Stereogum — Last June, the legendary New Zealand musician Chris Knox suffered a “series” of strokes. A few months later, we posted Jeff Mangum’s cover of the Tall Dwarfs gem “Sign The Dotted Line,” a take that appears on Stroke – Songs For Chris... more info

Pitchfork — On May 6, downtown Manhattan's Le Poisson Rouge will host a benefit show for New Zealand punk originator Chris Knox, who suffered a series of strokes last year. The big news: Reclusive Neutral Milk Hotel leader Jeff Mangum will make an extremely rare... more info

The Yellow Stereo — I’ve already covered Basia Bulat’s forthcoming release of Heart of My Own (which you can read here), but I for one welcome any extra opportunities for you guys to hear new tracks from the record.  Beggars has provided another downloadable MP3 ... more info

Stereogum — When I was a teenager I was deeply into hardcore and then SST-related bands, noise, and anything I could find that was slightly off-kilter in those old Ajax catalogs (Sun City Girls, Thinking Fellers, early Pavement, etc). I think Ajax is how I go... more info

The Yellow Stereo — Because I’d rather not submit my email address (mine is flooded enough as is) and that I’ve yet to create a dummy account for this sort of thing, has kept me from actually listening to these until just a couple of minutes ago.  If you’ve yet... more info

Guardian Music — Michael Stipe, Patti Smith and others pay tribute at memorial to melancholic singer-songwriter who died on Christmas dayA memorial service has been held for the American musician Vic Chesnutt, who has died aged 45. Chesnutt, described by REM's Michae... more info

Stereogum — As first reported by @KristinHersh, the paralyzed Athens singer/songwriter overdosed on pills and was pronounced dead on Christmas day. Constellation has collected words from admirers like Jeff Mangum and Michael Stipe, along with info on public memo... more info

LargeHeartedBoy — RIP, singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt. Kristin Hersh has set up a fund to help defray his medical expenses. The Daily Swarm collects tributes to the man from Jeff Mangum, Michael Stipe, Patti Smith, and others. Watch a few scenes from Speed... more info

The Yellow Stereo — We haven’t even finished 2009 and it already looks as if 2010 will start off with a bang as far as album releases go.  Yes, we all know about the Beach Houses and the Yeasayers of the world, but there’s one release in particular that I’ve be... more info