared library.
Called , it’s almost certain to provoke a massive shitstorm.

The “Featured Artist” On The Apple Store Today

True that here at the catbirdseat, we don’t often
stray far from what jtb’s friends would
call gay
indie rock, but of late, the lovely sound of abrasiveness
has been growing on us more and more. The gist? These Arms Are Snakes, whose
debut EP drops on Jade Tree in August, will blow your
goddamn doors off. Check out this mp3; it is fucking hotta:

B-Fork has a spate of JV-related news:

* The new album, Pale Horse, has now been pushed back to January(!)

* There will, however, be a 6-track EP in September

* JV’s currently recording John Darnielle’s next record, which will
“likely give birth to a split JV/Mountain Goats CD, which also should
drop sometime in September or October”, featuring one advance track from
each upcoming record, and one exlcusive track each.

* There is also talk of a JV/JD side-project, called “The Comedians”, to
also be recorded and tour-supported this year as well(!)

Speaking of JD, he’s just posted yet another entertaining entry over at
LPTJ, about ’s
new service. NOW HOW MUCH WOULD
YOU PAY?!?

Speaking of “being in the studio”, also currently in the studio are those lovely ladies with the lovely voices, Azure Ray, recording
the followup to last year’s Burn and Shiver, with long-time collaborators, Andy LeMaster
(aka Now It’s Overhead), and Eric Bachmann (aka He Of The Not-So-Straight Digits). The new album
should turn up toward the end of the year.

Speaking of Azure Ray, the current band (Your American Math) featuring the drummer of Orenda and Maria’s old band (Little Red Rocket)
have recently put out a splendid album titled Motors Into The Drink (OK, OK, I know that last segue was a
reeeaaaaaal stretch, but at least I’m trying). Check out the
75 or less review, and check out MP3’s here (Eldoradomega) and
here (Time And Placement)

Word on tha street is that The Rapture’s upcoming album, Echoes, has just started showing up on the Pee-To-Pee’s. *Every* album gets leaked nowadays,
doesn’t it?

Full Tracklist:
1. Olio
2. Heaven
3. Open Up Your Heart
4. I Need Your Love
5. The Coming Of Spring
6. House Of! Jealous Lovers!!
7. Echoes
8. Killing
9. Sister Savior
10. Love Is All
11. Infatuation

Here’s The Rapture, sounding exactly like Television, covering the Psychedelic Furs’ “Dumb Waiters”(from The Chair That Squeaks 7″)

The Go Elsewhere And Read Some Shit Wrap-Up

Dusted has a good interview with Mac McCaughan.
I have to agree with their statement:

I love ‘em all, but yeah, they did kinda crap out toward the end.

Noive has an
interview with the Godfather Of Black Soul, Ben Gibbard.

Largeheartedboy pointed out
the recent release of the Oxford
American Annual Music Issue. He says that the $8.50 cover price is worth the included
mix CD alone, and I agree. But also, there’s a particularly good, albeit at times a little hoity-toity,
meditation on My Morning Jacket, and a splendid, splendid bit of history on my favorite
Big Star, Chris Bell (and his lovely album, I Am The Cosmos (aka “The Most
Depressing Album Of All Time”)).