(at Brooklyn’s McCarren Pool, August ‘08, photo taken from ilikeateenspirit’s Flickr stream)

In addition to mid-October shows supporting The New Year,  Jennifer O’Connor — continuing to crisscross the USA on behalf of her fantastic new LP/CD, ‘Here With Me’, is hitting some larger rooms from Nov. 2 to Nov. 22, opening for Amy Ray.

Mon 10/13 Philadelphia PA  M Room with Hotel Lights
Tue 10/14 Pittsburgh PA Howler’s with David Dondero & Boca Chica
Wed 10/15 Cleveland OH Beachland Tavern with The New Year
Thu 10/16 Detroit MI Pike Room at Crofoot with The New Year
Fri 10/17 Chicago IL Empty Bottle  with The New Year
Sat 10/18  Milwaukee WI YNOT 2
Sun 10/19  Madison WI  Cafe Monmarte
Tue 10/21 Minneapolis MN  7th Street Entry
Wed 10/22 Des Moines IA Vaudeville Mews
Thu 10/23 Columbia MO The Blue Fugue  with The Black Fortys
Fri 10/24 St. Louis MO  Off Broadway
Sat  10/25  Lexington, KY  Al’s Bar
Mon 10/26 Covington, KY  Molly Malone’s  with Joseph Arthur & The Lonely Astronauts
Sun 11/2  Buffalo NY  Tralf Music Hall with Amy Ray
Tue 11/4 Toronto ON Mod Club Theatre with Amy Ray
Wed 11/5 Burlington VT Higher Ground with Amy Ray
Fri 11/7 Somerville MA Somerville Theatre with Amy Ray
Sat 11/8  Northampton, MA @ Pearl Street  with Amy Ray
Mon 11/10  New Haven Ct Toad’s Place with Amy Ray
Wed 11/12 New York, NY Bowery Ballroom with Amy Ray
Fri 11/14 Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club with Amy Ray
Sat  11/15 Richmond VA Capital Alehouse with Amy Ray
Tue 11/18  Virginia Beach VA The Jewish Mother
Wed 11/19  Carrboro NC  Cat’s Cradle with Amy Ray
Fri 11/21 Asheville NC Orange Peel with Amy Ray
Sat 11/22  Atlanta GA Variety Playhouse with Amy Ray, Holland Dutch

Ho ho ho… just in time for the holidays, we’re announcing our sixth Buy Early Get Now. This one is for the deluxe, super-expanded edition of Pavement’s fourth album, Brighten The Corners, subtitled Nicene Creedence Ed.. The track listing has changed subtly since we first announced it, so once you’ve signed up to BEGN, be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post to see the new and final contents. The album is still scheduled for November 18 release.

If you’re not familiar with Buy Early Get Now, the premise is simple: preorder the premium-priced Buy Early Get Now version of the album now from us or from a participating retailer, receive your login at buyearlygetnow.com via email (can take 24-48 hours, especially over the weekend) — and you’ll get:

- Oct 10: an instant stream of the album
- Oct 21: bonus track #1
- Nov 4: bonus track #2
- Nov 18 - street date - pick up the album at your store (or get it in the mail) PLUS an exclusive vinyl bonus LP containing an unreleased concert, AS WELL AS a free poster

The vinyl LP is the long-lost Pavement Live, originally scheduled for release in July 1998 and given the Matador catalog number OLE-324 and the Capitol catalog number 95425. Note: Live was originally scheduled to be released on both vinyl and CD, but it will now ONLY be available on vinyl and ONLY available to BEGN #6 customers. For the avoidance of doubt, Brighten itself will only come out on CD and digital album.

Because it will be difficult for us to manufacture just the right amount of bonus LPs, we reserve the right (a) to close BEGN in the few weeks before street date, or (b) ship participants who sign up late their package late. So get your order in as soon as possible so we can make sure you’re taken care of on street date.

Brighten The Corners: Nicene Creedence Ed. is a double CD set in a die-cut, embossed slipcase with a thick, 62-page perfect-bound book, like the earlier three Pavement deluxe editions. It contains the fully remastered original album, plus B-sides, compilation tracks, studio outtakes and radio sessions. The new sequence is below — note that it now contains 20 UNRELEASED TRACKS of which 8 ARE UNRELEASED SONGS.

Disc One:

1. Stereo
2. Shady Lane / J Vs. S
3. Transport Is Arranged
4. Date w/ IKEA
5. Old to Begin
6. Type Slowly
7. Embassy Row
8. Blue Hawaiian
9. We Are Underused
10. Passat Dream
11. Starlings of the Slipstream
12. Fin
The original BTC album, remastered. Originally released February, 1997.

* 13. Then (The Hexx)
Originally released as the B-side to Spit On A Stranger (OLE-384-7), May, 1999 — but presented here is the unedited full version, as such previously unreleased. It was also originally planned to be the opening track to BTC

• 14. Beautiful as a Butterfly
• 15. Cataracts
Both are unreleased songs. BTC session outtakes.

16. Westie Can Drum
17. Winner of the
* 18. Birds in the Majic Industry
Originally released as B-sides to the promo EP Stereo (OLE-238-2P), January 1997. “Birds…” appears here in its previously unreleased full length vocal version. The original release was an instrumental edited version.

19. Harness Your Hopes
20. Roll with the Wind
Originally released as B-sides to Spit On A Stranger (OLE-384-2), the first single from Pavement’s final album, Terror Twilight. They are included here since both songs (as well as track 13) were recorded and mixed during the BTC sssions in 1996.

Disc Two:

1. Slowly Typed
2. Cherry Area
3. Wanna Mess You Around
4. No Tan Lines
Originally released as the B-sides to Shady Lane (OLE-266-2), June 1997.

* 5. Then (The Hexx)
* 6. Harness Your Hopes
7. The Killing Moon
* 8. Winner of the
BBC Radio One Evening Session, January 15, 1997. Tracks 5, 6 and 8 are previously unreleased. “The Killing Moon” appeared on the compilation album What’s Up Matador (OLE-163-2), August 1997. It later also appeared on Major Leagues (OLE-398-2), October 1999.

• 9. Embassy Row Psych Intro
Previously unreleased intro. BTC session outtake.

• 10. Nigel
Previously unreleased song. BTC session outtake.

* 11. Chevy (Old to Begin)
* 12. Roll with the Wind (Roxy)
Previously unreleased mixes of BTC session songs. They feature different vocals and overdubs.

13. Oddity (Clean cover)
Originally appeared on God Save The Clean: A Tribute to the Clean, Flying Nun Records (FNCD409), 1997.

14. Type Slowly (live)
Originally appeared on the compilation album Tibetan Freedom Concert, Grand Royal/Capitol (59110), 1997.

• 15. Neil Hagerty Meets Jon Spencer in a Non-Alcoholic Bar
• 16. Destroy Mater Dei
* 17. It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl (Faust cover)
* 18. Maybe Maybe
Recorded live at KCRW Morning Becomes Eclectic, February 25, 1997. Tracks 15 and 16 are previously unreleased songs.

* 19. Date w/ IKEA
* 20. Fin
* 21. Grave Architecture
22. The Classical (The Fall cover)
BBC Radio One John Peel Live Session, August 21, 1997. Tracks 19-21 previously unreleased vresions. “The Classical” appeared on Major Leagues (OL-398-2), October, 1999.

• 23. Space Ghost Theme I
• 24. Space Ghost Theme II
Both are unreleased songs recorded live in the WFNX studios (but not broadcast), Boston, February 12, 1997.

The above track listing contains significant differences from the one previously announced. Like the previous three deluxe Pavement editions, this compilation was curated by Jesper Eklow working with the band.

Buy Early Get Now is easy!

1. Preorder the album from us or from a participating retailer (see list at bottom — and ask your local record store, because more will be signing up).

2. You will be emailed a login and password for buyearlygetnow.com (please allow 24-48 hours, possibly more over weekends)

3. Instant stream of album will be live on buyearlygetnow.com on October 10; get bonus tracks #1 and #2 on October 15 and October 21 respectively

4. On November 18, street date, pick up the double CD plus the bonus vinyl LP and a free poster at the store where you preordered it (or get it mailed to you if you ordered from us or a participating mail order customer)

Remember, the vinyl LP will only be available through Buy Early Get Now, and we will manufacturing to order. That means you should get your order in ASAP to ensure you get yours and get it on time.

The first MP3 will be coming very shortly as part of our digital zipfile promo compilation, Intended Play: Fall 2008. Keep your eyes on the Matablog.

Finally, here is the list of confirmed participating retailers… more to come, and you can just click locations on the map on buyearlygetnow.com to find the nearest one to you:

1-2-3-4 Go! Records - Oakland, CA - 1234gorecords.com
Aboveground Records - Edgarton, MA - myspace.com/abovegroundrecs
Atomic Records - Milwaukee, WI - atomic-records.com
Aural Exploits - Santa Monica, CA - auralexploits.com
Bull City Records - Durham, NC - bullcityrecords.com
Criminal Records - Atlanta, GA - criminal.com
Disconnected Records - San Diego, CA - disconnectedrecords.com
Ear Candy Music - Missoula, MT - earcandymusic.nu
East Coast Music & Video - Greenville, NC - http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=82607784
End Of An Ear - Austin, TX - endofanear.com
Exiled Records - Portland, OR - exiledrecords.com
Good Records - Dallas, TX - goodrecords.com
Grimey’s New & Preloved Music - Nashville, TN - grimeys.com
Guestroom Records - Norman, OK - guestroomrecs.com
Hard Boiled - Chicago, IL - hardboiledrecords.com
Insound - New York, NY - insound.com
Jackpot Records - Portland, OR - jackpotrecords.com
Landlocked - Bloomington, IN - landlockedmusic.com
Laurie’s Planet of Sound - Chicago, IL - lauriesplanetofsound.tripod.com
Lou’s Records - Encinitas, CA - lousrecords.com
LUNA Music - Indianapolis, IN - lunamusic.net
Lunchbox Records - Charlotte, NC - myspace.com/lunchbox_records
Madcity Music - Madison, WI - madcitymusic.net
Mod Lang- El Cerrito, CA - modlang.com
M-Theory - San Diego, CA - mtheorymusic.com
Music Saves - Cleveland, OH - musicsaves.com
Parasol - Urbana, IL - parasol.com
Park Ave. - Orlando, FL - parkavecds.com
Permanent Records - Chicago, IL - permanentrecordschicago.com
Siren Records - Doylestown, PA - sirenrecords.com
Sound Fix - Brooklyn, NY - soundfixrecords.com
Square Records - Akron, OH - squarerecordsakron.com
Tonevendor - Gainesville, FL - tonevendor.com
Treehouse Records - Minneapolis, MN - http://www.geocities.com/jardtv/treehouse.html
Twist & Shout - Denver, CO - twistandshout.com
Vintage Vinyl - St. Louis, MO - vintagevinyl.com
Von’s Records - West Lafayette, IN - vonsrecords.blogspot.com
Waiting Room Records - Normal, IL - myspace.com/waitingroomrecords
Waterloo Records - Austin, TX - waterloorecords.com
Wazoo Records - Ann Arbor, MI - wazoorecs.com
Young Ones - Kutztown, PA - myspace.com/youngones
Zzz Records - Des Moines, IA - zzzrecords.com

Log in to the Gigwise chatroom here on Wednesday 8th October at 4pm GMT (11am EDT) and join the kids in asking Mike from Fucked Up for his opinions on the state of global economy and, more importantly, Vampire Weekend.

photo by Fredy Perojo

Watch Jay play 3 songs (including See/Saw) on the Spinner Interface. Just went live today.

http://www.spinner.com/2008/10/06/jay-reatard-wreaks-havoc-on-the-interface/

Matador Singles ‘08 is in stores tomorrow.

Lou Reed will be performing “Caroline Says, Pt. II”, from the forthcoming ‘Berlin - Live At St. Ann’s Warehouse’ on Friday’s (10/10) edition of CBS’ “Late Night With David Letterman”. Dave’s other guest is Jeremy Piven. Man, how many times a day do you think he’s got some stranger coming up to him on the street bellowing, “let’s hug it out, bitches”?

Piven, that is. I imagine that sort of thing happens to Lou far less often.

The release date for the LP/CD version of ‘Berlin - Live At St. Ann’s Warehouse’ has been moved to November 4.  However, the album is currently available for digital download from the iTunes Music Store.

There’s a lot of love for all things Matador-orientated over at Clash Magazine’s website right now, and quite frankly it’s totally reciprocated.

Head to Clash as soon as humanly possible and see our man Jay Reatard sitting pretty with an Album Of The Week accolade whilst Fucked Up get a Track Of The Day for “Twice Born”.

Hear it here alongside Snow Patrol’s video. Yep, Fucked Up have made it big time.

This is the first recipe I’ve made from the River Cafe pasta cookbook that came out right the first time. I think it’s because I realized that in British cookbooks “sliced” means what Americans call “chopped.” The recipe calls for dried porcini mushrooms, which need to be reconstituted in hot water. The aroma and color startled me - very much like beef bouillon. The foundation is saute of garlic and chopped sage leaves with a crumbled red chili in a ton of melted butter. The porcinis then cook in this mixture for 15 minutes, the reserved soaking water being added as necessary to retain moistness. At the end you add heavy cream, the zest and the juice of one lemon, and a lot of freshly grated parmegiano reggiano. The pasta was egg tagliatelle. I’ve also come to realize that the secret to good pasta dishes is getting the pasta right, not the sauce. I know that cookbooks always say this, but it never really worked for me until I got a huge stockpot for the pasta. Now I boil enormous quantities of water, add salt and bring it to the boil again, add pasta and bring it to the boil again, cook stirring frequently, remove at al dente and combine the drained pasta instantly with the sauce - in a hot bowl, or preferably the pot in which the sauce cooked. Assuming the proportions are correct, tossing the pasta becomes childs play and the sauce really soaks in and adheres to the pasta. It’s a whole different ballgame.

Accompaniments were buttered baby brussels sprouts and a 2003 Marques de Riscal rioja riserva ($15).

Michael and I did a duo show a week or so ago in Northampton and I used this as as an opportunity to resume my record store interviews. We hit up Dynamite Records in Northampton, which had moved to my surprise, but we tracked them down.

I spoke to Lane and Willis.

Jennifer, Lane, Willis

JO’C: How long have you worked here?

Lane: 3 months

JO’C: What did you have for lunch?

Lane: Burger King Double Cheese Burger!

JO’C: What’s the last great show you went to?

Lane: Western Mass Hardcore Fest in Amherst

JO’C: What’s the best record you’ve come across lately?

Lane: Street Dogs - State of Grace

JO’C - Did you get it here at Dynamite?

Lane: Yeah

Willis: You really got it from me!

Lane: Well, yeah, but that’s through here.

JO’C: Ok. If you could meet any musician or band, dead or alive, who would it be?

Lane: Talib Kweli

Willis: Joe Strummer

JO’C: Anything else we should know about Dynamite?

Willis: We are the best record store in the Valley.

JO’C: Ok, I’ll be sure to let everyone know.

This did seem like a pretty cool store, though it seemed like they had considerably less stock than in their previous location, but I think they are still in the process of moving. Lots of vinyl - reasonably priced.

Look out for many more record store interviews in the coming weeks as we are about to head out for over a month. Feel free to check out the tour schedule and send along your recommendations!

Love,
JO’C

Our friends at Super Deluxe bring us the long-awaited, oft-rumored, Fozzie Bear-approved video for the New Pornographers’ Challengers standout “Mutiny, I Promise You”.

Part of the hilarious Penelope: Princess of Pets series, this is one rock video that’s wholesome fun for the whole family. Sort of.