Matthew Sweet’s new album Living Things will finally be coming out September 7, some three months after it was initially slated to be released. Home-recorded and self-produced, fingers are crossed that it yields as good results as 2003’s Kimi Ga Suki * Raifu. It would also be great if the Fall touring plans with Velvet Crush go off as rumoured – Matthew playing guitar with the Crush and then them acting as the backing band for his set.

I’ve gushed about Kimi Ga Suki in the past, but for those unfamiliar with it, it’s a Japan-only album Matthew wrote and recorded at home over the course of a week utilizing much of the same lineup from the Girlfriend era, that is – Ric Menck, Richard Lloyd and Greg Leisz. It’s rawer than anything he’s done in years and is also better than anything he’s done in years. Originally only available in North America as a Japanese import, it was given a very limited domestic release this past January and was seemingly available only from Parasol at domestic prices. They’re giving the domestic release another go-around on October 5 though, obviously to go along with the release of Living Things. Definitely worth seeking out.

Elvis Costello’s September 21 Lost Highway release with The Imposters has a title – The Delivery Man. Yes, that’s it. Scintillating, no?

Pitchfork is saying that Luna’s Rendezvous has been pushed back from September 28 to October 26. This makes me angry. How angry? So angry that right now I am TYPING VERY HARD. That angry.

Rhino’s Left Of The Dial: Dispatches From the ’80s Underground box set, due out October 4, is a pretty compelling argument against anyone who ever said the 80s sucked. Check out the tracklisting – over the course of the four discs, it offers an excellent primer of the great music coming out of the American, British and Australian alternative/college/indie scenes over the much-reviled decade. It’s pretty mainstream, relatively speaking, but impressive in its comprehensiveness. I’ll bet the liner notes are a great read as well. I couldn’t justify the purchase myself, as I already own a lot of the material on their original albums, but it’s a great starting point for anyone who thinks the 80s were only about The Thompson Twins, Men Without Hats and Wang Chung.

Jim White has been added as support to the Wilco show at the Mod Club August 3. Who is Jim White?

Flagpole talks to the busiest man in pop, Ken Stringfellow about his current on-the-go projects (a new solo record, a new Posies record, a new Big Star record, a new R.E.M. record…) From LHB.

The Songs: Ohia website (run by No Love For Ned recently conducted a big long Q&A with Jason Molina. Here’s the outcome. The new incarnation of the band, The Magnolia Electric Co., play the Horseshoe October 2.

NOW does journalistic battle with Camera Obscura, and by ‘battle’ I mean they talk to them nicely about their show tomorrow night at the Horseshoe. The Toronto Star gets round two.

Glorious Noise reports back on the all-star (relatively speaking) Neil Young tribute in NYC last month. I can only hope that there are bootlegs from this show circulating, I would love to hear some of these performances. Can anyone point me to a copy?

NOW compiles a list of their top 10 comic book adaptation films of all time.

He’s a Baldwin, she’s a Baldwin, wouldn’t you like to be a Baldwin too? Now you can! But for the love of God, spend a little extra and at least get a William. The world doesn’t need another Daniel.

np – Velvet Crush / Melody Freaks

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