You forgot to include the poll.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PATTERSON HOOD AND THE DOWNTOWN 13 RELEASE “AFTER IT’S GONE” IN AN EFFORT TO FIGHT A WALMART IN DOWNTOWN ATHENS, GA “Who needs a downtown when there’s a Walmart next door?” Athens, GA: Some of the greatest songs were written to give voice to anxiety, despair and unwanted change. “After it’s Gone”, a new single just released by Patterson Hood and the Downtown 13, was inspired by the threat of a Walmart in the heart of the downtown that nurtured the band’s career. Hood, singer, writer and guitarist for the band Drive-By Truckers assembled The Downtown 13, a musical collective made up of some of Athens, Georgia's finest musicians to celebrate Athens, GA's beauty and vibrant musical heritage and to protest a developer's proposed building of a massive mixed use development in downtown Athens, anchored by a 94,000 sq. foot Walmart. The small and eclectic university town of Athens is a hotbed for national musical acts and many of these local luminaries, including R.E.M.’s Mike Mills and Widespread Panic’s John Bell and Todd Nance came together on the new track to express their opposition to a proposed development by Atlanta-based Selig Enterprises. The back wall of the anchor tenant, Walmart, would be within stone’s throw of Hood’s home and it would tower over the greenway trail along the Oconee River-- it is the very embodiment of inappropriate development. “This Atlanta developer wants to clog our cultural heart and build a bunker the size of three city blocks next to the vibrant downtown scene,” says Hood. “They hit The Easy Button: a big box store in our downtown district is clearly misguided and a somewhat ridiculous notion. Downtown Athens is a dynamic network of local businesses--Athens already has a meaningful brand and we are extremely protective of it.” Taking a very vocal turn away from the proposed lifestyle-shopping center currently under contract, Hood is the most recent performer to take the role of front man as an Athens community that has long spoken to national and international audiences. “We have a vibrant downtown with plans for the future that involve planned development along the river and hopefully a high speed rail to Atlanta,” says Hood. “We don’t need a big box retailer, the very definition of the past, to once again bring us back through that dark episode of closed down storefronts and empty parking lots. Protect Downtown Athens-- that's what this is all about." You can download the song, view the video and read more about Protect Downtown Athens at the link below: www.protectdowntownathens.com Twitter: @protectathens Please write about this, post to your Facebook and Twitter pages. We need all the coverage we can get on this issue in order to Protect Downtown Athens! “After It's Gone”, by Patterson Hood Published by Pottery Town Songs (BMI) Performed by Patterson Hood and the Downtown 13 Featuring members of Drive-By Truckers, Widespread Panic, R.E.M., Futurebirds, Hope For Agoldensummer, Lera Lynn, Justified True Belief and The Quick Hooks. Patterson Hood - Lead Vocals, Guitar Mike Mills - Harmonies and Piano John Bell - Lead Vocals John Neff - Pedal Steel David Barbe – Bass Jay Gonzalez - Wurlitzer Electric Piano Brad Morgan - Drums Todd Nance - Percussion Claire Campbell - Banjo and Harmonies Lera Lynn - Harmonies Brannen Miles, Carter King and Payton Bradford - Backing Vocals Henry Barbe - Electric Guitar Basic track recorded live on stage at Fabulous 40 Watt Club in Athens, GA. Vocals, overdubs and mixing at Chase Park Transduction, Athens, GA. Basics recorded by Colin Cargyle with Matt DeFilippis and Damon Scott. Post production work by Bennett Moon and David Barbe. Mixed by David Barbe. Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound, NYC. Video produced and directed by Jason Thrasher. Edited by Eddie Whalen.

Never was a huge fan of Elliott or his Brando impersonations but I did like The Man Under the Seats sketch he did. I also liked the thing Strider mentioned, when Dave would call Meg who worked in the same building. There was even one instance were he lowered a phone out of the window of his building down to the office where she worked so she could talk to him on the air. All of the man in the street stuff was great, as was throwing stuff off of the top of the building. I also really like when he sent Larry "Bud" Melman on that trip to South America on a RV. I'm sure a great deal (if not all) of that was staged, I just don't know how much. By the end, Melman's phone calls were full of absolute rage as he begged Letterman to have him flown back to the U.S. I haven't tuned into his show in a while but I'd say the NBC years easily trump the CBS years because he could get away with so much more during that time slot. Then, there were all of the musical moments like Warren Zevon's last performances and seeing R.E.M. on network television for the very first time.

It's a light saber, of course.

Plant with stacks o' wax, including the Replacements' Let It Be. On the Replacements tip, here's a great new article on Tommy Stinson, his years with the Mats and what he's up to now: Here Comes A Regular (from Chonogram Magazine)

Kathleen Edwards with Hannah Georgas at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC last night. Kathleen brought out Justin Vernon for a couple of songs mid-set, "Wapusk" (which isn't on her new album but can be purchased on 45) and "Mercury" from her debut record, Failer. Justin and Kathleen's lead guitarist got into a guitar duel during "Mercury" that was nothing short of face melting. Justin also sat in on both encores. We absolutely refused to let her leave the stage. Great concert all around with lots of favorites from Failer (one of my favorite debuts ever) as well as a heaping helping from her new record, Voyageur.

Y'ALL: As some of ya'll might know, an out of town developer is attempting to build a huge mixed use development right next door to our beautiful downtown Athens. The location is a prime piece of land nestled up between our historic downtown and our river, greenway and planned Rail to Trails development. I'm not going to get into the ramifications of all of that here, except to say it presents a tremendous set of missed opportunities and poses a host of negative implications for our beloved downtown and the local businesses that reside there. I have written a new song about my love for this town that has given me so much and the threat that I see to our very way of life here. That might sound overly-dramatic, but I travel around this country a lot and I can tell you that what we have here is very unique and can not be taken for granted. Many of our friends who travel every year to Athens to see our annual 40 Watt / Nuci's Space Homecoming can vouch for what a special place this is. I recorded the song at The 40 Watt Club during our weekend there backed by members of DBT. Then some very special friends from our music community pitched in and came to Chase Park Transduction to contribute some magic. 13 players, ranging from over 30 years of Athens Music history joined in and our friend Jason Thrasher filmed it. We have launched an amazing new site with lots more information. www.protectdowntownathens.com We are offering DBT fans the song early right now at drivebytruckers.com. The video can also be seen at: Tomorrow, I would love for y'all to Tweet (@protectathens) and Facebook and spread it around to as many people as you think might enjoy it. We are trying to do this tomorrow in a concerted effort. And please check out the Protect Downtown Athens website to get the facts ( and nothing but the facts) about what is going on in our beloved Athens. Thanks Always, Patterson Hood

First it was vinyl, then Cheap Trick released their last album on 8-track. Lately, several artists are doing cassette only releases (there's even a cassette only label called Digg Up Tapes) so I guess it was only a matter of time before the reel-to-reel made a comeback. The Shins to Release New Album on Reel to Reel Tape (From Performer Magazine)

Not a bad Top Ten but there's so many more I can think of than what Paste included. The Top 10 Moments of David Letterman's First 30 Years (From Paste)

Mac McAnally has lived the good life thanks to Buffett (from the Charleston City Paper)

I haven't seen this since it originally aired on Austin City Limits back in '78. Hopefully the person that uploaded this will upload the remainder of the performance to YouTube. Better yet, I'd love to see the complete performance (not just the segment that aired) get an official release on CD/DVD. Same thing for John Prine, who also appeared on this episode. http://youtu.be/SaQCZQBouFk

Neil Young Backs Occupy Audio, Announces New Crazy Horse Album (From Spinner) You can watch the interview with Neil referred to in the Spinner article here.

Ben Folds Five Reunion Album 'Happening Fo Sho' (From Spin)

Brand new Otis Gibbs. To listen to a stream of the record at Bandcamp.com click on the image below.

Kathleen Edwards with Hannah Georgas at the Cat's Cradle in Carrboro, NC. I've never seen Kathleen so I'm looking very forward to my show with her tonight. Peter Blackstock (formerly of No Depression magazine) has a real nice write up on her that appears in the online version of Durham's Independent Weekly that you can read here.

No matter how you slice it (and comparing their stature to that of Boston isn't doing them any favors), Cream are most definitely considered "legendary" despite of Clapton's notoriety with them and other bands. It's not like his presence in the band made people forget who Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker are.

Bad Company has a concert date on August 12th in North Carolina. I'm not sure how a Bad Company tour would play into a Free reunion involving Page if indeed this is true.

Not a huge fan of Keller Williams or the whole "jam grass" thing but this cover of Patterson Hood's "Uncle Disney" is worth a listen.

Not at all. I'm not real big on glam or punk or whatever you wanna call the New York Dolls but I'm never opposed to giving most any style of music a shot. I know of lots of artists that have mentioned Johnny Thunders as an influence so I'm not opposed at all to checking out some of his music, thanks.

Too late.

A review of the Queen: Days of Our Lives documentary from Pop Matters.

I'll be counting the hours.

Jack White's First Solo Single Is Surprisingly Mellow (From Spin)