Chicago Tribune — It's nice to have talented friends. Kelly Hogan has collected dozens of them over the years in a career marked as much by her personal generosity as her remarkable singing voice, and ace songwriters such as Vic Chesnutt, Robyn Hitchcock and Stephin M... more info

Guardian Music — (City Slang)Kurt Wagner has addressed loss, death and the indignity of ageing before, but never with quite such weary, stoic melancholy as he emanates here. Even when he lapses into cliche – "We were born to lose", "Who of us now knows where the ti... more info

Guardian Music — He is often portrayed as a southern hillbilly savant. But Lambchop's Kurt Wagner is a painter who never planned to be a musician – and is haunted by the death of his close friend Vic ChesnuttKurt Wagner likes the backroads. It drives his wife mad, ... more info

Altsounds — It starts with some casual cursing yet the last word is 'love'. It began when singer-songwriter-guitarist Kurt Wagner turned away from music and picked up his brushes to paint his way out of a funk that followed the premature death of friend Vic Ch... more info

Guardian Music — Bears, balloons, and dolls that look like Nick Cave. You were game for songs about toysHey, kids! Enjoy it while you can. Last week I asked you to nominate the best songs about toys. And it seems that the temporary nature of play – and of childhood... more info

VH1 Blog — Since we named Dawes our latest You Oughta Know artist last week, they’ve continued to gain buzz. Example: After seeing the band for the second time in two days, self-styled music industry prognosticator Bob Lefsetz raved about Dawes in his much-re... more info

Bradley's Almanac — With last month's release of David Bazan's great new record, "Strange Negotiations", and last week's arrival of the latest Centro-matic full-length, "Candidate Waltz", I've been thinking about how lucky Boston was to get a visit during the one-and-on... more info

Guardian Music — When I think of bookishness in music, it's not of Katy Perry or will.i.am, but something more awkward, more earnest, the type of music that stays inside on a sunny dayI recently found myself at two events – each extraordinary in its own way – tha... more info

The Vinyl Villain — Please don't run away or be scared. This is actually a nice bit of music. mp3 : Lambchop - Up With People (edit) It is a shortened version of one of the very fine tracks to be found on the LP Nixon released in 2000. Lambchop has always had a fluid l... more info

Totally Fuzzy — Any Major Dude said... STEP BACK TO 1978 - PART 3 John Paul Young – Love Is In The Air Clout – Substitute Supermax – Love Machine Umberto Tozzi – Tu Robert Palmer – Best Of Both Worlds Nina Hagen Band – TV-Glotzer Status Quo – Again And... more info