The other day, Nick remarked about
how surprised/stoked he was to unexpectedly come across an episode of
Pete & Pete on Nickelodeon (FYI, as I told him, it actually airs multiple times per day on the somewhat-hard-to-find Noggin Network).
Anyway, Slatch long ago covered all of the reasons why this show was Off Tha Hizzy before there even was a Hizzy. Let me add to that list just a small
sampling of some of the bands that contributed music to the show: The Apples in Stereo, The Gothic Archies, Luscious Jackson,
The Magnetic Fields, Miracle Legion, and The 6ths. And let’s not forget that amazing theme song, “Hey Sandy”, by Polaris (Miracle Legion).
Pete & Pete’s world was a world soundtracked by sweet and pure, poppy, jangly indie-rock.

Recently, I’ve been lucky by coming across two different records that both manage to give me that same vibe; that pure oldschool-style indie rock vibe. Boston’s
Emergency Music, have hooked me, completely, with their album This Is A Wilderness,
and The Jennifers, from Baltimore, have done the same with Nine Days Wonder.

I urge you to check out these mp3s, go buy their albums, and (Bostoners and Baltimorons,) for chrissakes, go out and see ‘em play. This is good shit.

:::Up For Hours.mp3::: :::The Saint.mp3:::

:::You’re My Star.mp3::: :::You Say When.mp3:::

Hop on over to the Lookout Sounds Page
to download “The Sword In The Stone”, track 3 from the Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead EP, which
drops on October 7.

Tracklist:
01 Tell Balgeary, Balgury is Dead
02 The High Party (solo)
03 The Sword in the Stone
04 Bleeding Powers
05 Dirty Old Town (The Pogues)

06 Ghosts (The Jam)
07 (decaying artifact)
08 Six Months in a Leaky Boat (Split Enz)
09 Loyal to my Sorrowful Country

Back when many hipsters were still being shuttled to soccer practice in
Mom’s Minivan (the pupal stage of the SUV), Dave Derby was in a band called
the Dambuilders. I haven’t heard many of their albums, but I know they
were responsible for at least one great song, “Shrine”, from 1994’s Encendedor.
Dave has a new record, Even Further Behind, out on Badman next month. Check it.

Now, IIRC, The Dambuilders were planning to, over the course of their career, record
50 songs, each one dedicated to a specific state in the union. I think they only hit on
15 to 20 before they disbanded. Well, I think they’re now being one-upped by
Mr. Sufjan Stevens, whose album,
Michigan, on Asthmatic Kitty,
marks the inaugural entry in his “50 States” project. That’s right, not a song for each state; it’s
an album for each state. And I don’t doubt that he can do it. Those Asthmatic Kitty/Sounds Familyre
guys can write 10 songs in the time it takes to toast a bagel.

Peefork (whose new animated-gif-ridden homepage almost induced an epileptic seizure on me) has
released the tracklist for the upcoming Shins
album. It’s called Chutes Too Narrow.

Tracklist:
01 Kissing The Lipless

02 Mine’s Not A High Horse
03 So Says I
04 Young Pilgrams
05 Saint Simon
06 Fighting in a Sack
07 Pink Bullets
08 Turn A Square
09 A Call To Apathy [tentative title]
10 Those To Come

And as to that previously-mentioned Neutral Milk Hotel release: Could it really be true? Could it
be that the new release is….a T-shirt? Frank
says yes, as does the Administrator (The
Late B.P. Helium, actually) of the the Elephant Six Message Board.

And from the Did-You-Know? file:
Stephin Merritt named a Pantone® color: Carolyn Eve Green, PANTONE® 7498. 
Stephin comments: ”I named this color for my friend, Carolyn Eve. She lives in
the pine-addled
Rocky Mountains. However dark things grow, she is still green. If vegetables
were Carolyn Eve Green, children would be happier to eat them. This is
a good color for camouflage, carpet, a wristwatch or the book jacket of
a collection of Russian writings, for example, Chekhov’s plays. It is not
advisable for lampshades, eyeshadow or milk cartons. Using it in stripes
on a field of pale salmon (PANTONE® 197@50%) could be quite shocking.
It would be great for biotech business cards.”
(from Stephinsongs)

I’ve heard several people remarking on the “mysterious” 8/19 New Release
listing for a Neutral Milk Hotel album entitled T-Shirt. Everyone’s
wondering, “Could it be?!! A new Neutral Milk Hotel album???!!!”

My answer would be no. If memory serves, I believe Neutral Milk Hotel is
dun. Jeff Mangum, these days, is more into things like recording
Bulgarian parades and pondering the E-flat. And good for him, I say. He seems happy. And we’ll always
have Aeroplane.

So, if I was a betting man (and talk to my favorite craps dealers if you’re wondering),
I would say that this “T-Shirt” is very likely the “two-volume set of early Neutral
Milk Hotel, featuring music from the early, self-released cassettes, live performances,
and unreleased recordings” that is mentioned on the
NMH website.

I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist.

Behold the meta-irony!