- Act fast and download the new split single from PAS/CAL and La Laque - the songs are available as free MP3's until Friday, after which you'll need to get the limited edition 12" instead. It's due out on June 21 and definitely gets a thumbs up from me, perfect if you're itching for some indie pop. "Summer Is Almost Here" will do a good job of tiding me over until the PAS/CAL full-length is out, and "Secret" has already done a good job of making me wish I'd paid attention to La Laque sooner - I dig the strings, and I love how they still rock out. They're from NYC and have played a lot locally, but this is their first official release. Definitely a strong start.

- The Wind-Up Bird will be at Pianos this Friday - he's on at 9:30. His quadrophonic live show floored me in February, as you may have noticed in my review on the right.

- Superpitcher and Ada will be at Cielo on July 26. Cielo is one of my favorite spaces in the city, but parties like this don't happen there often enough. (I guess they need to let us save up for those $11 drinks.) As for Superpitcher, his new mix Today was the Stylus album of the week last week. I can't wait to hear it.

- Art Brut, BTW, took the same Stylus prize this week with Bang Bang Rock N' Roll - no small feat with new Stephen Malkmus and Sleater-Kinney records in the mix. I've had the SM album for almost a week now and I'm liking it more with each listen; still not sure if it surpasses Pig Lib, but it's up there. As for The Woods, I'm hoping I can get a cut-rate copy at Best Buy tonight; worst case, I hit Virgin tomorrow.

- The Seattle Weekly profiles "funk classicists" (and One Louder faves) Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.

- Daft Punk must have realized Human After All needed some help - "Technologic" is featured in the new iPod commercial. Has anyone heard the new Basement Jaxx remix of that song?

- Tiny Mixtapes reports on the new Super Furry Animals album Love Kraft.

- I got the urge on Sunday to hear Radiohead's "Backdrifts," which in turn became my first spin of Hail to the Thief (or any Radiohead) in months. I gotta say, that album has aged quite well, better than expected. My RH fandom tends to be really intense around their albums and tours but pretty quiet in between. Things have been dead for me since the HTTT tour ended, but perhaps this is the start of me getting ready for their new album - potentially due next February according to Green Plastic (via Daily Refill).

- APT has a few new hip-hop events of note - Edan will be there on May 31, Mr. Len and Prince Paul on June 13, and DJ Jazzy Jeff on June 20.

- DJ Jazzy Jeff is actually half-responsible for the Bravery's Sam Endicott's quintessential summer song according to this Guardian article. (My money was on Skabba the Hutt.) The article gets all sorts of folks to weigh in on their summer songs of choice - Mylo, New Order's Peter Hook, Antony, Nitin Sawhney, Jimi Goodwin of Doves, Jaff of the Futureheads, and more. Well worth a read. [via Yawn Yawn Yawn]

- With reunion tours being all the rage, might the Stones Roses be next? The NME suggests as much, but John Squire and Ian Brown need to first start getting along again.

- And finally, Manic Mess lets us know that even Legos can rave.