Pop (All Love) takes the prize for out-of-left-field topic for the week and declares The Charlatans “the most inconsequential band of any consequence”. I don’t know exactly why Aaron was in such deep contemplation about the Charlatans that he was able to reach that epiphany, but perhaps that’s exactly the point.

I like the Charlatans okay, but I don’t think I’d feel compelled to play devil’s advocate in this case. I started off with a copy of Melting Pot, their best-of comp (current through Tellin’ Stories) and enjoyed it enough to go out and get their entire back catalog. Which I didn’t enjoy enough to keep. I’m down to a handful of middle-period albums that almost never get played. Odds are I’ll eventually be right back to Melting Pot, if I can even be bothered to pick that up. It’s sort of like my Charlatans universe expanded and expanded till it hit its maximum size, and has now collapsed upon itself. I’m just glad it stopped before it turned into a black hole and wiped out my Chameleons and Chapterhouse discs along with it. I stopped paying attention around 2001’s remarkably boring Wonderland (the same album that set off Mr Wherry’s train of thought) and I think they’ve put out one or two more since then, as well as a solo album from Tim Burgess. Full marks for longevity, at least.

Behold – the video for the title track of Longwave’s new album, There’s A Fire. Longwave will be opening up a leg of the Doves’ Fall North American tour, including their Montreal show but not Toronto (we get VHS Or Beta). In an odd booking decision, the tour will hit Toronto’s Docks on September 30, two and a half weeks after the September 13 Montreal show. I guess those crazy Brits really enjoy the gentle ministrations of border guards…

Fluxblog offers his two cents on the new Belle & Sebastian biography, Just A Modern Rock Story. Verdict? Not enough dirt.

Leonard Cohen is broke. Poor Lenny. It’s a good thing he’s so zen about it.

The LA Times talks to Matador head honcho Chris Lombardi about the uncomfortable but necessary circumstance of indie labels getting into bed with the majors. Via Coolfler.

…And this is what we call a very slow day. If this were a sitcom, it would be a clips episode. But it’s not, so it’s not. I was working on some stuff that’s just not ready, so maybe tomorrow.

np – My Morning Jacket / At Dawn