3 on the 4th

I've been catching up on my "Saved for Later" list in Google Reader. Here are the links I'd like to share:

My Old Kentucky Blog summed up my feelings exactly about Matthew Ryan. I've been a semi-fan of his since 1999 right after May Day came out and during the release of East Autumn Grin. I've seen him twice live, once opening for Badly Drawn Boy and then opening for Matt Pond PA with his band Strays Don't Sleep. I keep dipping in and out of his albums and...well, just read here.

Lemuria, a really cool band from Buffalo, NY, just got a pretty decent review for their new record at Pitchfork. Read it here. As always, I take issue with some of the ridiculousness in the review, but I digress. My friend works for the records label that they released some of their earlier records on, Art of the Underground. I recommend their split with Kind of Like Spitting
...if you can find a copy. Fire up your eBay profiles.

Just discovered mp3Tunes.com, thanks to Medialoper. So far, I'm happy. Read about it here and decide if it's right for you.

Finally, I've got another album review over at Horizon Records' blog. Read it here and support your local record store.

I Got the Mixin's that Ya'll Need

Quick roundup of things musical/political (musio-political or poly-musical?). Anyways, let's display the findings of note for the past two days of surfin' the interwebs:

-Read William Bowers' review of the new Destroyer album Trouble in Dreams at Pitchfork. This man is one of the best writers I've encountered in a long time. I'm basing that bold statement on an article he wrote for The Oxford American called "All We Read is Freaks." It's about teaching English at a community college in Florida. Order the issue here and marvel.

-Medialoper has a two part brief history of R.E.M. that reminds me why I still love them so. New Adventures in Hi-Fi is where it's at; Reveal was completely underrated and forgotten, but still worth it.

-The Chronicle of Higher Education has an all-too-brief story about a seven year old who got sued by the RIAA. Read about the event here.

-I like the new cover for Death Cab for Cutie's new album Narrow Stairs. I do not like the album title.

-Fighting the urge to get the new Counting Crows album, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings. This interview with frontman Adam Duritz didn't help. What do you think? I feel like I'm over the Counting Crows phase, but I keep coming back. Help.

-And then there's this. I have no idea what to say.
-And finally there's this...

Novelists Strike Fails To Affect Nation Whatsoever

'Nuff said.