OK, it’s not a Matador presentation.  But the flyer art could hardly be snazzier if it were.

The pop landscape has been littered with nu Dylans, old Janis Ians (eg. Janis Ian) and any number of generational spokesmodels, troubled troubadours and assholes with bad pompadours.  And those are just the good parts of my record collection.

Occasionally, somebody not only sticks out from the pack, but manages for the space of 3 minutes or 45, to make you forget there is a pack. To make you forget that said (wacky) packs even exist.  At the risk of scaring you with my crude, and poorly taped-up hyperbole stick, I submit that not only is Jennifer O’Connor that kind of artist, but that within a matter of months, you’ll be the one hassling your friends about how fantastic her 4th album is rather than me.  I’ll have already done so.

Jennifer recorded her new LP/CD ‘Here With Me’ (OLE 787-1,2earlier this year with John Agnello (Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth) at Brooklyn’s Headgear Studios.  It’s a breezier, more upbeat work than 2006′s fantastic ‘Over The Mountain, Across The Valley and Back To The Stars’, but I’d be lying if I told you the new album packed any less of an emotional wallop.  Jennifer’s songs have never before sounded this crafted, or hit the listener with such immediacy.

Backed by a crack backing trio of Jon Langmead, Michael Broadlieb and Michael Strandberg (and joined, briefly, by Hold Steady keyboardist Franz Nicolay), O’Connor tackles her most evocative pile of relationship-tunes with something approaching surgical precision.  Over the past 6 years, Jennifer’s gotten scary good at this sort of thing, so much so that most other contenders for the hypothetical Nobel prize for Witty Pop Songs W/ Heart are either former members of this label’s roster (we’re thinking Manning/Phair/Daniel but if you wanna nominate someone more contemporary, please go right ahead) or they’ve already been embalmed in the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame.

Jennifer has a bunch of tour dates planned for this summer (see below) with more to come throughout 2008. In the days and weeks ahead, we’ll be selectively previewing more of ‘Here With Me’, along with some exclusive video content.  Until then, here’s the first MP3 from the forthcoming LP/CD, “Valley Road ’86″.

june 4            Chicago, IL                   Abbey Pub
june 5             Toronto, ON                  Opera House
june 6             Ottowa, ON                 Babylon
june 7             Boston, MA                 Paradise
june 8             New York, NY             Bowery Ballroom
june 9              New York, NY             Bowery Ballroom
june 11         Philadelphia, PA         World Cafe
june 12          Washington, D.C.     9:30 Club

(above dates supporting Jamie Lidell)

july 13        Kansas City, MO        Record Bar
july 14        Columbia, MO
july 18        Minneapolis, MN        Uptown Bar
july 19        Fargo, ND            Aquarium/Dempseys Upstairs
july 20        Sioux Falls, SD        Nutty’s North

(above dates supporting Son Ambulance)

The second 7″ in Jay Reatard’s singles series for Matador Records & Filmworks, “Painted Shut” b/w “An Ugly Death” will be available for pre-order at 3PM Eastern Time. As with the last record, quantities are extremely limited so we can only honor one copy per order.

This record features features artwork by Mike Sniper.

Order HERE

Sure, sneering at the cops is pretty easy. But some of ‘em are a-ok. Like the kindly NYPD officer who told me in 1992 during eviction proceedings against Matador, “this might hurt your chances of getting into college” (keep in mind, I was 27 at the time). Or, for example, Couch Flambeau’s Jay Tiller.

Awesome news for Memphis residents interested in comedy, music journalism, prank phone calls or trying to purchase records while a “party” is taking place.  Andrew Earles (above), one half of the Earles/Jensen comedy duo responsible for the new ‘Just Farr A Laugh, Vol. I & II’ double CD, will be greeting the public tomorrow (Saturday) at Goner Records at 5:30pm.  The establishment boldly promises “Big Bufords for everyone”,  but you might want to arrive early in case they run out of napkins.

I’d mentioned earlier that we were hoping to get some reports from Patrick and Natalie about how things are progressing for Jay Reatard and Times New Viking on their first dates in the UK.  Of course, I made this comment without remembering just how difficult it was to obtain an internet connection at Pontin’s Holiday Camp, site of this weekend’s All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival.

That said, while we might have to wait another day or two for their field reports, I’m pleased to announce a mole deep within Barry Hogan’s organization has leaked the following video from Day One.

For the record, I personally believe No Age have other songs besides a cover of “I Shot The Sheriff”, but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

hello there. for quite awhile, all has been quiet on the psoi front… until now! a new record is in the works, hopefully done by the end of spring, a new website (still working on it), and the most exciting of all… we’re playing shows again!  we’ve been asked to support the posies for their 20th anniversary show in seattle may 17th. we’re excited, since we still like the posies very much (even if the drummer is a rush fan). we’re also playing a bunch of new songs… as well as some old family favorites. if you’re up in the northwest, come on down. i’ve also been asked to be a guest curator for the sled island music fest up in calgary, alberta, canada june 25-28. very excited about this! i’ve picked a few of my favorite bands, old and new, to play. psoi will also be performing, but what is really gonna be special is that we’re doing a collaboration with the lads in broken social scene. most of it will be new material made up just for sled island!  ok, thanks for listening and hopefully see you soon. spiral….

spiralstairsmusic.com

5/17/2008
seattle, wa.
psoi/posies 20th anniversary
nuemo’s
$12

6/25-28/2008
calgary alberta, canada
sled island festival

Lavender Diamond’s Ron Rege writes, “we knew were were going to have a song on a JC Penny commercial, but this looks like some joke on the Matablog!”

Hey, if America’s department stores wanna take further tips from the nation’s foremost source for music-related advertorial bulletins, we’re more than up for it. In this instance, however, Nordstorm should just send the cash directly to Becky, Ron and Steve. Or at the very least, a gift certificate.

The initial lineup for the 2008 edition of the Village Voice’s Siren Festival was announced yesterday, and we’re pleased to note headliners Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks will be joined by Times New Viking and (making their first East Coast appearance-at-an-amusement-park) Jaguar Love.

This free event takes place on Saturday, July 19.  Times New Viking will be hopping on a plane after their set, as they’ll be playing on the 3rd day of the Pitchfork Festival the following afternoon. Mayor Bloomberg, consider this an advance request for a police escort to the airport.

(pic taken from the Wooster Collective. Trust us, the new Burma shirts are a) snazzier and b) will not mess with your head)

In addition to Mission Of Burma’s forthcoming two night stands at the Paradise (Boston) and Bowery Ballroom (New York), the band have just confirmed the following shows :

June 27 – First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA (performing ‘Signals, Calls & Marches’) – tickets
June 28 – The Black Cat, Washington DC (performing Vs.) – tickets

We’re expecting field reports from Patrick and Natalie. Until then, I’m just psyched Cheap Time tees are available in purple.

Wow.  Gig-of-the-year-candidate might not be doing this event proper justice.  Shearwater’s triumphant performance Monday at New York’s Florence Gould Hall is going to be hard to top ;  augmented by strings, harp & horns, plus the fantastic projections compiled by Kahn & Selznick, Shearwater reduced a near capacity throng to one big gasping mess last night.  Performing the forthcoming ‘Rook’ LP/CD from start to finish (followed, after a brief intermission, with selections from ‘Palo Santo’) this was like no Shearwater show any of us could recall. Rising-to-the-occasion is one thing, but on this evening,  the grandeur and intensity of ‘Rook’ was fully realized and then some. Color us blown away,

After innumerable delays and despite the best efforts of Peter Giftopolous, ESQ., tomorrow, May 6, Matador will finally unleash the most important comedy recording since Jesus Jones’ ‘Perverse’.

Earles & Jensen’s ‘Just Farr A Laugh, Vol.’s I & II’ will be available in all it’s lavishly packaged glory.  You’re gonna remember what you were doing tomorrow many years from now and hopefully that memory will involve spending some money on the funniest double CD of the modern age.  The Man Cannot Bust Our Music Spoken Word.

(Jeff Jensen, profiled in the Lawrence News)

We are having some serious party moments in eager anticipation of the release of Earles & Jensen’s “Just Farr A Laugh Vol. 1+2″ on May 6th. We’ve been looping the sampler, rifling through our legal documents, and sending out pre-orders. That said, everyone knows that a party isn’t a party without some bonafide DANCE MUSIC (and pizza). Thanks to Mixmasters AeFlo, DJ Rainstick, and the words of our fave E& J character, Bleachy we’ve filled this vacuum…Glowsticks required!

“Bleachy Tonight- Dance Mix” (mp3)

You can still PRE-ORDER “Just Farr A Laugh Vol. 1+2″ and get a few dollars off of purchase and a free poster!

Pt.’s I & II available at Pitchfork today.  (‘Rook’ LP/CD, out June 3)

Charles Ray Fuller: Aspiring Hip-Hop Label Entrepreneur?

Look at his face. This man is HIGH AS SHIT. But then again, you’d have to be (this) high to start a record label. Is there any more ambitious way to fund a label startup? Who else is dying to hear the records he intended to release?

Not since William G. McAdoo handed to Lord Cunliffe, Governor of the Bank of England, a Treasury warrant for $200,000,000, have I heard of anyone attempting to cash out this much scratch.

The Dallas Morning News lays out the mind-fucking facts:

A man has been accused of attempting to pass a $360 billion check, which he claims was given to him by his girlfriend’s mother to start a record business, Fort Worth police said.

Lt. Henderson said he did not know if Mr. Fuller and his girlfriend were still together.