LHB’s Shorties (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Paul Weller, and More)

Newsweek interviews members of The Pains of Being Pure at Heart.

But hasn't part of what's surprised you been the fact that more than the hardcore indie set appreciates this record? That it has a constituency outside the usual suspects?

Berman: With a lot of bands we draw inspiration from, none of them were super-well-appreciated during the time they were around. You know, Rocketship, Velocity Girl. Black Tambourine was very cult. The Pastels. We liked Nirvana, and they did pretty well, I guess, and Sonic Youth. But it's kind of surprising when people outside of that very small, narrow community that's always supported noisy indie-pop bands started to appreciate us and enjoy it. … We think of what we do as pop music, as not inherently limited. It's not deliberately obtuse or meant to alienate at all. I guess it's hard perceiving what you do when you're in the storm.

Seattle Weekly's Reverb blog interviews Paul Weller.

The A.V. Club interviews Dan Deacon.

The A.V. Club: Why do you think people assume music that inspires dancing lacks intellect or complexity?

Dan Deacon: Well, to get large groups of people to dance, there needs to be something accessible about the music. The beat can’t be too esoteric, but unless we’re talking about prog or etherealist composition, I think there’s something simplistic about most music. What’s completely insane to me is that people would consider music that’s simple to be dumbed-down. Couldn’t simplicity be a deliberate, smart choice? Those people aren’t really listening; they’re judging a song off of a beat, off of a pulse. I think as this generation of electronic musicians goes on, popular electronic music will be more and more accepted. It’s gonna get less confusing. You know, most people called rap stupid when it started, and it was one of the most innovative music forms of its time.

Read Monks trading cards while listening to the band's recently reissued Black Monk Time and The Early Years: 1964-1965.

Out features a road slideshow from Xiu Xiu's James Stewart.

Amazon MP3 is selling the new Silversun Pickups 10-track album, Swoon, for only $3.99.

Andrew Bird visits The Current studios for a streaming interview and live performance.

- David Gutowski