John Doe, better known as the frontman of X, is putting out an album of covers of classic country songs. Am I excited??? YES.

Fox News’ comedian/writer (?) Steven Crowder conflates hipsters with elitists with marxists with dirty, non-showering hippies. Sounds like he would hate my** alma mater.

Mr. Toad (of Song, By Toad) wrote a blog post last week on the demise of CDs and the rise of mp3s and vinyl that I love love love.

* Actually, I have no idea.
** Note: the persons pictured in the photo on Huffington Post are definitely not hipsters.

Is/Is is a three-piece from Minneapolis, and while their sound reminds me just a little bit of the recent onslaught of sun-tinged, slightly noisy pop (think: Vivian Girls, Dum Dum Girls), it has much more of a noise-rock edge. As per the press release, there’s definitely a strong Black Tambourine resemblance, and I’m a sucker for the early twee/shoegaze sound.

Kanye West, August 27th:

Me and jay bout to drop a 5 song album called ‘Watch The Throne.

(Source) Kanye West + Jay-Z on an album together = HIP-HOP GOLD, right?

Unfortunately, Kanye West is the weakest link in this track, which features Jay-Z (duh), along with Bon Iver, Rick Ross, and Nicki Minaj. Jay-Z’s contribution is solid, Nicki Minaj is fantastic, and Rick Ross is alright, but Kanye has lost his game.  Bon Iver doesn’t do a lot for the song either and, frankly, I have no idea why Justin Vernon is on this track at all.

All I can say is: I hope the EP is better than this.

Kanye West (feat. Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Bon Iver, Nicki Minaj) – Monster

Dupont Circle, Washington, DC, 1966

August is, by far, my least favorite month of the year. Congress is on recess, DC is dead, and the heat is unbearable. Tell me it’s over already? Oh wait – it is!

To celebrate, here’s a mix:

Dreamend is Ryan Graveface, who seems to be a sideman for a number of indie acts including Kid Dakota, Black Moth Super Rainbow, and the Octopus Project. The sound is a little indie-folk precious, a little psychedelic, a little ambiguous in an enjoyable sort of way. So I Ate Myself, Bite By Bite, dropped on August 10, and I’m on the verge of spending the $8 to have it all to myself.

TGH is being reincarnated, with the hopes of semi-regular updates and new music to boot. I’m well aware I have several years worth of slacker-dom to make up for (admittedly, college is a pretty good excuse). We’ll see how it goes…