LHB’s Shorties (Kim Deal, Joe Pernice and More)

PopMatters interviews Kim Deal of the Breeders and the Pixies.

Pitchfork reviews Joe Pernice's new album, It Feels So Good When I Stop, a companion piece to his new novel of the same name.

It's a smart way for a songwriter-turned-novelist to break the fourth wall without distracting from his prose, complementing the story (some snippets of which, as read by Pernice, appear interspersed through the disc) while emphasizing his parallel musical background and prowess. To that end, the covers here are particularly diverse, ranging from Sebadoh and Plush to Tom T. Hall and Todd Rundgren. Pernice's instinct for assembling the whole package comes in handy, too-- not just in the music's connection to the novel but how Pernice takes this eclectic slate of source material and fits it to his established melodic métier.

Travis Elborough, author of The Vinyl Countdown: The Album from LP to iPod and Back Again, talks to The Quietus about his book.

The Guardian's music blog ponders the future of the album format.

Pop Candy reviews three recently released music books, and points out a Morrissey biography, Morrissey: The Pageant of His Bleeding Heart, that I simply have to read.

Drowned in Sound recaps July's album releases.

On sale for $3.99 at Amazon MP3: the 11-track debut solo album by Interpol's Julian Plenti, Julian Plenti Is... Skyscraper for $3.99.

Singer-songwriter Kaki King talks to the Phoenix.

With her singing, King's music began to attract indie attentions. John Darnielle (a/k/a the Mountain Goats), whom she affectionately describes as "one of the worst guitar players I've ever met," fell head over heels for . . . Until We Felt Red. Last year the two toured together, and they ended up releasing an EP called Black Pear Tree (4AD). "He doesn't need to be a good guitar player," she says. "The songs just work."

The members of Pearl Jam talk to Billboard about the band's forthcoming album.

- David Gutowski