Little Fyodor--one of the first artists to appear on the Elephant 6 label back in 1994--made a surprise appearance this month in a comic strip in a local Denver publication, Westword. He posted it in his MySpace blog, and I thought it was amusing and worth sharing, especially since it references a song from his Elephant 6 album, Dance of the Salted Slug (click on the image for the full-size version):

Today at Optical Atlas we've got a year-end piece by Adam Schragin discussing the Elephant 6-related albums of the past year. Collect them all. Seriously, they're good. And I couldn't resist sneaking in a vaguely newsy tidbit about the upcoming Music Tapes album in the 2007 preview at the end of the article. You can read it all here. A very big thanks goes out to Adam for his eloquent contribution!

You Ain't No Picasso yesterday posted a cool "bonus" segment in its "12 Days of Mixmas": Robert Schneider discussing his favorite songs about rock and roll. "Songs About Rock and Roll (That Made Me Believe When I Was in Middle School" sees the Apples in Stereo frontman reminiscing about Foreigner and Twisted Sister...

12 Days of Mixmas: Robert Schneider

Well, I'm off to celebrate Christmas with the family for the weekend, but I leave you with a couple of items:

To those who purchased the Apples in Stereo Super Fan Pack from Yep Roc Records, go check your Yep Roc "stash" today - you get a free download of the AIS bonus track, "Helium." It's a great song, too. This is a nice conciliatory gift, as the LP of New Magnetic Wonder is shipping a little later than expected.

Jason Nesmith of Casper and the Cookies has contributed to You Ain't No Picasso's 12 Days of Mixmas 2006 with an assortment of songs "written from the perspective of one sex and sung from the other." You can read it--and download the selections--here.

Orange Twin has updated their website with news about their newly-approved plan to build a conservation community. They've also let slip that we can expect a new album from The Instruments in fall 2007.

Check back here after Christmas, as we have some really cool features in the works. Merry Christmas!

[Updated!] Last night was a historic night for rock and roll. Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central's Colbert Report challenged Chris Funk of The Decemberists to a guitar face-off before several noted rock critics. Pity poor Chris Funk: helping out on Colbert's side were Peter Frampton, Rick Nielsen (Cheap Trick), and none other than Robert Schneider of The Apples in Stereo, performing as the "opening act" with a completely original song written in tribute to Mr. Colbert. As he performed, Schoolhouse Rock-style animation unspooled behind him. After performing the complete song (it was even multi-tracked!), Schneider was thanked by Colbert, and brought back onstage for the final jam with Frampton, Nielson, and Colbert, singing into an electronic "talk box." Pitchfork, which has been fueling the challenges and cross-challenges between Colbert and The Decemberists, gives their coverage here. This was one of the most surreal, delightful, and baffling half-hours of television I've ever seen, and I haven't even mentioned Henry Kissinger's cameo.

You can see the Robert Schneider footage at You Ain't No Picasso, and also download the song as an MP3. Muchas gracias to Matt for doing that.

If you want more, watch the whole episode at Comedy Central's site.

In other Apples in Stereo news: Elijah Wood's new video for their song "Energy" has premiered at the Yep Roc website.

Finally finally, the new Apples song "Play Tough" was featured on the sitcom "Help Me Help You" on ABC Tuesday night. No, I didn't see it either.

More to come!

Elf Power backed up singer/songwriter Vic Chesnutt recently a few nights ago at the 40 Watt Christmas party. Sloan Simpson was there, and recorded the set for his live music blog Southern Shelter. You can get it all at the link below.

Vic Chesnutt/Elf Power at the 40 Watt 12/16/06

Also, I'd like to add that Tony Miller from Ideal Free Distribution has provided a nice little history of the mellotron on You Ain't No Picasso, accompanied by his favorite tracks to use the instrument. It's all part of their "12 Days of Mixmas."

Ideal Free Distribution Talks Mellotrons

This morning we noticed the following missive nailed to our door, written in delicate, tiny handwriting and accompanied by shaky sketches of clouds, tornados, and reindeer. It appears to be from Julian Koster, the singing-saw maestro of The Music Tapes and Neutral Milk Hotel. Then we noticed another copy of the proclamation at the Elephant 6 Townhall Music Tapes forum. We have been asked to spread the word, so here it is, in its entirety:

Julian Koster’s SAW will be caroling holiday and new
years lullabies for doorsteps, with his gentle
encouragement… (a carol or two)

On the evening of WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 20th in any of
the near OUTLYING ISLANDS of Portland MAINE or
PORTLAND itself, one might lure the aforementioned
saw, by drawing a simple picture in the shape of an
animal and cutting it out. Attaching to it a string.
Writing on it’s back your address (and simple
directions).. Bringing it to Portland’s Eastern
Promenade path where one will find the Narrow Gauge
Railroad. Following then these tracks to a small group
of abandoned trains and there finding Another Boxcar
Full Of Cranberries. Upon this, beside the word OCEAN
in white pealing paint (and pealing red paint
backround), finding a horizontal metal bar, and tying
your animal to it by 4 o’clock on Wednesday. Beware of
the stationmaster! The Caroling will take place some
time between 6 and 9 in the evening,

On the evening of SATURDAY DECEMBER 23rd in BENNINGTON
VERMONT, or near outlying areas, one might lure the
aforementioned saw, by drawing a simple picture in the
shape of an animal and cutting it out. Attaching to it
a string. Writing on it’s back your address (and
simple directions). Bringing it to the big white
Church in Old Bennington, and tying it to the fence on
Monument avenue near the entrance to the graveyard By
4 o’clock on Saturday. The Caroling will take place
some time between 6 and 8 in the evening, and
therefore may require an otherwise pleasant evening at
home.

On Christmas Eve in CAMBRIDGE MASSACHUCETS or any
place QUITE NEAR to it, One might lure the
aforementioned saw, by drawing a simple picture in the
shape of an animal and cutting it out. Attaching to it
a string. Writing on it’s back your address (and
simple directions). Going to the Park on Mount Auburn
St. that is beside the Cambridge Skating Club with the
circular walkway that extends to the Friends meeting
place and Brattle Street. This park is located just a
few blocks away from the square in the direction of
Watertown. Entering the Park and tying it to the fence
that separates it from the Ice skating somewhere
closest to Mount Auburn Street by 6 on Christmas eve.
The Caroling will take place some time between 10:00
and 11:15 PM!

On the evenings of DECEMBER 26th and DECEMBER 29th
in the ISLAND OF MANHATTAN or IMMEDIATE vicinity
(within only a few subway stops out), one might lure
the aforementioned saw, by drawing a simple picture in
the shape of an animal and cutting it out. Attaching
to it a string. Writing on it’s back your address (and
simple directions), AND WHICH OF THE TWO DATES YOU
PREFER; and entering CENTRAL PARK at west 79th St,
following the entrance road in, and crossing over to
the other side of the Central Park Avenue. Finding
there in front of you a path leading to and around a
circle of ivey, foliage, and bushes and on to an
outcropping in the lake. Not entering but finding
BESIDE THE MOUTH OF THIS PATH (to the left), just off
of the avenue, a sign post with the name HERNSHEAD
upon it, and tying your animal to it. Do so by 4
o’clock one day prior to the date you’ve selected.
Caroling will take place some time between 6 and 9 in
the evening. If you do not live in the City but will
be visiting, write such on back of your animal and the
Carolers shall meet you at the HERNSHEAD signpost NEAR
6PM on the selected day.


ON ALL LISTED DATES:
Julian’s saw will accept (non compulsory) donations of
hot chocolate which he will drink on it’s behalf.

Thank you.

Two of Athens' finest, Summer Hymns and Folklore, will be hitting the Midwest and East Coast over the next two months, and the dates have now been made official.

Summer Hymns are touring in support of their critically acclaimed fourth album, Backward Masks. Our rave review is here.

Folklore will be selling advance copies of their debut CD, The Ghost of H.W. Beaverman, as well as an EP, Carpenter's Falls. Beaverman features guest vocals by members of Elf Power, Gerbils, I am the World Trade Center, Masters of the Hemisphere, The Instruments, and more. There's a write-up on the Folklore EP in Flagpole. We wrote about the full-length here.

Also note that Folklore will be playing this Sunday night, December 17, at the "Bandiversary" (celebrating the third year of Venice is Sinking). Folklore will be playing along with Venice Is Sinking, Big Gray, The Folk Yous, The Ginger Envelope, and Phosphorescent. All of this will be going down at "Stan The Art Man's place on Pulaski Street (the giant barn on the right just before the tracks)," Athens.

Summer Hymns/Folklore Winter Tour
01.23.07 Lexington, KY @ Mecca
01.24.07 Urbana, IL @ Canopy
01.25.07 Madison, WI @ King Club
01.26.07 Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
01.27.07 Des Moines, IA @ Vaudeville Mews
01.28.07 Bloomington, IN @ Art Hospital
01.29.07 Lansing, MI @ Mac's Bar
01.30.07 Akron, OH @ Lime Spider
01.31.07 Pittsburgh, PA @ Brillobox
02.01.07 Rochester, NY @ Bug Jar
02.02.07 New York, NY @ Cake Shop
02.03.07 Brooklyn, NY @ Union Hall
02.04.07 Philadelphia, PA @ Manhattan Room

Tonight is a birthday celebration for Mike Turner, founder of Happy Happy Birthday to Me Records. Bands to perform include Casper & the Cookies, The Velcro Stars, Russian Spy Camera, Cars Can Be Blue, Visitations, Titans of Filth and...check this, bros...Andy Gonzales and the return of Marshmallow Coast (i.e., a solo performance)! It all starts at 8:30 pm at the Ultra (m)Odd in Athens.

More HHBTM news: the self-titled debut album from Ideal Free Distribution has a new release date: January 16. It's mastered by Robert Schneider (The Apples in Stereo) and mixed by Jason Nesmith (Casper & the Cookies). You can read our review here.

They also have new information about the upcoming HHBTM singles club, the just-launched CD-R club, upcoming Phoning it In and Daytrotter sessions from HHBTM artists, and more--you can read the full update at their MySpace blog.

Shannon Palmer has posted on the E6 Townhall that Will Westbrook, guitarist for the Gerbils, passed away on Monday. While details at this point remain sketchy, it is known that Will was having health problems in recent months. Apart from being an amazing musician who left his mark on some extraordinary songs with his band, Will Westbrook was a photographer whose work can be seen on the band's albums, including the cover of 1998's Are You Sleepy? (below). My heart goes out to his family and his many friends and admirers, who are suffering a great loss this week.

To mark his passing I'm turning down the lights on Optical Atlas this week and leaving some Gerbils MP3s for download, to introduce his work to those who might not have had a chance to hear this very underrated E6 band. The Gerbils (who also include Scott Spillane, John D'Azzo, and--periodically--Jeremy Barnes) formed in Ruston, Louisiana, before relocating to Athens. They have released two albums, Are You Sleepy? and The Battle of Electricity (Orange Twin, 2001), as well as a handful of singles. The most recent Gerbils live performance (to my knowledge) was July 15th of this year, recorded by Sloan Simpson and archived here at his Southern Shelter music blog. They also performed at the 2006 SXSW festival as part of the Orange Twin showcase.

Glue
Crayon Box
Grin
The Air We Share
Share Again

UPDATE:
Ben Crum of Great Lakes has shared his memories of Will on his band's MySpace blog.
J. Kirk Pleasant of Calvin, Don't Jump! has also written a moving eulogy at his MySpace blog.
Pitchfork coverage here.

Two more reviews have been added to our Optical Atlas review database today. I review A Hawk and a Hacksaw's latest, The Way the Wind Blows, as well as the Here Comes the Rain EP by The Ladybug Transistor. Speaking of the Ladybugs, there are some nice photos available from their recent tour through Spain on their MySpace blog.

Review: A Hawk and a Hacksaw - The Way the Wind Blows
Review: The Ladybug Transistor - Here Comes the Rain EP

I've just posted two reviews at Optical Atlas by two new bands with impressive debuts: Ideal Free Distribution and Dark Meat. Lexington's Ideal Free Distribution, led by Craig Morris, Tony Miller, and Eric Griffy, is a throwback psychedelic pop band highly recommended to fans of The Apples in Stereo (Robert Schneider mixed the album, and members of the IFD contribute to New Magnetic Wonder), Casper and the Cookies, and Great Lakes. Dark Meat couldn't be more different. The Athens supergroup mixes blues and punk into a soaring sound with a caffeine kick. Their album has just been released on Orange Twin Records, while IFD's is due out in January on Happy Happy Birthday to Me.

Review: Ideal Free Distribution - Ideal Free Distribution
Review: Dark Meat - Universal Indians

You can hear some sample tracks below.

Ideal Free Distribution - Nine on a Side
Dark Meat - Angel of Meth

Neil from Carnahan Films has informed me that a 5-part documentary on the making of The Apples in Stereo's New Magnetic Wonder has just debuted in the iTunes Music Store. (I had some difficulty finding it; you have to search by Podcast and type in "New Magnetic Wonder.") The first part finds the band in Brooklyn, and visits with Robert Schneider, Steve Keene (longtime Apples visual artist), Bryce Goggin, Hilarie Sidney and Eric Allen. If you're a subscriber to iTunes, check it out--the podcasts are free.

Entries are no longer being accepted for the Marbles Christmas single contest. The winners will be notified via e-mail shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered, and a very special thanks to Bi-Fi Records for making copies of this single available for our readers. Here are some sample snatches of Apples holiday greetings from the contestants (if you didn't compose anything, don't worry--you're still entered into the contest):

WINTER MUST BE COLD,
but it SEEMS SO much warmer when we GET TOGETHER.
CAN YOU FEEL IT?

'I can't believe' it's Christmas time once again. It seems like only
yesterday that we threw last year's 'pine away'. Let's 'get together'
this holiday season and 'try to remember' 'yore days' over some 'warm milk
and chocolate'. Even if 'winter must be cold', together we can 'stay
gold' and get into the 'holiday mood'. Happy Holidays!

Make your Christmas full of wonder. Give a friend a flute or drums.
Make your Christmas most delicious. Bake a pie of apples or plums.

Happy Holidays to all my friends inside the moon!
People of Earth wish you the best.
Though our marbles may crash someday soon,
for now let's just keep those thoughts repressed!

As Santa and Mrs. Claus count Marbles and bake lovely Apples,
Wonder-ful, Magnetic sounds herald their tidings from the Stereo cabinet:
Merry Christmas!

Happy holidays to someone who puts me in the Holiday Mood and is always a part of my Better Days.

Though we know "Winter Must be Cold," we love to let
you know, that we're having an "expo" and we're sure
you'll wanna "go." So "Please" let us attract you
like a "Magnet" to the "yore days" of our christmas
past. Hope you'll join us in the "wonder" of the
christmas season. "Thank you very much" for your
friendship.

tis the seson for the marbles to be heard from the stereo ..
have a great holiday and thank you for another great year of
e6 info and music.

To someone who puts me in the Holiday Mood:
It's just Not the Same without you here. I Can't Believe it was only yesterday we were sharing Warm Milk and Chocolate by the fireplace. Now it won't be long until the Sun is Out. Please remember that Winter Must Be Cold so that we'll appreciate the sunny days when The Afternoon Seems So beautiful.
Love you, Alice
-D

Dr. Barfton reprinted the following in this Townhall thread. It looks like the Orange Twin vision of utopia is a lot closer to coming together.

Last night the Orange Twin Conservation Community Plan received
unanimous approval from the Athens-Clarke County Mayor and Commission for
its master plan! The plan is for a 155 acre pedestrian-based intentional
community of homes and common spaces clustered in two villages amid
farmland and forest. Currently the group has 21 members who co-own the
land. Members of this group run the Orange Twin record label and website,
which raises additional funding for the project. You can visit our website
at www.orangetwin.com... Coming soon, Orange Twin Radio!

Thanks for all the support! Spread the word!

Sincerely,
Laura Carter.

Celebrity photographer (well, photographer of celebrities) Joshua Kessler has a blog up at his website, joshuakessler.com, in which he talks about the recent photo sessions with The Apples in Stereo and Simian Records founder Elijah Wood. Worth a look. Thanks to Samantha for noticing that!

In 1997 the then-youngish label of Kindercore Records, operating out of Athens, GA, put out a compilation called Christmas in Stereo. It featured some hip bands like The Olivia Tremor Control and The Mendoza Line, and some more obscure ones, just getting started, like...Summer Hymns and of Montreal. It was a top seller and apparently a lot of fun to compile, so two years later, as the label started to gather more fans and started to put together a rather brilliant lineup, they put out a sequel to highlight their roster. Christmas Two featured Dressy Bessy, The Essex Green, I Am the World Trade Center, The Ladybug Transistor, The Four Corners, Kings of Convenience, and more.

Since I always get misty-eyed at the mention of the late great Kindercore, the Elephant 6-themed Christmas album you can download below draws heavily from those two compilations. You can also find, mixed in, some newer tracks by the likes of Marbles and Fabulous Bird featuring Bill Doss , and some tracks from non-Christmas albums that feel a little Christmasy nonetheless. You can download the tracks individually, if you're just filling gaps in your collection, or as a zipped file if you want to throw them all at once onto your iPod. They'll play tracked together as "An Elephant 6 Christmas." (And yes, there are a few omissions from this compilation. There's always next Christmas.)



1. The Essex Green - Deck the Halls (traditional)

The Greens (Chris Ziter, Sasha Bell, Jeff Baron, Michael Barrett, Timothy Barnes) had only just formed and released their debut album, Everything is Green, when they made this appearance on Kindercore Christmas Two. It's a straightforward reading of the traditional ballad, and sets the holiday mood before we launch into a long stream of originals.

2. Fabulous Bird featuring Bill Doss - It's Christmas Time Again (P. Alvanos)

This single from Athens folk-pop group Fabulous Bird was just released via their MySpace site. Bill Doss, of The Sunshine Fix, recorded and produced the single, and contributes bass, tambourines, kazoos, xylophone, bells, shakers, and background vocals, while lead singer/songwriter Peter Alvanos provides lead vocals, drums, and guitars.

3. Marbles - Gift for You (R. Schneider)

Robert Schneider's solo project released this as a single (under the name "Christmas Song") a couple years ago on Bi-Fi Records...and, hey look, we're sponsoring a contest to win a copy of the single (deadline this Friday!). The B-side was the original version of "Holiday Mood," just polished off by The Apples in Stereo and available for download at Yep Roc Records.

4. of Montreal - My Favorite Christmas (in a Hundred Words or Less) (K. Barnes)

When this track was released on Christmas in Stereo, of Montreal had just released their debut, the acoustic-driven Cherry Peel, on Bar None. In a couple of years the band would make the leap to Kindercore, where they would remain faithfully prolific through 2002. This track is typical of their early sound and eons away from Georgie Fruit.

5. Elf Power - The Winter is Coming (Elf Power)

The title track from my personal favorite of the Elves' albums. I have a vivid memory of playing this album while driving straight into a blizzard on a flat, open plain--a complete whiteout. The album provided perfect accompaniment, and I have an annual tradition of playing it during the first snow. This, however, is one of the lighter tracks.

6. The Gwens - Christmas Love (Gwens)

The Gwens are "borderline" Elephant 6 (Peter Erchick of Olivia Tremor Control was once with the band) and often forgotten, but put out some great singles and compilation appearances in the late 90's, such as "Dear Florence" and "Actin' Funny." Although their one and only album was released on Happy Happy Birthday to Me, this standout holiday track appeared on Kindercore Christmas Two.

7. Dressy Bessy - All the Right Reasons (T. Ealom)

Another great track from Christmas Two, this number from Denver, Colorado's rock and roll royalty also appeared on their catch-all compilation Little Music.

8. The Olivia Tremor Control - Frosted Ambassador (Olivia Tremor Control)

The second track from their debut album, Music from the Unrealized Film Script: Dusk at Cubist Castle. I've always thought of Christmas when I hear this; I imagine it's the association between the title and the sleigh bells heard. Most mysteriously, an album surfaced a couple years later by "The Frosted Ambassador," featuring similar instrumentals, plus a song that was alternatively credited to The Olivia Tremor Control when it appeared elsewhere. Rumors point toward Olivian Eric Harris as the responsible party.

9. My First Keyboard - Christmas is Only Good if You Are a Girl (Boy) (D. Alexander)

One easy way of telling that My First Keyboard singer/songwriter Dottie Alexander's backing band was of Montreal: Kevin Barnes takes a verse. You can hear more from the band in last week's Hooray for Tuesday post.

10. The Sixth Great Lake - Always After Christmas, Boring (Sixth Great Lake)

The Sixth Great Lake was pretty much The Essex Green's countrified alter ego when they released this track; in fact, it later appeared on the repressing of the Green's self-titled EP. SGL are still active, but after Up the Country (on Kindercore) they narrowed their ranks to Zachary Ward, Michael Barrett, and Chris Ziter, releasing the stunning Sunday Bridge on vinyl only in 2003.

11. The Music Tapes - Freeing Song By Reigndeer (J. Koster)

The B-side to the Elephant 6 Records single The Television Tells Us, this track's lyrics explore the metaphorical possibilities of the most absurd of Christmas imagery: flying reindeer (or "reigndeer," in Julian-lingo). Note the sleigh bells heard at the track's closing!

12. Summer Hymns - Santa Couldn't Fit You Under My Christmas Tree (Summer Hymns)

Sure, by the title it sounds like it's going to be a Ray Stevens-flavored romp, but I find this to be a most strangely disturbing holiday song. It appeared on Christmas in Stereo, and is the first track to be released by Zachary Gresham's band (who just released Backward Masks on Misra Records).

13. Masters of the Hemisphere - Pierced By a Stranger's Heart (Sky Mic)

Adrian Finch, Jeff Griggs, Bren Mead, and Sean Rawls formed the prototypical Kindercore band: delicate, superbly-written pop songs, dreamy and intelligent. (And they only lasted as long as the label did.) But those perfect harmonies fall by the wayside in this Christmas track, first covered in the band's earlier incarnation, Sky Mic; they warble all over the place, perhaps quite drunk, which wouldn't be that unusual. Still, it works. And remember: Santa Claus died for your sins.

14. Calvin, Don't Jump! - Triumphant Snow (J. Kirk Pleasant)

The lead track from the band's second album, A Way with Birds, was unexpectedly a cheery instrumental. About this track, Kirk Pleasant (who now lives in Vancouver) writes: "I've never thought of it in a Christmas context, but it works perfectly. Vancouver is covered in snow right now and I get all giddy, because I grew up in the swamps of south Louisiana and it snowed once every ten years or so."

15. of Montreal - Christmas Isn't Safe for Animals (K. Barnes)

"Why rent, when you can own your own washer and dryer for $225 each? Put it on your Sears card!"

16. The Olivia Tremor Control - Christmas with William S. (Olivia Tremor Control)

An experimental piece that calls to mind William S. Burroughs. The "Christmas" part is presumably the atmospheric opening, with its clanging church bells and creaking wood. Then it folds into itself and skips across other dimensional planes.

17. The Ladybug Transistor and Friends - Christmas Extravaganza (traditional)

A gay, drunken medley, sprawling in many directions at once. Let it inspire you to gather your friends and family around the piano in similar spirits.

An Elephant 6 Christmas: Zipped File
Total Running Time: 50:32

Happy holidays from Optical Atlas!

A couple of things that might be of interest to Elephant 6 fans...

Jesse Jarnow has posted an in-depth review of the track "Suffer for Fashion," from of Montreal's upcoming Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, at Paper Thin Walls. You can also download or stream the track. Speaking of that band, for whose winter '07 tour you're anxious buying tickets right now, I was pleased to get my copies of the "She's a Rejecter" and "Faberge Falls for Shuggie" singles in the mail on Saturday. The "Rejecter" single features some great David Barnes art, as usual, and a bonus track, "Little Rock," that frankly puts down Little Rock, Arkansas, like nobody's business. I'm curious what Little Rock residents think of it. It's a throwaway songle, to be sure, but amusing. "Faberge Falls for Shuggie" is a "DJ" 12-inch edition so you can scratch it or something, I guess. Personally, I file these things away so they don't get scratched. Anyway, another great track. (I'm still waiting for "Bunny Ain't No Kind of Rider" to grow on me...will it?)

Calvin, Don't Jump!, aka Kirk Pleasant, has started a video blog series on his MySpace page. The low-res video clips present Kirk playing some acoustic demos of some really brand new songs (and an old one) for his newborn baby girl. She yawns and falls asleep in the last one. It's pretty charming. I highly recommend his self-released album of this year, Conscious of Conscience, from this underrated songwriter. You can read my review here, and buy the album directly from Kirk (through his MySpace page or via his email for ordering information).

Oh, and has anyone noticed that Earworm Records, the U.K. label that released vinyl by The Apples in Stereo, Gerbils, Elf Power, and The Minders has sprung back into existence? They have a MySpace page now, and they've released material by The Hidden Cameras, Spacemen 3, The Earlies, and more. I had no idea.

Kevin Barnes has posted a list of his favorite albums of 2006 at Harmonium Music. It's not surprising to see Gnarls Barkley on there, but some others are genuine surprises.

Harmonium Music: Artist Picks for 2006 - Kevin Barnes (Of Montreal)