A couple of sources have been reporting this week that Phil Collins - yes, that guy - has completed and is shopping around a book on Texas history. The London Evening Standard says "Collins, 60 - a long-time collector of memorabilia from the Alamo - is now seeking a publisher for his study of Texan history." The Hollywood Reporter goes a step further, reporting that "Statehouse Press is targeting a March 2011 release for the work, titled The Alamo and Beyond: A Collector's Journey." We're assuming they meant March of 2012, and a look on the website for this State House Press reveals no iota of Collins announcements. Still, this developing news is pretty interesting, at least insofar as the book doesn't come with a soundtrack. more ›

Built to Spill’s Doug Martsch speaks on evil record companies, Phil Collins, the ugly faces of politicians, shitty guitar solos, future collaboration with Modest Mouse, and old reggae guys getting high. Alright, so Built to Spill is one of the greatest, most influential, and most acclaimed bands of the past fifteen years. There's really no way around it. And for those of you who are a little late to the love-in, here's a very small sample of some of the things that have been said about them:         "A band whose talent and proficiency at times seem[s] boundless." --Pitchfork Media         "Flawless." --Trigger Magazine         "In short, he's a talent more people ought to know about." --Rolling Stone, on Doug Martsch         "Better than getting laid, finding God and winning the lotto combined." --San Francisco Weekly, just last week when discussing their live performance more ›

FRIDAY [12] Some of you have asked that we publish the Weekend IST List on Thursdays, in order to better help you plan your goings-on. We're happy to oblige. Starting today, we'll be including Friday-Sunday listings both on Thursday and Fridays. --Ed. Note music • Yacht Rock Party with DJ Starsign -- Chicago, Steely Dan, America, Air Supply, Toto, Boz Scaggs, Loggins and Messina, Carole King, Paul Simon, James Taylor, Doobie Brothers, Seals and... more ›

…And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead So Divided Self-indulgence has always been central to the Trail of Dead's MO. Early albums whooshed by in a maelstrom of guitar noise, complex time changes, and punk-derived sneering. Who would bother constructing such intricate cacophony—or naming themselves a ten-word quote from a Mayan war chant— without a definitive musical axe to grind? Co-bandleaders Conrad Keely and Jason Reece, working-class kids with poetic inclinations, wrote... more ›