SUMMER MEANS NEW LOVES
The seasons are changing again. But we’re not. As the summer comes along for the like, millionth time in history, we’re doing what we always do (for the last ten years anyway) - preparing fields of marijuana for harvest later this summer! Oh, and also, we’re preparing to put out exciting new and reissued new records. It’s been a nonstop parade of marijuana and new releases this last ten years, and there’s no reason we can’t have one more crazy summer! It all begins on June 6th with the Royal Trux. Their new release Pound for Pound is a monster - a ten-track, fan-eating display of rock and roll that will create new Trux fans in it’s wake everywhere! And like, a week after it comes out, Royal Trux hit the road in support! And this time, it’s personal. Dates can be found elsewhere on this site. Other plans for June include another Neil Hamburger record! That’s right - he’s baaa-aack. As mentioned in these very pages a couple weeks back, we’ll have an all-new EP entitled “Inside Neil Hamburger,” that will cause the usual amount of sniggering, head-scratching and moving of units that every Neil Hamburger record causes in the world at large. We laughed, so you don’t have to. But we know you will anyway - don’t let us down! Also in June is the return of Will Oldham to Drag City shores for the third time this year! This visit commemorates the release of yet another all-new EP! This time, he’s teamed up with some stiff named Rian Murphy, who appears to be sharing the credit by producing or doing some other kind of intangible shit. Also this time, the distinctive Oldham vocals are out a-yodeling in front of a more elegant and elaborate instrumental setup than we’ve previously heard from the kid: violins, yer French horn, a choir of voices, the odd kettle-drum...in other words, some definite chamber-pop torchers. Featuring everyone in town and their kitchen sink, as well as a surprise duet, “All Most Heaven”, will be quite, er, heavenly? Take that for now, we’ll come up with something more, uh, heavenly at a later moment.

BANGING THE DONGS
Also in the month of June, we’ve got a single coming off the smash new Smog record! As the old saying goes, when you’ve got it, milk it. Chances are you already know all the words to the song “Strayed,” but if you buy the single, you’ll not only get another pressing of that same song to sing along with, but you’ll get a freshly recorded, all-acoustic version of another Dongs favorite, “Bloodflow” - also to sing along with! You just can’t lose, especially if you make the investment and also get the “Strayed” CDEP, because it features a different B-side piece, a rare reissued slab of early Smog - the “Cow” cassette, in all it’s late-80s glory. Hear the sounds of the vaunted teenaged Smog and his sad guitar!

AFTER THAT
There will be two more months of summer releases scheduled after this hard-and-heavy June, and for Drag City, they’ll involve all-new music from David Grubbs, Movietone, The High Llamas, Red Krayola, and Mats Gustafsson (on Blue Chopsticks!). The Grubbs and Movietone, we’ve heard. And we love ’em. The others, we haven’t heard. But we plan on loving them, sometime in the very near future. Look for the love, coming to this website soon.

WE’LL TAKE IT!
We just heard the new Primal Scream record - you know, the one that’s dedicated to Royal Trux? As we were saying last week, it’s nice of them and all, but that record! Whew! It kinda stinks! Oh well, as long as it puts the Royal Trux name in front of a few more clueless but well-moneyed stupids out there, it will all have been worth it. And we’ll have more that’s worth it for you next week.