The Washington Post (bugmenot: notarealaddy@notarealdomainname.net / bugmenot) profiles pop auteur Adam Schlesinger of Fountains Of Wayne and Ivy, as well as Oscar nominee for the title track of the Tom Hanks film, That Thing You Do. It’s a good long piece that gets into the head of the man who is seemingly content to stay in the shadows. While he defers frontman role in FOW to Chris Collingwood and it’s hard to pay attention to anyone in Ivy besides Dominique Durand – he nonetheless is the songwriting and production engine that powers both acts.

Ivy released their fourth album In The Clear last month and Fountains Of Wayne are releasing a b-sides compilation on June 28. Touring-wise, there’s nothing confirmed but I am hoping to see an Ivy date in Toronto sometime around the second week of June. I will keep you posted, of course.

Achtung Baby! links to some sweet radio session at KEXP. Make with the clicky.

Paste talks to Garth Jennings about the pressures of making Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, opening April 29.

Intersting coincidence yesterday – while I was at the Bloor watching Constantine, The Constantines were playing across the street at Lee’s Palace. How freaky is that? Another intersting (to me) parallel was that last week, I was seeing a completely faithful film adaptation of a comic that should have been unfilmable (Sin City), whereas this week I was seeing a completely unfaithful film adaptation of a comic that should have been perfectly filmable. BUT. While I certainly set myself up to hate it, and even figured I’d regret parting with my hard-earned $4.25 to see it, I was pleasantly surprised.

As I feared/hoped, they gutted the John Constantine mythos so thoroughly that trying to compare it to the comics was pretty much futile and it could be enjoyed for what it was. I still think that a film based on the original stories could be excellent, but that’s moot now. Making Constantine’s primary motivation as seeking entry into Heaven isn’t nearly as interesting as keeping him a self-serving bastard, but I understand it. Los Angeles (which was quite obviously Vancouver) was also a reasonable setting if you were going to move the locale to America. The casting remains odd – Keanu thankfully doesn’t have to do too much in the title role and isn’t offensive, Gavin Rossdale comes off like a weird cross between Jude Law and Steve Carell and Peter Stormare is more mincing than menacing as Satan – but the special effects are quite decent and the film, as a whole, wasn’t awful. It wasn’t even bad. Not great, certainly, but you take what you can get. IMDB has some trivia about the making of the movie. Too bad they cut the character of Ellie out… Succubi are hot.

The Toronto Star (bugmenot: danshack49@yahoo.ca / 123456) has a fun piece about the phenomenon of hipster burnout in the Big Smoke. I would expect the local hipsters to begin condemning the right about now, but they have bigger things to whip them into an indignant frenzy. Today, the natives are buzzing about the sale of Can-indie ground zero, the 20Hz message boards, to new faux-indie, likely-corporate overlords. And this isn’t the good kind of buzz, more like the swarming of killer bees kind of buzz. I am astonished that someone has paid good cash for a basic phpBB message board – do they not realize that the rats will flee the ship at the first sign of corporatization or Hummer banner ad? Do they not realize who their audience is? Someone did NOT do their due diligence on this. It will be fun to see how it plays out.

I got my tax return! I’m buying a pony.

np – Mum / Finally We Are No One

Sad news – Scotland’s best cycling-obsessed band The Delgados are calling it quits. Bassist Stewart Henderson told the band at the start of 2005 that he did not want to make another album and rather than continue on without a founding member, they are amicably disbanding.

In his diary entry addressing the split, Henderson cites a familiar complaint – the lack of success proportional to the amount of work put into it. As much as it sometimes seems it’s a golden age for the indie artist, what with blogs, mp3s, zines, online communities and whatnot making it easier than ever to spread the word and occasionally creating a big breakout success, we need to be reminded that it’s still a fucking hard slog for 99% of the bands out there and we should appreciate and support them (morally, financially, however) whenever we can.

In tribute, a track from The Delgados’ The Great Eastern. If the band ever releases a compilation (or even better, a b-sides comp – hint hint), this is a shoo-in (sorry about the brief login, but Epitonic is your friend).

MP3: The Delgados – “American Trilogy”

Also, pics from a couple Toronto shows over the last couple years. I was a little on the fence about going to their last T.O. appearance in October, but am now really glad I did (October 2004, April 2003).

In the meantime, The BBC says “fuck amicable” – it yearns for the good old days where band break ups had the nastiness of a street fight.

The Decemberists May 21 show at Lee’s Palace has been moved to the Phoenix. It remains 19+, however. But in some good news, the band has recovered some of the instruments that were stolen from them last month. Not all of it, but apparently it was part of a larger criminal organization – their gear was found in the same house as a meth lab. Check out this photo of some of the happy band members with dudes from the hazmat team. Wackiness.

Jeff Tweedy has apparently become the go-to guy for spreading good vibes about file-sharing. He gives good quote to The BBC on the topic (via LHB) and Kottke.org has a conversation with Tweedy about copyrights in this day and age. Wilcoworld has the audio of the talk, entitled “Who Owns Culture?” available to stream, but do not reproduce, distribute, perform or display the materials without first obtaining the written permission of Major League Baseball.

Death Cab For Cutie’s major-label debut will be coming out in September. The band appeared on will appear on The O.C. last night April 21. That is all.

The 33 1/3 series of books has a blog. Neato.

I think I finally heard some Bravery at Miasma last night. Holy moley, I hope they’re sending their royalty cheques plus a written apology to New Order every month.

np – The Radio Dept / Pulling Our Weight

Good news from the land of Seattle’s Posies. Their new album – the first of new material since 1998’s Success and the subsequent breakup of the band – will be coming out on June 28 on Rykodisc, with extensive touring to follow.

Despite being technically defunct for the end of the 20th century and the start of the 21st, the band was just as prolific split up as they were together. Principals Ken Stringfellow and Jon Auer played a series of acoustic shows in 2000 as The Posies to promote a box set and best-of compilation and which in itself yielded a live album and led to another studio EP. Auer and Stringfellow also released the Private Sides split EP in 2003, almost but not quite a proper reunion as the three songs each contributed was recorded independently. They’ve also both been part of the reconstituted Big Star since 1993 and are part of that band’s first new album since 1978, due out in late August/early Septermber (though I’ve not heard great things about it).

And in addition to the collaborative work, both Auer and Stringfellow are prolific solo artists – well, Stringfellow more than Auer but he’s more prolific than most mortals. In addition to the Posies, Big Star and his solo work, he’s also an almost-permenant member of REM (Who apparently turned 25 a couple days back? Happy birthday. Start making good music again, if you please). Auer, however, has been sitting on his Songs From The Year Of Our Demise for God knows how long now and with the upcoming Posies responsibilities, it has been pushed back till January 2006 at the earliest. Pity.

I admit I’m a johnny-come-lately to the Posies, starting with their Dream All Day compilation and working my way back to all of the albums (except Failure). Their songcraft is impeccable but I’ve always felt they suffered from the production and haven’t necessarily aged well sonically. But when you’re looking for pure pop goodness, you’ll not find many better. This live track, from indeterminate time and place, comes courtesy of the first decent band resource ever, www.theposies.net.

MP3: The Posies – “When Mute Tongues Can Speak”

And while I’m milking the mid-90s power-pop kick, Buffalo Tom are out of mothballs and working on new material. Bill Janovitz has been passing time doing the solo thing, writing a volume for the 33-1/3 series of books about Exile On Main Street and selling real estate.

Popmatters has a brief Q&A with Mr Iron & Wine, Sam Beam.

The Empires are playing Wavelength this Sunday night. I was fairly impressed when I saw them a couple months ago, I will try to make it out again this weekend to check them out again. Click the WL link for an interview. Check out their MySpace page.

This bands on MySpace thing fascinates me. Do they really administer their pages themselves or do they get someone to do it for them? Like, if I saw that The Wedding Present was online, could I instant message them and talk to Dave Gedge? Or would I get some Scopitones underling? I am too shy to find out.

Miasma tonight at SpaHa. Go, enjoy the music, but get loaded at home first – drinks there be expensive.

np – Yo La Tengo / A Smattering Of Outtakes And Rarities 1986-2000

Last night was the season finale of The West Wing, bringing to a close a surprisingly satisfying sixth season. I say surprising because season five, the first of the post-Sorkin era, was so disappointing, I had very low expectations for this one.

Last year, producer John Wells managed to strip all the life and energy out of the cast and characters and threatened to drown them in the sort of melodrama that might have worked on ER, but was horribly suited to The West Wing. Announcements in the off-season about the addition of Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits to the cast stank of desperate stunt casting and didn’t excite either. Even the start of this season was awkward, with their “season of change” necessitating head-scratching moves such as making CJ Chief Of Staff for no good reason (at least not over Toby or Josh).

However, once the business of shuffling the deck was over, things really picked up. The addition of Smits and Alda as presidential hopefuls really did liven things up as the show went on two parallel paths, one following the campaigners and one following the White House. The ennui and malaise and other French words that so afflicted season five were gone and replaced with vim and vigor – the cast actually got their sense of humour back and seemed interested again (except Toby, who was horribly under-used all year). I was actually eager to tune in every week again and frustrated that there were only 22 episodes in which to cram everything – they surely had enough material to fill another half-dozen, easy. Last night’s finale certainly managed to make the Democratic National Convention seem pretty damn exciting. I didn’t expect the selection of Leo as VP nominee, either. A nice touch, but did they forget he suffered a major heart attack earlier this year? Surely no one would really be so irresponsible as to nominate someone for the important office of vice-president with someone so at risk for cardiac arrest? Oh wait – never mind.

I’m quite happy the show’s been renewed for a seventh season, allowing them to follow through the conclusion of the Bartlet administration. Certainly not a sure thing in the past couple years, I consider that a triumph of good television over dreck. I don’t know if I’d necessarily want them to continue on with the new administration, it really wouldn’t be the same, but I do know that if they decide to go GOP and have Alda win the election, he’d better bring Gary Burghoff in as his Chief-Of-Staff.

Kathleen Edwards, playing a most-likely sold-out show at the Mod Club tonight, is this week’s NOW cover girl. JAM! also has an interview. I’ve had the new record for a little while now, it’s alright – not a big shift from Failer, maybe a little more with the rock. I will have to get around to seeing her live someday. Just not tonight.

Another day, another Decemberists interview. Today, Amazon talks to Colin Meloy about Picaresque. Also available in audio! And here’s part two of the Prefix interview.

NOW talks to Brendan Benson, in town Monday at Lee’s Palace and again on May 28 opening for Keane at Massey Hall.

Torr reports that the Stars’ Set Yourself On Fire has debuted at no. 34 on Billboard’s Top Heatseekers chart and no. 40 on the Top Independent Albums list. Is this high? I have no frame of reference for these positions. It sounds good, though.

Another sure sign of Spring – I broke my sunglasses. It seems every year, I either lose or break my sunglasses, necessitating the purchase of a new pair. A cheap pair, mind you, since I will invariably lose or break them. Now on one hand, this is good – it allows me to remain just out of fashion. On the other hand, it’s bad – as it keeps costing me money every year and sometimes I actually get attached to a pair. So the question is, do I buy a good, pricier (more durable) pair and take extra-special care of them or do I keep buying cheap ones like ZZ Top recommends? Do I listen to pop music because I’m miserable or am I miserable because I listen to pop music?

Of course, it’s overcast today, so it doesn’t really matter.

np – Ted Leo & The Pharmacists / Shake The Sheets

Whither Velocity Girl? Yes, smartasses, I know they broke up back in 1996, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Three of them, including the “Girl” in VG Sarah Shannon, regrouped as Starry Eyes for about three minutes (but long enough for me to get a copy of their self-titled EP), then split again. Shannon went on to release the very low profile Estheraho EP in 2001 and then a full self-titled album in 2002. That record’s adult-contemporary Bacharachian-influenced sophistication was a far cry from VG’s fuzzed out and scrappy power pop, but still quite decent and a fine showcase for Shannon’s vocals. As for the rest of the band, guitarist Archie Moore went on to play bass in The Saturday People and the rest of them… well I dunno.

But that still doesn’t explain why I’m asking “where are they?” almost nine years after their initial split. Well some may remember going through Excellent Online’s Flirt compilation a couple years ago and doing a double take at seeing Velocity Girl in the tracklisting. After seven years, the band had quietly reunited and recorded a track for the compilation and was reportedly working on material for a new album. Much rejoicing ensued from those of us who are, whether we want to admit it or not, stuck in the 90s. And then… nothing. The only thing resembling a VG info site hasn’t been updated in some nine years and their old label SubPop still has their minisite for Gilded Stars And Zealous Hearts up. I know Archie is a member of the Indiepop mailing list, but there’s been nary a peep there, either. Perhaps someone in the Beltway chapter of my extensive network of international spies has some info? Um, Kyle, I’m talking about you… But if someone has heard bad news about this reunion, um, don’t tell me. Okay, tell me.

I’m probably one of the few who liked their later albums more than the earlier ones – the wall of guitars on Copacetic have their charm, but I like the tighter songcraft of Gilded Stars. Plus you get to hear Sarah’s voice more… For the record, Sarah Shannon was my #1 college rock crush for most of the 90s. She was like a more wholesome Liz Phair (and who could actually sing). I still have their cover issue of Alternative Press circa 1994, which had the most swoon-worthy pics. Ahem. But in the absence of news, I’ll just point you at this Spike Jonze-directed video for “I Can’t Stop Smiling” off of Simpatico and the ‘comeback’ single from the aforementioned Excellent compilation.

MP3: Velocity Girl – “It’s All Alright By Me”

And while not necessarily “missing in action”, Billboard reports on what former Belle & Sebastian cellist/singer Isobel Campbell is up to. And speaking of B&S, Gorilla Vs Bear points us at You Ain’t No Picasso, who are hosting a complete Peel session Christmas party by the band.

Zoilus says that Giant Sand’s Howe Gelb will play a solo show at the Horseshoe on April 21.

Sensitive piano-plinking Brits Keane will be at Massey Hall on May 28 with Motown popsters Brendan Benson in tow. Tickets $29.50 – $39.50.

Prefix has part one of a two-part interview with The Decemberists. Part two should be up before the week is out. New City Chicago also has an interview (via LHB). My copy of Picaresque is in the mail. Or will be shortly.

np – The Wrens / The Meadowlands