I have been too busy to make that update promised recently. Lots of shows, lots of whiskey, and the sun how she shines so brightly these days. It's comin' though. Need to put together a new Bones column for Deep Water and finish some more reviews for Foxy Digitalis, which was FANTASTICALLY updated today with reviews of everyone from Chris Knox (with help from Pumice!) to Jandek (double live album!), Judy Sill to Coil, Tom Verlaine and plenty more. Holy smokes! We really do feature the best coverage of the weird underground anywhere. Eat your heart out, THE WIRE! Take that, BLASTITUDE! Totally kidding, guys. You all fucking rule. Must say though, Brad and Eden are functioning at full throttle right now with an expanded roster of knowledgeable, passionate writers, regularly updated podcasts and much, much more on the horizon. And the releases keep coming from Digitalis, too. Can't keep up, but it's fun to try. "Goodbye" by Brothers of the Occult Sisterhood is sick!

Hmm, what else? Saw two great live gigs in the last nine days or so. The Liars at The Gypsy Tea Room were particularly inspired. I dig 'em a lot, and they played basically all my favorite songs from the last two albums, so props to them for that. Think This Heat and mid period Sonic Youth, I suppose. I'm being lazy though. Also saw Country Teasers a few days ago (and drank so much I still don't know how I got home) and REALLY enjoyed what they were doing. I stand by my description: the missing link between Hank Williams and the Fall. Great garagy country/art punk stuff that you can dance to. Apparently there's a photo out there somewhere of my praying at the alter. Silly shit. Seeing Shellac (first Texas show EVER!) and The New Year in two days. WOOT!

One more thing: Issue #6 of Dream Magazine is ready for consumption. Don't think I mentioned it here yet. Music writer/graphic artist/all around cultural sage George Parson's entirely self financed, homemade labor of aural/visual love is hands down one the FINEST underground music related print zines in America today. Now I can say that and mean it because if anything his coverage and scope has only improved over the years. Nah, it was always great. George just asks the best questions. An example from his fascinating interview with Michael Gira (a notoriously difficult interview subject):

G.P.: What is the best medicine for melancholy?
M.G.: Work. Work is Everything. And sex, sex with love. Alcohol is of course a runnerup, but it just leads to more melancholy.

Don't worry, his other answers are typically longer. Also featured: A Hawk and Hacksaw, Nick Bensen, Nick Castro, Current 93 (an intro/primer written by myself, not an interview), Baby Dee, Phil Elverum, The Golden Dawn, Keenan Lawler, Eric Matthews, Bob Moss, My Cat is an Alien, Alasdair Roberts, Brad Rose, Jonathan Richman, Six Organs of Admittance, Bridget St. John, Vibracathedral Orchestra, Windy & Carl and more! SHIT! 112 pages plus an EXCELLENT free comp featuring most of the artists listed above, plus a live track by obscure early 70s Nevada City jam/psych band Absalom. Order it here.

Finally, extra reading snagged from Perfect Sound Forever. An until recently unpublished interview/article by Lester Bangs with Brian Eno, circa 74-75. Enjoy.