LHB’s Shorties (Crosby, Stills, and Nash, Bon Iver, and More)

NPR is streaming the Crosby, Stills and Nash Demos album in its entirety.

JamBase profiles Bon Iver's Justin Vernon.

But, as much as critics have sunk their teeth into the "guy in a cabin" mythology, the real story is what happened to that guy once the world sunk its teeth into his first batch of songs. The beast that is the music industry has a way of screwing-up success stories, whether through inflating egos, exposure to excess or the artificial bubble it's been known to build around current stars. But, Vernon and his Bon Iver cohorts have thus far avoided the many pitfalls a rock & roll lifestyle will offer.

The Los Angeles Times Pop & Hiss blog reviews the new Grizzly Bear album, Veckatimest.

“Veckatimest” is a gorgeously refined statement that isn’t content to merely be pretty — a rippling current electrifies even its most gossamer of moments.

The Village Voice profiles Naomi Shelton.

Roth is king of Daptone Records' neo-funk empire, producing and playing with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, the Budos Band, and others, while shepherding Naomi & the Queens along to cult status via their Fat Cat residency and now, the group's Daptone debut, a funky fender-bender called What Have You Done, My Brother?. "What people really hear from us is the gospel sound, but with the nightclub beat," Shelton assesses. "It's like the everything bagel—you throw in a little of this and a little of that."

At NME's The Bands' Blog, Jarvis Cocker gives a track-by-track rundown of his new album, Further Complications.

The A.V. Club interviews the Pet Shop Boys.

Exclaim! profiles Rock Plaza Central.

WOXY has kicked off the 2009 edition of its Modern Rock 500.

Drowned in Sound kicks off Grizzly Bear Week with a gumbo recipe from drummer Christopher Bear, and the band lists the top cover versions of its songs.

- David Gutowski