Pitchfork — Forgive the pun, but there was an elephant in the room as the Holiday Surprise Tour hit Chicago last night. That, of course, was the question of whether a certain Jeff Mangum would show up, and if so, what he would do. It seemed likely, given the Neu... more info

My Old Kentucky — Before we hosted that Elf Power show not too long ago, it had been quite a while since we gave Athens, GA's Ham1 some hot, steamy blog lovin'. We invited lead signer Jim Willingham and his crew [Eric Harris (Elf Power, Olivia Tremor Control), Jacob ... more info

Pitchfork — Photos by John KendelhardtYou've seen the videos in Forkcast, you've read the news story, and now... check out some lovely photos of elusive Neutral Milk Hotel mastermind Jeff Mangum jamming out with his Elephant 6 collective pals Saturday night at t... more info

Pitchfork — With My Bloody Valentine up and running again, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel has inherited Kevin Shields' mantle as the most reclusive man in indie rock. But on Saturday at the Knitting Factory in Manhattan, Mangum crawled out of his cave for a f... more info

Stereogum — We've checked in with Music Tapes a few times this year, and before that got all sincere over In The Aeroplane's 10th birthday, but things have been fairly quiet on the Jeff Mangum front in '08. (Though the Neutral Milk Hotel founder did get marrie... more info

Pitchfork — Photo by Justin EvansElephant 6-ers Elf Power and fellow Athens, Georgia songwriter Vic Chesnutt will hit the road this fall for a collaborative tour in support of their forthcoming collaborative LP, Dark Developments.Credited to Vic Chesnutt, Elf Po... more info

Pitchfork — Photos by Mike WhiteWith preparations for the upcoming "Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour" all in place, the many, many members of the Athens, Georgia-centric collective and their many, many musical guises put on a special show last night at their hom... more info

Obscure Sound — The aspect of collaboration can be a touchy subject for some artists. Some prefer to languish in their own solitude, crafting songs that are entirely their own with little to no help outside the spectrum of production and mastering. Others, however, ... more info

All About Jazz — Legendary songwriter Vic Chesnutt teams with Elephant 6 psychsters Elf Power Vic Chesnutt and Elf Power A tuneful collision of Athens institutions finds fruition this fall when Orange Twin releases Vic Chesnutt's collaboration with Elephant 6 psy... more info

Pitchfork — Music Tapes frontguy/Neutral Milk Hotel member Julian Koster describes the upcoming "Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour" as something like "a big orchestra, variety show, silly happy thing." How very fitting. The tight-knit, loosely-defined Georgia-bas... more info