This week brings new albums by The Watson Twins (Talking to You, Talking to Me) and Yeasayer (Odd Blood), but I am more excited by the new releases by singer-songwriters Gil Scott-Heron (I'm New Here) and Kath Bloom (Thin Thin Line).

Among the week's music releases, I can already strongly recommend Allison Moorer's Crows, Phantogram's Eyelid Movies, the incredibly soulful Georgia Anne Muldrow's Kings Ballad, and Hot Chip's One Life Stand.

Putumayo Presents: Rhythm & Blues is yet another strong compilation from Putumayo World Music, combining R&B classics with the latest generation of up and coming talents.

Aside from the three Buzzcocks remastered albums (Another Music in a Different Kitchen, Different Kind of Tension, and Love Bites, all with bonus CDs), this is a slim week for reissues.

What new music can you recommend this week? What's on your shopping list?

This week's interesting CD releases:

The Album Leaf: A Chorus of Storytellers (vinyl)
ALO (Animal Liberation Orchestra): Man of the World (vinyl)
Allison Moorer: Crows
AM: Future Sons & Daughters
Angelo Spencer: Et Les Hauts Sommets
Beach Fossils: Daydream
Bear McCreary: Dark Void (soundtrack)
Ben + Vesper: LuvInIdleness
The Besnard Lakes: Albatross b/w Four Long Lines (vinyl)
Best Coast: Something in the Way (vinyl)
Bigga Haitian: Sak Pase
Black Cobra: Chronomega (vinyl)
Black Keys: Big Come Up (vinyl reissue)
Blessure Grave: Judged By Twelve, Carried By Six
Bluebrain: Soft Power
Buzzcocks: Another Music in a Different Kitchen (remastered with bonus CD)
Buzzcocks: Different Kind of Tension (remastered with bonus CD)
Buzzcocks: Love Bites (remastered with bonus CD)
The Cute Lepers: Smart Accessories (vinyl)
Dave Matthews Band: Live in Las Vegas
Dessa: Badly Broken Code
Fair: Disappearing World
Fear Factory: Mechanize
Field Music: Them That Do Nothing (vinyl)
Fionn Regan: Shadow of An Empire
Four Tet: There Is Love in You (2-LP vinyl)
Galactic: Ya-Ka-May (vinyl)
Georgia Anne Muldrow: Kings Ballad (vinyl)
Gil Scott-Heron: I'm New Here (vinyl)
Grant Hart: Intolerance (vinyl)
HIM: Screamworks: Love in Theory & Practice
Hot Chip: One Life Stand (CD & DVD)
Icarus Witch: Draw Down the Moon
Interference: Interference (vinyl)
Jay Dee: F**k the Police (vinyl)
Jimi Hendrix: Valleys Of Neptune (vinyl reissue)
John Coltrane: Giant Steps (vinyl reissue)
Jurassic 5: Influence (vinyl)
K.D. Lang: Recollection
Kath Bloom: Thin Thin Line
Laura Gibson & Ethan Rose: Bridge Carols
Lionel Loueke: Mwaliko
Maccabees: Empty Vessels (vinyl)
Magnetic Fields: Realism (vinyl & CD)
Massive Attack: Heligoland
Miike Snow: Silvia (vinyl)
Neon Trees: Animal (vinyl)
Nurse With Wound: Space Music (vinyl)
Ok Go: Of the Blue Colour of the Sky (vinyl)
Os Mutantes: Jardim Eletrico (vinyl reissue)
Overkill: Ironbound
Pantha du Prince: Black Noise (vinyl)
Phantogram: Eyelid Movies
Phoenix: 1901 (vinyl)
Pretenders: Live In London (CD & DVD)
Sade: Soldier of Love
Screaming Females: Singles
Theodore: Hold You Like a Lover (vinyl)
Undersea Poem: Undersea Poem
Various Artists: Instrumental Tribute to Lady Gaga
Various Artists: Looking Towards The Sky: Progressive, Psychedelic And Folk Rock From The Ember Vaults
Various Artists: Putumayo Presents: Rhythm & Blues
Various Artists: Rockabye Baby! Lullaby Renditions of Journey
Various Artists: Rough Trade Shops' Counter Culture 2009
Various Artists: Valentine's Day (soundtrack)
The Watson Twins: Talking to You, Talking to Me (vinyl)
Yeasayer: Odd Blood (vinyl)
You Say Party We Say Die: XXXX (vinyl)

also at Largehearted Boy:

previous CD & DVD release lists
Try It Before You Buy It (music from this week's CD releases)

Emma, the BBC's adaptation of Jane Austen's comic novel is at the top of my DVD shopping list this week.

Another literary adaptation in stores tomorrow is the animated Dante's Inferno.

Among the week's more interesting theatrical releases are the Coen Brothers' A Serious Man and Bronson, the gritty story of Britain's most violent prisoner.

The extended edition of The People Speak is a film inspired by Howard Zinn's epic A People's History of the United States, and a fitting tribute for the recently departed historian and activist.

Sarah Silverman Program: Season Two, Vol. 2 is the television release I am most excited to rent.

New Blu-ray editions out this week include the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic Running Man.

What new releases are you picking up or adding to your Netflix queue this week?

This week's interesting DVD releases:

also at Largehearted Boy:

previous CD & DVD release lists
Soundtracked (directors and composers discuss their film's soundtrack)

The Telegraph profiles author Daniel Handler.

About his family life, though, he is guarded, revealing only everyday details: he likes cooking, walking his son to school, playing music. It’s this discordance that is most intriguing about him: the shadow between the goofy, real-life Handler, and his ravaged, obsessive alter ego. Flashes of dry humour bubble up. When I ask him about the hugely successful film of the first three books, he replies: “I was hired to write eight drafts of the screenplay and then I was fired. But I have a policy that I can’t say anything nasty about a movie that bought me a house.”

BlackBook interviews author Adam Haslett about his new novel, Union Atlantic.

On sale at Amazon MP3: Yeasayer's new 10-track Odd Blood album for $3.99.

Author Daniyal Mueenuddin shares his influences at The Story Prize.

Tiny Mix Tapes is counting down its favorite albums of the decade.

The Wall Street Journal weighs in on the Apple iPad's possible effects on the publishing industry.

PopMatters interviews Yoko Ono.

The New Yorker features a new short story by Claire Keegan.

The Globe and Mail profiles singer-songwriter Owen Pallett.

Much of Heartland has a spacious, orchestral feeling – Pallett recorded the string tracks with an orchestra in Prague – though the scoring usually sounds (intentionally, I think) like an acoustic translation of something written on a synthesizer. Pallett’s high, cool voice floats over the chunky surface of the instrumental rhythms like an elfin creature flying over the sea, and he often has a good melodic zephyr to carry him along. The man has a flair for distinctive tunes – not a common thing in pop these days. The rules of classic song-writing have left their mark on Pallett, who in most other ways seems like a hipster’s hipster.

The Financial Times reviews the new Martin Amis novel, The Pregnant Widow.

This is Amis’s finest novel for a long time. It is close to a masterpiece, only undermined for me by frequent over-striving, which produces some false images and enervating repetitions; unlike his hero Saul Bellow, Amis is unfamiliar with restraint. But read it: it is hilarious, often wonderfully perceptive, uncompromisingly ambitious and written by a great master of the English language. In a time when many of our novelists are hedging their bets, Amis is gloriously undaunted.

BBC News reports that Neil Gaiman will write a Doctor Who episode.

Radiohead At Ease has new information about Radiohead's next album.

This week Five Chapters is serializing a new short story by Sam Lipsyte.

Win a $100 Threadless gift certificate in this week's Largehearted Boy contest.

Follow me on Twitter for links that don't make the daily "Shorties" columns.

also at Largehearted Boy:

Atomic Books Comics Preview (highlights of the week's comics & graphic novel releases)
daily mp3 downloads
Largehearted Word (highlights of the week's book releases)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists

Awesome Color: "Transparent" [mp3] from Massa Hypnos (out April 6th)
other Awesome Color posts at Largehearted Boy

Jason Boesel: "I Got the Reason #1" [mp3] from Hustler's Son
other Jason Boesel posts at Largehearted Boy

Lord Numb: "I Dream of Bowie" [mp3] from Numbskull (out February 15th)
Lord Numb: "Eileen" [mp3] from Numbskull (out February 15th)
other Lord Numb posts at Largehearted Boy

The Paparazzi: "Hi" [mp3] from Rococo
other Paparazzi posts at Largehearted Boy

Pretty Good Dance Moves: "Leave Me Alone" [mp3] from PGDM (out March 9th)
other Pretty Good Dance Moves posts at Largehearted Boy

So Cow: "Halcyon Days" [mp3] from So Cow
other So Cow posts at Largehearted Boy

Unbunny: "Countersign" [mp3] from Moon Food (out May 2010)
other Unbunny posts at Largehearted Boy

Various Artists: free and legal White Whale Records 5 Year sampler album [mp3]

Young Sinclairs: "Tribe" [mp3] from Songs of the Young Sinclairs (out March 30th)
other Young Sinclairs posts at Largehearted Boy

Free and legal mp3s of live performances at other websites:

The Glands: 2003-12-06, Athens [mp3]
other Glands posts at Largehearted Boy

La Strada: Daytrotter session [mp3]
other La Strada posts at Largehearted Boy

Midnight Masses: 2010-01-29, New York [mp3]
other Midnight Masses posts at Largehearted Boy

Shark?: 2010-01-28, New York [mp3]
other Shark? posts at Largehearted Boy

Silver Apples: 2008-11-15, Athens [mp3]
other Silver Apples posts at Largehearted Boy

also at Largehearted Boy:

daily free and legal mp3 downloads
2009 Bonnaroo downloads
music festival downloads

Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases)
weekly CD and DVD release lists

NPR's All Things Considered profiles poet and singer-songwriter Gil Scott-Heron.

In the Los Angeles Times, Dani Shapiro examines the pressures on young writers to be successful.

The Calgary Herald remembers singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt.

The Chicago Tribune lists its three favorite football books.

Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt talks to the Toronto Sun about his new album, Realism.

"(As for this one), I have a lot of British Isles folk, and actually, I was trying to make sure I was including other parts of the world. There's a lot of kalimba; you can't necessarily tell because there are a lot of things on the record. But I put a lot of kalimba on the record thinking African folk music is where the entire town comes out to play the kalimba, and I love that stuff."

The Times Online profiles The Drums.

It’s a cliché, I know,” says their front man, Jonathan Pierce, on the top floor of the two-storey flat that he shares with the rest of the Drums (and sundry friends and animals) in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, “but the person who said everything I ever wanted to say is Morrissey. What a poet. He literally changed my life, swept me away.” The greatest single of the past 30 years, according to Pierce, is the Smiths’ This Charming Man; the most perfect song, Morrissey and Marr’s There Is a Light That Never Goes Out. On his bedroom wall hangs his proudest acquisition, a sleeve of the Smiths’ debut single, Hand in Glove, given to them by the Smiths’ drummer, Mike Joyce, that bears the message: “To the Drums from the Drums” (this was how Morrissey insisted Joyce be described on the original sleeve

The Los Angeles Times reviews DC Pierson's debut novel, The Boy Who Couldn't Sleep and Never Had To.

As Ann Beattie did in "Chilly Scenes of Winter," Pierson captures the effortlessness of daily life without the sluggish pace. Where Beattie worked with the conversational ennui of the 1970s, Pierson draws upon the ungraceful, un-literary language of contemporary boys who wield ordinary powers of observation: "A movie about frat boys trying to see boobs is playing on ' Comedy Central,' " Darren notices.

The San Francisco Chronicle profiles legendary musician Van Dyke Parks.

Parks, 67, has always specialized in individuality. Born in Mississippi and educated in prep schools, Parks has a genteel manner, authentic erudition and magnolia blossoms on his tongue. He is a rock 'n' roll version of Mark Twain, often wearing white. Parks, one of the great behind-the-scenes figures in the Southern California music scene since he quit playing folk music in pop's Paleolithic era, is also making his San Francisco performing debut next week at the Swedish American Hall on a brief joint tour with Clare and the Reasons, a band led by Clare Muldaur, daughter of an old friend, musician Geoff Muldaur, his first real tour since he played keyboards with Ry Cooder more than 25 years ago.

The Boston Globe reviews Jami Attenberg's new novel, The Melting Season.

“Everyone’s a little damaged, honey.” No truer words are spoken in the small world of “The Melting Season,” a quirky soap opera that proves surprisingly endearing.

Book Army lists the best book blogs.

Publishers Weekly gathers comics publishers' responses to Apple's iPad announcement.

The Book Show is a wonderful Australian podcast about authors and their work.

The Toronto Star reviews Joe Sacco's new nonfiction graphic novel, Footnotes in Gaza.

Deftly darting back and forth from the past to the present – perfectly highlighting how little has changed in this war-torn region in the intervening half-century – Sacco uses gripping, often heart-wrenching first-hand accounts of witnesses to the bloody events and of those still struggling to survive as perpetual refugees.

IGN lists the 10 most memorable Super Bowl halftime shows.

Win a $100 Threadless gift certificate in this week's Largehearted Boy contest.

Follow me on Twitter for links that don't make the daily "Shorties" columns.

also at Largehearted Boy:

Atomic Books Comics Preview (highlights of the week's comics & graphic novel releases)
daily mp3 downloads
Largehearted Word (highlights of the week's book releases)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists

Alejandro Escovedo: 2010-01-21, Birmingham [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Velvet Guitar" [mp3]
other Alejandro Escovedo posts at Largehearted Boy

Chuck Prophet: 2010-01-23, Berkeley [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Summertime Thing" [mp3]
Chuck Prophet: 2009-11-07, Santa Cruz [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Bangkok (Alex Chilton cover)" [mp3]
other Chuck Prophet posts at Largehearted Boy

Grace Potter: 2010-01-18, Negril [mp3,ogg,flac]
"White Rabbit (Jefferson Airplane cover)" [mp3]
Grace Potter: 2010-01-17 Negril [mp3,ogg,flac]
"One Short Night" [mp3]
Grace Potter: 2010-01-16, Negril [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Big White Gate" [mp3]
other Grace Potter posts at Largehearted Boy

Guster: 2000-10-11, Mountain View [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Airport Song" [mp3]
Guster: 1999-09-26, Morristown [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Great Escape" [mp3]
other Guster posts at Largehearted Boy

Justin Townes Earle: 2010-02-04, Austin [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Gold Watch and Chain (Carter Family cover)" [mp3]
other Justin Townes Earle posts at Largehearted Boy

Low: 1998-10-26, Denver [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Will the Night" [mp3]
other Low posts at Largehearted Boy

Free and legal mp3s of live performances at other websites:

Quieting Syrup: Daytrotter session [mp3]
other Quieting Syrup posts at Largehearted Boy

also at Largehearted Boy:

daily free and legal mp3 downloads
2009 Bonnaroo downloads
music festival downloads

Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases)
weekly CD and DVD release lists

Bands always have t-shirts at their shows, but I have yet to see a writer sell shirts at a reading.

To enter the contest, please leave a comment in this post with the name of the author who deserves his or her own rock star tour t-shirt.

The winner will receive the following prizes:

$100 gift certificate to Threadless
an assortment of books & CDs

The winner will be chosen randomly at midnight CT Friday evening (February 12th).

also at Largehearted Boy:

previous and ongoing contests at Largehearted Boy

52 Books, 52 Weeks (my yearly reading series)
Atomic Books Comics Preview (highlights of the week's new comics)
Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)
guest book reviews
Largehearted Word (highlights of the week's book releases)
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
musician/author interviews

Miller alleges there’s a full-length Sleigh Bells record in the works, and I can only hope that when it does see the light of day outside Brooklyn, it’ll be just as noisy and jarring and catchy as their EP. This is the kind of band for whom quality production would be a travesty. Lo-fi graininess is an integral part of Sleigh Bells’ style; it keeps their music interesting and challenging without detracting from their songwriting in any way.

Singer-songwriter Laura Barrett talks to Spinner about her upcoming tour with Magnetic Fields.

She also sees the tour as a chance to experiment with her own songwriting. "I'm trying to work on writing in character, which is something Stephin Merritt has perfected. Most people don't realize how hard it is to write from a perspective that's detached from your own. I'd like to write more songs about characters and interactions between people."

Impact lists its albums of the decade.

Paste lists 10 noteworthy February music releases.

Spinner profiles Local Natives.

Yet, sun-bleached and ocean-sprayed though they sound, as four-fifths the product of notoriously affluent and conservative enclave Orange County, Local Natives haven't exactly had the bohemian, Laurel Canyon upbringing of West Coast mythology. "We're not really typical Californians," explains Ayers. "We all come from right-wing Republican families." Nor did they -- despite Rice's deadpan assertion -- "write most of [their] songs on surfboards."

Brainz lists the 10 greatest apocalyptic novels of all time.

Billboard lists the 10 best Super Bowl halftime shows of all time.

Tubular lists the worst.

The Oxford American remembers singer-songwriter Vic Chesnutt.

In a Guardian editorial, Google's David Drummond explains the company's aims of the Google Book Search Settlement.

Seaninsound's Posterous lists 15 thoughts on the impact of the web on old media.

Web in Front is giving away mp3s of Radiohead's January Los Angeles performance to aid Haiti relief.

Niteside profiles Japanther.

Amazon MP3 has 100 albums on sale for $5.

Follow me on Twitter for links that don't make the daily "Shorties" columns.

also at Largehearted Boy:

Atomic Books Comics Preview (highlights of the week's comics & graphic novel releases)
daily mp3 downloads
Largehearted Word (highlights of the week's book releases)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists

Carrie Rodriguez: 2009-04-11, Chicago (late show) [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Steal Your Love" [mp3]
Carrie Rodriguez: 2009-04-11, Chicago (early show) [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Blackberry Blossom" [mp3]
other Carrie Rodriguez posts at Largehearted Boy

Death Cab for Cutie: 2003-11-10, Houston [mp3,ogg,flac]
"We Looked Like Giants" [mp3]
other Death Cab for Cutie posts at Largehearted Boy

Drive-By Truckers: 2010-01-30, Tuscaloosa [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Rockin' in the Free World (Neil Young cover with the Dexateens)" [mp3]
Drive-By Truckers: 2010-01-29, Mobile [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Feb. 14" [mp3]
other Drive-By Truckers posts at Largehearted Boy

Kimya Dawson: 2008-01-23, Washington [mp3,ogg,flac]
"I Like Giants" [mp3]
Kimya Dawson: 2008-01-13, Brooklyn [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Loose Lips" [mp3]
other Kimya Dawson posts at Largehearted Boy

Mountain Goats: 2009-11-28, Philadelphia [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Going to Michigan" [mp3]
Mountain Goats: 2009-06-14, Watkins Glen [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Going to Scotland" [mp3]
Mountain Goats: 2009-06-13, Watkins Glen [mp3,ogg,flac]
"Positive Jam (Hold Steady cover)" [mp3]
other Mountain Goats posts at Largehearted Boy

Free and legal mp3s of live performances at other websites:

Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele: Daytrotter session [mp3]
other Dent May posts at Largehearted Boy

also at Largehearted Boy:

daily free and legal mp3 downloads
2009 Bonnaroo downloads
music festival downloads

Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases)
weekly CD and DVD release lists

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.

In her own words, here is Marisa Meltzer's Book Notes music playlist for her book, Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music:

Since I already spend most of my free time watching Breeders videos on YouTube and thinking about the deeper implications of Britney Spears' abs, writing Girl Power—a whole book devoted to those very things!—rarely felt like work. At least, it felt like the kind of work that's a pleasure to do.

But when your hobby becomes your job, it creates a bit of a problem. Suddenly listening to Madonna and Bikini Kill were part of my work life and I needed to go beyond my girly-nineties comfort zone to find music to soundtrack all the other parts of my life.

I don't listen to music while I write, so this is mostly music I listen to while procrastinating. I hope that doesn't sound dismissive; listening to a song while I'm distracting myself from doing something else is usually when I appreciate it the most.

"Six Different Ways" by The Cure

At some point in the middle of writing the book, I started to listen to The Cure exclusively. If I felt trapped in my apartment, I'd ride my bike around Prospect Park a few times and this was always the first song I'd listen to (the second was always “Catch”). There's a certain tenacity to Robert Smith's love songs that really speaks to my inner 15-year-old. I'd like to be on the receiving end of it.

“Pacific Ocean Blues” by Dennis Wilson

This is part of a whole subgenre of songs about California (others include “California Über Alles,” Joni Mitchell's “California,” the Beach Boys' oeuvre, and the theme song to The OC) that I listen to while indulging in low-grade homesickness for the west coast. I also love that this song mentions otters.

"Father Figure" by George Michael

I was in junior high when this single came out and its video felt like the height of sophistication, all models and downtown lofts and garter belts. Now the only place I feel comfortable singing “If you are the desert/ I'll be the sea/ If you ever hunger/ Hunger for me” is the privacy of my own home. But I do it often.

"He Needs Me (Demo Version)" by Harry Nilsson

There are two demos of this song from the soundtrack to Popeye on HARRYties: one is sung by Shelley Duval, the other, for reasons I fail to understand, is sung in Spanish by a woman who sounds like Joanna Newsom. Both are like taking a vacation to Swoon City, USA.

"Hippychick" by Soho

I enjoy the Why Not element of this song: Why not start a group and call it “Soho”? Why not decide to call your one hit “Hippychick”? Why not sample “How Soon Is Now”? It also appears on one of my favorite episodes of 90210 when Brenda tries to become a spoken word artist.

“Stabby” by Japanther

This is a perfect egg timer of a song. I always listen to it between paragraphs or after finishing a chapter, usually while lying on my couch and staring at the ceiling. My apartment has one of those pressed tin ceilings, so there's a lot to look at.

"Whiter Shade of Pale" by Jackie Mittoo

I like Procol Harum's original version of this song, too, but this instrumental cover is totally perfect. I like to listen to it first thing in the morning while drinking tea and staring out at the Yummy Taco across the street.

Marisa Meltzer and Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music links:

the author's blog
the author's book tour events

Bookslut review
Campus Progress review
Library Journal

Flavorwire list of essential 90's female artists by the author

also at Largehearted Boy:

other Book Notes playlists (authors create playlists for their book)

52 Books, 52 Weeks (weekly book reviews)
Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)
Atomic Books Comics Preview (highlights of the week's comics & graphic novel releases)
Daily Downloads (free and legal daily mp3 downloads)
guest book reviews
Largehearted Word (highlights of the week's book releases)
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)
Soundtracked (composers and directors discuss their film's soundtracks)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists

The Note Books series features musicians discussing their literary side. Previous contributors have included John Darnielle, John Vanderslice, and others.

In their own words, here is the Note Books entry from Care Bears on Fire:

1984 by George Orwell

We all really love this book because George Orwell practically predicted the future. This is a truly creepy depiction of a totalitarian society that is not so far off from certain societies in our world today. It shows what could happen to any country if power goes unchecked and people lose their ability to stand up for what's right.

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
We all love this book so much because we all relate to Holden and love him so! When you read this book, it's impossible not to feel like you know just what Holden’s going through. Holden is the epitome of a misunderstood teenager, but unlike most, he is actually someone that we'd want to talk to! Salinger was so good at weaving together plots and characters throughout all of his stories and we find this really compelling. R.I.P J.D Salinger.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

Who doesn't love Harry Potter? It is so addicting and wonderful in every way.

When we haven’t picked up a Harry Potter book for a while, we find ourselves truly missing the characters. It may seem a little odd, but it is one of those books that encourages crazy behavior, for instance, squealing when you see someone reading a Harry Potter book on the subway and falling over trying to see what page they are on so that you can get a vicarious HP thrill.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

We all read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 a couple of years ago and it made a huge impact on each of us -- even though it's over fifty years old and is Science Fiction. The setting: a futuristic Dystopian society where critical thinking and creativity are punishable offences, and books are burned for the good of society. It represents to us the dumbing down of modern America. The terrifying book inspires one to remember to keep culture and art alive, for someone will always try to take it away from you.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

In F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby we enter the world of the very rich, and like hero Nick Carraway, discover that the American Dream has a dark side. We don't want to reckon with who we really are and Gatsby's total invention of himself, and the sadness that comes with it, is proof. This novel forces confront our hopes and unrecognized dreams.

Care Bears on Fire links and free and legal mp3s:

Care Bears on Fire MySpace page
Care Bears on Fire Facebook page
Care Bears on Fire Wikipedia entry

Care Bears on Fire: "Superteen" [mp3] from Get Over It!

also at Largehearted Boy:

Previous Note Books submissions (musicians discuss literature)

52 Books, 52 Weeks
Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)
Atomic Books Comics Preview (highlights of the week's comics & graphic novel releases)
Book Notes (authors create playlists for their book)
daily mp3 downloads
guest book reviews
Largehearted Word (highlights of the week's book releases)
musician/author interviews
Soundtracked (directors discuss their film's soundtracks)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists

Blake isn't the only poetic influence feeding into the new album, as "Core of Nature" is built around a pertinent couplet from Goethe, "Into the core of nature/No earthly mind can enter." "I don't know much about Goethe, I just had a book of his poems from the library," Smith admits. "A lot of times, I'll use poetry to start coming up with a melody, because I don't write the lyrics first, I always start with the music and then see what sounds right coming out of my mouth. Certain words suit my voice better than others, and those words can then create the germ of an idea for a song. But I can't come up with it out of thin air, so a lot of times, to come up with an idea for a melody, I'll sit at the piano or guitar with a book of poetry and start singing the words, then I'll go back and replace them with my own lines. But that line was just so great, I realised I was never going to top that."

The Millions profiles author Nick Flynn.

The Guardian's TV & Radio Blog asks what books would you have your favorite TV character read?

The Moscow Times lists the top 5 books on totalitarianism.

The Advocate interviews Magnetic Fields frontman Stephin Merritt.

In the Guardian, AL Kennedy offers an update on writing her new novel.

On her Guardian blog, Charlotte Higgins asks her readers for the best British novel since the war.

Paste interviews Rilo Kiley drummer Jason Boesel about his solo album, Hustler's Son.

Billboard interviews Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers.

Do you have trouble with DBT being labeled as a Southern rock band, even though you often write from a southern perspective?

Oh, yeah. I've always kind of winced at the term. At least in America, it carries a certain baggage with it that I'm not all that comfortable with, and I've never felt like that term defined us, even though it's used to define us a lot. We did the record that was about that ["Southern Rock Opera"], and I'm really proud that the record came off as authentic enough to where people assumed that's what we do. But that record's almost 10 years old. Since then, our music has moved in all kinds of different directions. We did an R&B record with Bettye Lavette, we did the instrumental R&B record with Booker, and "Brighter than Creations Dark" was all over the map.

The A.V. Club Washington interviews Hood about the Drive-By Truckers documentary film, The Secret to a Happy Ending.

The A.V. Club: How did the documentary come about, and how did Barr Weissman get involved?

Patterson Hood: He actually approached me at the 9:30 Club one night in '04 and pitched the idea to me. His pitch was like, "I'm not interested in doing a typical band documentary. I don't want to do a Behind The Music kind of thing—the band fighting, or the rigors of the road, or the band vs. their label. I really want to get into where the songs come from and why people are drawn to them." He told me in his initial pitch that rock-and-roll saved [his] life as a teenager. Which, of course, is something I talk about a lot in my songs and in our show and in my life. He's like, "I'm another one of those people, and I want to make a movie that's my love letter to that aspect of rock-and-roll—and it happens to star your band.

Web in Front is offering a free download of Radiohead's January Los Angeles performance to support Hait relief efforts.

School Library Journal discusses its 2010 great graphic novels for teens list.

NPR Music lists (and streams) songs inspired by the New Orleans Saints football team.

NPR excerpts from Joshua Ferris's new novel, The Unnamed.

Former NFL head coach Brian Billick talks to WHYY's Fresh Air about his book, More Than a Game.

Pitchfork has announced the first wave of acts for this summer's Pitchfork Music Festival, including Pavement, Modest Mouse, and St. Vincent.

Protect your Kindle of iPad with a book-like case.

Win four Ox-Tales short story collections (that benefit Oxfam) in this week's Largehearted Boy contest.

Follow me on Twitter for links that don't make the daily "Shorties" columns.

also at Largehearted Boy:

Atomic Books Comics Preview (highlights of the week's comics & graphic novel releases)
daily mp3 downloads
Largehearted Word (highlights of the week's book releases)
Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and full album streams from this week's CD releases)
weekly music & DVD release lists

Elizabeth Devlin: "Gatsby" [mp3]
other Elizabeth Devlin posts at Largehearted Boy

F**ked Up: "Neat Parts" [mp3] from Couple Tracks: Singles 2002-2009
other F**ked Up posts at Largehearted Boy

Generationals: "Faces in the Dark" [mp3] from Con Law
other Generationals posts at Largehearted Boy

Los Campesinos!: "Romance Is Boring" [mp3] from Romance Is Boring
other Los Campesinos posts at Largehearted Boy

Luke Rathborne: "I Can Be One" [mp3] from I Can Be One EP
other Luke Rathborne posts at Largehearted Boy

Midlake: "Acts of Man" [mp3] from The Courage of Others
other Midlake posts at Largehearted Boy

The Morning Pages: "My Name Is Lion" [mp3] from Rising Rain
other Morning Pages posts at Largehearted Boy

Or, the Whale: "Toxic (Britney Spears cover)" [mp3]
other Or, the Whale posts at Largehearted Boy

Salvador Santana: "Don't Do It" [mp3] from Keyboard City
other Salvador Santana posts at Largehearted Boy

A Weather: "Giant Stairs" [mp3] from Everyday Balloons (out March 2nd)
other Weather posts at Largehearted Boy

Free and legal mp3s of live performances at other websites:

April Smith and the Great Picture Show: Daytrotter session [mp3]
other April Smith posts at Largehearted Boy

Atlas Sound: 2010-02-03, New York [mp3]
other Atlas Sound posts at Largehearted Boy

also at Largehearted Boy:

daily free and legal mp3 downloads
2009 Bonnaroo downloads
music festival downloads

Try It Before You Buy It (mp3s and album streams from weekly CD releases)
weekly CD and DVD release lists

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.

In his own words, here is David Peace's Book Notes music playlist for his novel, Occupied City:

My novel Occupied City investigates the Teikoku Bank Massacre which occurred in Tokyo in 1948. I wrote my novel while I was living in Tokyo in 2008. I did listen to some old music from 1948 as I was writing, but mainly these were the voices – with some explanation - in my ears:

Mikami Kan – Not a band but a man and a voice and what a voice. Hardcore ultra-violent folk from 1970 to now. Lyrically the missing link between Phil Ochs and Throbbing Gristle, or is that Jandek?

JA Caesar - Not a band either. But Terayama Shuji was the Pasolini of Japan – poet, playwright, film maker and agent-provocateur – and Caesar was the man behind his soundtracks. Terayama is dead, but Caesar lives.

The Stalin – The Sex Pistols of Japan (to continue the Western references) but singer Endo Michiro will never appear on a reality / celebrity TV. In other words, he still means it, man. Best album: Stop Jap from 1982.

Inu – The yang to Endo & the Stalin’s yin. One classic 1981 album, then split. Singer Machida Kō went on to win the Akutagawa Prize for his novel Kiregire.

Togawa Jun – As well as her solo work, she is also the operatic voice behind Yapoos and Guernica. Unique in every way. Try Yapoos Keikaku.

Kinniku Shōjo Tai – Fronted by another genius, Ōtsuki Kenji. The early stuff on Toy’s Factory (as compiled on Kinshō No Daisharin) remains their best work.

Ningen Isu – The first Japanese band I ever saw and still the very best; Black Sabbath reborn in the Tōhoku region of Japan. Fifteen albums to date and you need them all.

Sigh – The first ever Black Metal group in Japan. Probably more popular outside of Japan, so the one band on this list you can actually go out and buy (new album out now: Scenes from Hell).

Inugami Circus Dan – All of the above bands rock and rolled into one, fronted by The Dog God demon-ess Inugami Kyoko. They also play live regularly (and brilliantly) so, on the off-chance you find yourself in Tokyo, check out http://www.inugami.jp/.

Azarashi – The spiritual heirs of the Stalin; only one obscure CD and very few live shows – the way it ought to be - BUT check out vocalist Meguko’s My Space page - and hear what you’re missing.

I also could mention Asakawa Maki, Les Rallizes Dénudés, Kousokuya, Tetsuo Furudate, Ran Yoko, Inoue Yosui, YMO, Ruins, SS, Auto-Mod, The Comes, Gastunk, Gauze, Crow, Hi-Technology Suicide, Gargoyle, Kokeshi Doll, Boris, Gonin-Ish, Church of Misery, Green Machine, Corrupted, Nightmare, Swarmm, Envy, Muga, Abraham Cross, Gallhammer, Coffins, Gyu-sha Ningen, Ha Ha Lemon, Ikochi, Ningenkakuseiki and the mighty, mighty Yojimbo.

David Peace and Occupied City links:

the author's Wikipedia entry

The Asian Review of Books review
Booked Out review
Bookgeeks review
Bookmunch review
Financial Times review
Guardian review
Independent review
Japan Times review
Los Angeles Times review
M/C Reviews review
New Statesman review
Observer review
Scotsman review
Telegraph review
Times Online review

Bookhugger interview with the author
Independent profile of the author
Peter Geoghegan's Blog interview with the author
Scotsman interview with the author

also at Largehearted Boy:

other Book Notes submissions (authors create playlists for their book)

52 Books, 52 Weeks (a yearly reading project)
Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)
Atomic Books Comics Preview (weekly comics & graphic novel highlights)
guest book reviews
Largehearted Word (weekly new book highlights)
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)

In the Book Notes series, authors create and discuss a music playlist that relates in some way to their recently published book.

In her own words, here is Helen Thorpe's Book Notes music playlist for her book, Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America:

I didn't know much about Latin music when I began writing Just Like Us. The book tells the story of four girls growing up in the western United States, after their families immigrated from Mexico. The girls had Mexican parents but American lives, and they came of age during intense debate over the presence of immigrants in their adopted society. As it happened, the foursome was split down the middle in terms of legal status: Marisela and Yadira lacked documents, while Clara and Elissa had papers (not their real names). The two girls with legal status could obtain real driver's licenses, board airplanes, open checking accounts, qualify for aid to colleges, rent movies from Blockbuster—while the other two could not. At times, the inequities between them caused division, jealousy, and misunderstanding. Eventually they resolved their internal difficulties, but life always remained harder for the two girls without papers. During the five years we spent together, the girls often went to clubs or quinceañeras, and the music they heard provided a critical form of solace. No matter what else might be happening, the familiar beats made them feel at home, and the lyrics spoke of their experience—Latin music provided the girls with an acknowledgment that was otherwise absent in American culture. Mexican bands would often drive thousands of miles north to play cumbia or norteño songs for the immigrant families who'd traveled here in search of jobs, or sometimes the girls would dance to Latino DJs who played a fusion of reggaetón and rap.

This playlist includes ranchera, cumbia, reggaetón, salsa and merengue, and it could be used as a primer on Latin music, with the qualification that I'm hardly an expert. The girls taught me about these songs they loved as they told me about their lives, and I wound up loving these songs too. Music was important to all four girls, but particularly Marisela. If life caused her suffering, she escaped by blasting music on her stereo.When she was in a sentimental mood, her favorite artist was Vicente Fernández, "El Rey" (the King) of rancheras. You could call Fernández the Mexican equivalent of Elvis Presley, mixed with a little Hank Williams. Fernández has recorded over fifty albums, so it's hard to pick just one song to represent him. Two that I like are "Estos Celos," and "Para Siempre," but undoubtedly the song he is most famous for is his classic "Volver Volver." The ranchera is so popular among Mexican immigrants that when native-born Latinos at school wanted to make fun of newcomers like Marisela, the native-born Latinos called the mexicanos "ched," or "cheddar," a derogatory term derived from the word ranchera. Marisela's parents also loved rancheras; it's a form that spans the generations.

If either Marisela or her parents were in the mood to dance, however, they might find some cumbia, another genre whose popularity crosses generations. On the one hand there is old-fashioned cumbia, and then there's the newfangled stuff. In high school, Marisela and Yadira choreographed a cumbia-inspired routine to "Mi Gente," by the Kumbia Kings (with Ozomatli). The Kumbia Kings hail from Texas, and have a long and complicated history, but the band is most closely associated with A.B. Quintanilla III, brother of the late Tejano music star Selena. And when Marisela went to clubs, bands that were visiting from Mexico often played cumbias. She once took me to hear Liberación, a hugely popular Mexican band that plays primarily cumbia norteña, the cumbias from northern Mexico. (The band members dressed in matching suits and had incredible James Brown dance moves.) Cumbia is generally associated with Colombia and Costa Rica, but there's a whole branch of Mexican cumbia. The girls also liked the newer fusion genres such as tecnocumbia and cumbia rap.

Most late nights also involved reggaetón. Wildly popular with young Latinos, reggaetón is what happened when rap migrated to Puerto Rico, and transformed into its Latin cousin. One reggaetón song I often heard while with the girls was "Lo Que Pasó Pasó," by Daddy Yankee (a.k.a. Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez). I wound up naming the third section of my book after this song, because those years in the girls' lives were full of Daddy Yankee and reggaetón, and because some of the twists of fate that the girls lived through were so incredible that you could only say, "Lo Que Pasó Pasó (What Happened Happened)." For what it's worth, I also like Daddy Yankee's popular hit, "Rompe."

Yet if I could only pick one song to represent the time I spent with the girls, it would have to be "Suavemente, by Elvis Crespo." "Suavemente" might be the sexiest song ever written. It's a merengue—a genre that originated in the Dominican Republic, although Crespo was born in New York and raised in Puerto Rico. Horns create one line of sound, while percussion pulls in a different direction, forming a complicated tapestry of sound. Then there is Crespo, singing urgently that he wants someone to kiss him softly, to kiss him again, to kiss him a little more, to kiss him gently and without hurry, that his lover should "Dame un beso bien profundo que me llegue al alma"—give him a kiss so deep, it would reach down to his soul. The girls were entranced with this song, and in my mind it became the theme for their coming of age. It was the song I heard most often when with them; it was the song that pulled them all onto the dance floor; it was the song they played at special times. It was the anthem of their lives.

Two more songs have to be mentioned. If I had never met Marisela, Yadira, Clara and Elissa, I might never have discovered Juanes, the Colombian-born rock star who now lives in Los Angeles. He has a forceful, unforgettable tenor that gets under your skin, and his modern ballads are a spectacular fusion of American and Latin traditions—it's rock with a Latin twist ("rock en español"). "La Camisa Negra" was the first song of his that I heard and it remains my favorite. It's a fast-paced dirge about a man who is haunted by a lost love. I associate this Latin hit with Marisela and Yadira because they once blasted it as they drove across the country on an epic road trip. Usually the two girls without legal status avoided traveling for fear of running into federal agents, but in this case they were determined to attend a conference on immigrant rights, and drove with legal friends from Colorado to Georgia in three days. It was a quintessentially American journey set to a Latin soundtrack.

Another song featured on that road trip was "Rie y Llora," by Celia Cruz. And what's a Latin playlist without a salsa? Of course salsa is too big a category to be represented by just one song, and I don't mean to imply that "Rie y Llora" should stand for the entire genre; rather, the song is important to me because of the title. Rie y Llora recalls a saying popular among Mexican-Americans: "Laugh now, cry later." Many Latinos wear these words tattooed around the mask of comedy and the mask of tragedy. It's a saying that captures everything there is to say about how hard life can be for a mexicana growing up in the United States, and how important it is to remain undefeated. This is why music provided the girls with such balm. The songs spoke to their condition.

Helen Thorpe and Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America links:

the author's website
excerpt from the book
the book's video trailer

The Atlantic review
Bookmarks Magazine review
A Brooklynite on the Ice review
Denver Post review
Don't Need a Diagram review
Hollywood the Write Way review
Jewish Social Policy Action Network review
La Voz Nueva review
Library Journal review
Miami Herald review
New West review
The New Yorker review
Oprah Magazine review
Publishers Weekly review
Speak/Hablar review
Story Circle Book Reviews review
Tina Says... review
Troubadour Books review
Washington Post review

5280 Magazine profile of the author
New West interview with the author
Princeton Alumni Weekly profile of the author
Vail Daily profile of the author

also at Largehearted Boy:

other Book Notes submissions (authors create playlists for their book)

52 Books, 52 Weeks (a yearly reading project)
Antiheroines (interviews with up and coming female comics artists)
Atomic Books Comics Preview (weekly comics & graphic novel highlights)
guest book reviews
Largehearted Word (weekly new book highlights)
musician/author interviews
Note Books (musicians discuss literature)