Recommended Reading

when i was in college i had a job repairing architectural drawings in the basement of the architecture library at columbia. i sat at the big table in the dark tearing rice paper into tiny strips and listening to my walkman, often playing On Fire by Galaxie 500 over and over again. "Snowstorm"and "When Will You Come Home" killed me then and they kill me now. after Galaxie 500 broke up i didn't follow Luna as closely though Superchunk played a show at Vassar with Luna that was really good, or as good as an outdoor college show can be. Dean Wareham has written a book called Black Postcards about his time treading the boards in indie rock world and i read it on two plane flights, and i think it's great. lots of details that are especially great if you were also in that world at that time, an era in music that can not, for lots of reasons, happen again. all the crappy clubs, the long drives, the interband relationships, it inspires a combination of nostalgia and relief. plus it's drily funny and entertaining even if you never had to use the toilet at Club Le Jimmy in Bordeaux. after finishing it on the plane i was relieved to find that i had On Fire in my ipod.

Some Small History

here's the cover for the 2-CD compilation due out September 9th; Amy Sillman made the beautiful cover art.

So Many Things

wow, well as mentioned on the Merge BBS it's been quite awhile since i've posted and lots has happened -- we played a crazy rain show, went to calgary and played a show in the sun, came home, the Carolina Hurricanes traded Erik Cole, Jesse Helms died, the list goes on.

speaking of Helms, it's amazing how even his friends and supporters can't think of anything better to say about him than "you always knew where he stood" and "he was such a Southern Gentleman" as if these small niceties somehow balanced out a legacy of intolerance and ignorance. I were travelling last week when the story broke of this gentleman, a state employee who ordered that the flags NOT be flown at half-mast at the lab where he worked, and took early retirement rather than change his directive to his employees.

on a happier note, we had a blast in Duke Gardens amidst awesome storms and buckets of rain. when the clouds burst in the middle of a Matt Suggs cover, everyone came running in under the tent. when it slowed some people drifted back out onto the lawn...it was a party. here's some pics, including possibly only ever pic of all three siblings in my fam performing on the same stage (as adults)...







Setlist:

naked pilseners
here comes the summer
sour shores
angels of sleep
where's your patience, dear?
sweetness and light
it's all over now, baby blue
some small history
two hearts
drill me
white wave
song for a clock
noisy night
san andreas
i wanna know girls

Last week we also announced the upcoming release of the long-procrastinated Portastatic singles / rarities / demos compilation, entitled "Some Small History"...out September 9th, more on that soon!