Excellent Online reports that ex-Ride frontman Mark Gardener is trying to raise funds to complete and release his first proper solo album this Fall. By pre-ordering the record through Oxfordmusic.net, you not only help him finish the record, you also get a limited edition DVD documenting his evolution as a solo artist over the past two years. If you want in on this, you better hurry though – as of yesterday, only 64 of the 2500 available were left.

While the track record of post-Ride projects has been, quite frankly, abyssmal (hello Hurricane #1 and The Animalhouse. Please go away), I would like to hope that Mark has managed to put together a worthwhile album that can break that particular curse. The premier Ride fansite on the web, Ticket 2 Ride, put together a Mark Gardener minisite a while back to document his North American adventures and there are a number of live shows available to download and enjoy. Or you can check out this track that Gardener contributed to Excellent’s Flirt compilation a couple years back as well as an oldie but a goodie…

MP3: Mark Gardener – “See What You Get”

MP3: Mark Gardener – “Chrome Waves” (solo acoustic, live at the Kitting Factory, NYC – April 13, 2003)

Also be sure to check out the two live shows that Mark Gardener and Andy Bell played together in Stockholm in the Fall of 2003. Barring a full-blown reunion – and I honestly think they’d still sound great, even ten years hence – that’s about as good as it’s going to get.

Cheers to Magnet, who had the guts to put Ride on their cover a couple of years ago, for once again daring to go against fashion and make Husker Du the cover story of their July/August issue as part of a feature on the 1980s Minneapolis scene.

Sleater-Kinney scores the triple-crown of local media coverage in advance of their show at The Phoenix this Saturday with pieces in NOW, eye and The Toronto Star. Update: Make that the quadruple crown – The Toronto Sun also has a piece.

Check out some behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the video for Longwave’s “There’s A Fire”, the title track from their new album due out in a fortnight. It was shot by new keyboardist and all-around cool frood Jeff Sheinkopf. Note – I could only get it to work in IE. Some plugin nonsense wasn’t cooperating with Mozilla.

Tiny Mix Tapes compiles a list of musicians they deem worthy of hero worship. Apparently singing ability is not a prerequisite.

Of Montreal should just buy a house here. For what I think is their third show in the city in the past 12 months, they’ll be at Lee’s Palace on August 30. Also, FOC (Friends Of Conor) Neva Dinova are at the Horseshoe on July 18. And Sufjan tickets go on sale next Tuesday the 21st. No pricing info yet.

Once again, I’ve rounded up some of the shows going on in town over the next seven days for Torontoist. I will be at the Eisley show at Lee’s next Wednesday, but that’s about it. You know, I thought this was going to be less work than reviews, but it’s really not…

Behold the new trailer for Mirrormask. Still with the awful music and voiceover, but the visuals are great. It’s due for limited release on September 30.

I just realized that I’m missing most of the Toronto International Film Festival this year. Boo. I will be around for the first few days, though, so hopefully I’ll be able to get tickets for at least one screening. A book of ten like I did last year, however, is right out unless I find someone to split them with.

I need to get a mouse for my laptop. This touchpad thing ain’t cutting it for me. I need my center wheel button!

np – Pernice Brothers / Discover A Lovelier You

Joe Pernice steps out of the shadows and says hello to his web forum, thanking them (us) for their (our) support and money and previews the upcoming tour for Discover A Lovelier You, which came out yesterday. The Pernice Brothers travelling roadshow makes a stop at Lee’s Palace on July 18.

Pitchfork didn’t especially like the album, but I hear the album doesn’t especially like Pitchfork so they’re pretty much even. Spin.com likes them, though – the band will be their “Band Of The Day” this Friday, whatever that means. Maybe they get to meet The Killers or something. Also worth reading is the typically droll the official bio for the new album – funny stuff.

Oh, and I finally got around to watching the DVD component of the Nobody’s Watching/Nobody’s Listening package a couple weeks ago. It’s a fun look at life on the road with the Pernice Brothers (Joe takes on a vending machine and loses) but there’s nothing really essential – there’s not much in the way of complete performances. I find it odd that it was marketed as a live DVD with a bonus audio disc when the album disc was quite good and the DVD more like a throw-in.

Rolling Stone has the video for Spoon’s “I Turn My Camera On”. Credz Catbirdseat. And to meet my CanCon requirements, here’s the same vid at MuchMusic. Use up Canadian bandwidth!

Angryrobot.net has a nice review of the new Tears album, which I still have yet to hear. Yes, I know it’s available to stream everywhere, I just haven’t gotten around to it. I’ll probably end up buying it before I preview it.

I just realized that I will still be here on September 10, meaning I can attend the Sufjan Stevens show at Trinity-St Paul’s after all. Sweet.

Prefix brings us this live Calexico performance of “Quattro”, taken from their World Drifts In DVD.

Five Seventeen – whose My Mean Magpie now once again has it’s own URL so he can stop hijacking mine, update your bookmarks – pays tribute to the end of Three Gut Records with some rarities from three of their original roster: Royal City, Jim Guthrie and Gentleman Reg. Go get em while I watch my bandwidth usage skyrocket…

It’s Batman Begins day! I still remember camping out in front of the Famous Players at the Oakville Town Centre on June 19 23, 1989 – opening day for the first Batman film – from right after school until showtime (which was only about three hours and doesn’t really constitute “camping”, but it was still a pretty lengthy vigil at the time). This time I won’t be getting around to seeing it until Sunday – my cape and cowl are still at the cleaners. Reviews so far have been excellent – maybe the best in recent memory for a mainstream genre-type film? – so I’m sure it’ll be worth the wait.

np – The House Of Love / Days Run Away

My Morning Jacket have named their new album Z and will release it unto the world on September 20. Billboard finds out how the addition of two new members since they made It Still Moves has changed the dynamic of the band.

Check out the splash page on their website – best ever, though that score is simply unacceptable. What chimp did they have playing for Canada?!? They also save me all the trouble of finding recent press on the band – check out recent interviews in The College Tower, Flagpole, Harp and The UWM Post.

Seeing My Morning Jacket live two years ago was one of the finer rock experiences of recent years. I’ve missed a few more of their shows since, including their upcoming Buffalo date with Wilco on June 28, but will try to catch them this Fall when they begin touring Z. But until then, there’s their page at Archive.org to hold me over.

Junkmedia tries to pad a brief interview with Spoon’s Britt Daniel. The Cleveland Plains-Dealer also has a quick chat with the Spoonman.

Rilo Kiley were not thrilled with the setting of their video for “Portions For Foxes”. But Blake Sennett says they’re more chuffed about getting their meals catered whilst on tour with Coldplay later this Summer.

Volume 7 of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series will be coming out on August 16. This one is reported to be a companion piece to No Direction Home, the anthology documentary film on Dylan by Martin Scorcese and will present rare and unreleased material from 1961 to 1966.

To everyone who advised me not to try and take part in this Toronto Star article on indie-yuppies, I thank you. Not that I likely would have been included, since I don’t watch The OC, drink Starbucks or have an iPod. In fact, based on the profiles presented in the article, I don’t think I’d like indie-yuppies very much. Unless they’re hot, in which case exceptions can of course be made.

Toronto’s Three Gut Records will be taking down their shingle after releasing The Constantines’ Tournament Of Hearts this August. That’s sad news – as Zoilus points out in his little eulogy for the label, Three Gut was a trailblazer in ushering in the current golden age of indie rock in Toronto. Perhaps this is a case of “our work here is done, we’re needed elsewhere”, but either way – Three Gut Records? I salute you.

Here are my Ivy pics from Sunday night. The lighting was pretty awful, hence their conversion to arty black-and-white images.

np – Built To Spill / Perfect From Now On

Last night – Ivy and Astaire at Lee’s Palace. No preamble.

Astaire was not what I’d expected. Their website described them as “sexy europop with a Brazilian undercurrent”, so I was expecting some sexy europop with a Brazilian undercurrent. What I heard was some straight-up moderately-high energy indie rock music, though the frontwoman handled the “sexy” alright. There was nothing revolutionary in their sound, but it was solid and catchy enough that I could see them doing alright with a well-placed movie or television soundtrack appearance. They did, however, win me right over with a mid-set cover of The House Of Love’s “Shine On” (yes, the same House Of Love that the headliners are covering in my mp3 of the week – how coincidental is that?). I have a new rule – any band that covers House Of Love has my undying devotion. Even without the cover, however, I thought they were a fair bit of alright. Solid musicianship, good sound, a natural fit to open for Ivy. I approved.

It’s been a long three and a half years since Ivy was last in town and from what I can remember of that show at the Rivoli, the band didn’t seem especially peppy. It was servicable but not great. Well I don’t know if it was the three years of touring in the interim, excitement about the new album, the six-piece touring band or just the big-ass bus parked outside, but the Ivy that took the stage last night was decidedly superior. More animated, talkative, dynamic, they were just all-around better. Singer Dominique Durand in particular seemed more comfortable up there playing frontwoman, and she looked and sounded great. The mix struck just the right balance of keeping her voice audible, but not too far in front. I think it works better when it’s wrapped up in the sound instead of sitting on top of it. The set list drew from the last three albums though they acknowledged Guestroom and debut record Realistic in the encore with a sprightly reading of “Get Enough”.

While I like Ivy’s recorded output – albeit the earlier albums more than the last couple – I definitely prefer their live sound. They smoothness of the album versions gets roughed up just enough to give the songs an extra bit of zip. All in all, a compact, efficient set that left me quite satisfied, pics tomorrow. In the meantime, read this interview with The Detroit Metro Times.

One of Ivy’s tourmates this past Spring was Stars, who have a new video out for “Reunion”, featuring an uncharacteristically glammed-up Amy Millan and hopefully ironic dance routine.

Billboard talks to Bob Mould about gearing up to tour Body Of Song and what people might expect from the all-Mould-era set list. Me, I’m just glad that North America dates don’t start till after September 22. This is one show I do not want to miss.

Trespassers William have completed initial mixing of their third album, Having, and are on track for a release date early next year. Obviously not the Fall release initially reported, but maybe the iTunes session they’re recording next week for exclusive sale over the online store will temper that a bit.

Chart talks to The Futureheads about the fine art of procrastination as they put off making their difficult second album but touring North America ad nauseum.

Pitchfork reports that Mogwai are heading back into the studio to record their next album, slated for an early 2006 release.

I don’t know why, but I find it amusing that the new issue of Harp has a Vanity Fair-style gatefold cover featuring “The Faces Of Bonnaroo”. I wonder if there was any catfighting at the photo shoot about who got to be on the front and who had to go around back?

Swedish troubadour Jens Lekman will be back in Toronto at the Music Gallery on October 18 (via For The Records). His last show at Sneaky Dee’s back in March was a good’un, this one is recommended.

np – The House Of Love / The John Peel Sessions: 1988-1989

If you’re a comics fan and haven’t been reading Vertigo’s Y – The Last Man, boy have you been missing out. One of the best titles on the market today, it’s the story of one Yorick Brown (and his monkey Ampersand), a would-be escape artist who by some freak circumstance becomes the only survivor of a worldwide plague that kills anyone else with a Y-chromosone. There’s astronauts, conspiracy theories, thespians, lesbians, monkey poop-flinging — it’s got everything, and it’s amazingly well-written and drawn by multiple Eisner award-nominees Brian K Vaughan and Pia Guerra. My description there probably makes it sound jokey or campy, but it’s totally not – it has more of a serious Twilight Zone tone, though there is humour and a lot of humanity in it.

It’s no small thing when I say that Y is the ONLY comic that I wait to come out in trade paperback form, just because it reads so much better like that. I tried going monthly for a while, but getting a mere 24 pages a month was even more torturous than the semi-annual trade releases. As it is, I try not to even look at the covers in the comic shops lest I ruin some of the surprise. I’m incorrigably impatient for stuff like this so you better believe I’m anxious for the fifth volume, “Ring Of Truth”, to be released in a month’s time. As I said back at the beginning, if you read comics but don’t read Y, you really oughta give it a chance. To help facilitate conversions, DC has put the first issue online in PDF format to give a taste. It’s a good intro, but you really need to read all of the first story arc, “Unmanned”, to appreciate it. There’s also a 2003 video interview with BKV where he goes into the background of the story a little bit.

And as with all things in the comics world, Y has been optioned for a movie, though I think it’s still stuck quite happily in development hell. My main question about a film adaptation would be how would they end the story, assuming it’s made before the comic book’s planned 70-odd issue run is over. Surely they couldn’t give away the ending that Vaughan has saved up for the big finish in a few years’ time, could they?

But at least we can rest assured that no comic book adaptation will ever be as bad as this, which comes to us courtesy of The Great Curve. Ghetto Man? Seriously? Oh man. And yes, it’s real.

And whilst on the topic of “no men allowed”, Womenfolk has moved to a domain of their very own, and they’re offering a terrific 20-track mix to celebrate both the move and their one-year anniversary. Bravo!

In the vague future releases department – Wilco will be releasing their live CD/DVD set culled from four nights at The Vic in Chicago this Fall and You Ain’t No Picasso gets it straight from the pop-punk poet’s mouth that Ted Leo & The Pharmacists hope to have the follow-up to last year’s Shake The Sheets recorded by this October and out by next February.

In case you hadn’t seen it, The National Post and Globe & Mail‘s pop music writers have been having a fascinatingly in-depth discussion about Coldplay and their artistic sincerity (or lack thereof) on their respective blogs. The pertinent posts are scattered throughout the past week’s entries, but they’re worth going back and reading if you want to see the whole thing. Who ever would have expected so milquetoast a band to trigger such inspired debate?!

np – Pavement / Wowee Zowee