UP TO SPEED!
Dearly beloved – if you are reading this, then you too are up to speed! We here at Drag City take a great deal of (false) pride in providing you with a weekly update on what’s happening in not only our universe, but also the personal domains of all “our” “artists.”

Last week, we had the scoop on the Trux smack relapse rumors (they weren’t true!), as well as the scoop on the just-finished Smog tour (it happened!), the soon-to-commence David Grubbs tour (it’s happening!), and our next release date (it’s gonna happen!). But that’s not what we’re thinking about this week. No, we’ve got other things on the agenda. Papa M things. Neil Hamburger things. More Royal Trux things. As well as the latest hot entry from our nationwide hunt for the perfect retail display! So check it out – and dig it, too...

RETAIL CONQUEST!

Hey you! Don't touch that! Look at this! Yes, it’s this week’s lucky featured store. The good people of Borders in Champaign ride again – their creative approach to POP displays lead to not only sales, but kudos, from us to them. We particularly appreciate how they placed the CD that represents sales at the apex of their pyramid of the promotional imagery we supplied them with. We also are impressed with their methods of cutting out of various logos and titles for use emphasizing the band in question – Royal Trux! Again, congratulations Borders and a personal thanks Chris! Those of you reading this from the plains states, hop a train to Champaign, Illinois as soon as you can – there’s obviously some good shopping to be had there.

NEWS RELEASES!
This week, lucky stores and distributors are selling Smog’s “Strayed” 7” and CDEP (the CD version of which features 30 minutes of ancient Smog, dating back to the cassette-only release, Cow, which first saw the light of the day in 1989, back when most of you were still pissing in your short pants). But this is only the beginning. The Smog single ushers in a season of new releases almost unparalleled in the decade-long history of Drag City! That’s right – starting on the 31st of this month (July, man...), we follow up “Strayed” with David Grubbs’ long-awaited new album, The Spectrum Between, Neil Hamburger’s long-rumored EP, ”Inside Neil Hamburger,” and Mats Gustafsson’s criminally underpromoted Windows - The Music of Steve Lacy CD. What a bouquet of music, melodies and comedy that’s going to be. God, it’s going to be fucking great!

But naturally, that’s not all. No, then in August, we’re going to hit you with more – more – more! There’s the always-immanent Rian Murphy & Will Oldham EP, “All Most Heaven,” the three-years-in-the-making Movietone LP, The Blossom Filled Streets, Pita’s brutal Get Out album, (at last! On vinyl! On Moikai!), plus our US-and-Canada-only version of Kev Hopper’s Whispering Foils, an LP's worth of exotica, instrumentals and the sweet sounds of the singing saw (at last!)!

THE HAMBURGER REPORT
But first – we’ve got some Hamburger for you. Neil Hamburger, that is. Fans of Neil Hamburger, get ready! As mentioned just sentences earlier, we are two weeks away from the release of his hilarious new EP, “Inside Neil Hamburger.” Your only regret will be that there isn’t more fresh Hamburger for you to laugh over! But fans, hold steady – because that’s not all! Good news – Neil Hamburger has become an animated character in an Australian TV cartoon series! Plus he’s getting paid for doing so. In this best case scenario, his time as an expatriate in the land down under is transforming him into a children’s icon! And the best part is, he doesn’t have to quit his regular job. A little moonlighting, anyone?

O’ROURKE – BY NIGHT!
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from the mighty Jim O’Rourke. What’s up with the teen titan, you ask? He’s among us, believe it or not. As Sonic Youth grind their way across three or four continents, he’s onstage every night, playing his instruments of choice with the kind of heart and vision that people don’t really expect from their latter-day Sonic Youth experience. But there he is, fucking with the program.

The really exciting news is that sunny Jim was on The Conan O’Brien Show Tuesday night, July the 18th. And while it would have been cool to tell you about this yesterday – or last week even, it's still cool now! Jim on Conan, what a groove! Should you have missed it, know this: Jim was the hottest thing on the stage. Holding the post in support of Sonic Youth, he opened by bending over to coax something horrid out of his l'il laptop and then medlied into a variety of locomotive rock poses. His long brown locks cascading down around his shoulders, he was every inch the major league bassist, making eye-contact with the drummer, in a zone, throttling the neck and movin' and groovin' as if tonight were surely the night...and then there was Sonic Youth. Phenomenal. It’s wasn't the long-awaited all-comedy set from Jim – but trust us – Conan knows talent - he'll be back.

PAPA M’S GOT A BRAND NEW BAG
And now – the M watch. Fresh off of some secret gigs in the unsunny UK, Papa M are back in the USSA and ready to get into a new bag. This involves an as-yet-untitled EP to be released at an as-yet-undisclosed date (in other words, as soon as possible)...hey, wait a minute! This sounds like Father M is up to the same old tricks. Which is fine by us – going the M way is always a pure delight for all of us here (on earth). And seriously, we do have an M EP and two LPs on the schedule to look forward to in the months to come.

The Big M News though - for those of you with HBO, anyway - is that the documentary feature George, currently in broadcast rotation on HBO, features bits of Papa M music on it's soundtrack throughout the piece. The topic of this documentary is autism, and an eyewitness to the debut broadcast of George, told us that Papa M is all over the place. There’s no joke there, so those of you who don’t know what autism is can put down their damn dictionaries.

And in the meantime, we’re auctioning off the last of the Papa M 1999 Tour Single CD5s and Papa M Souvenir Coins that have so mysteriously come into our possession – so look for them today in your local shop or on our local website!

TRUXING ON
So...Royal Trux are officially off the road and rumored to be back in rehab – so what else is new? That old buzz just keeps on a-buzzin’ for their new opus, Pound for Pound. And why shouldn’t it? They are the best rock and roll band of their era and one of the most immaculately kept secrets in the industry (despite our best efforts to let the cats out of the bag). Primal Scream knows it – they dedicated their whole stupid last album to Royal Trux. Sonic Youth knows it too – there’s like two whole tribute songs to Royal Trux on their NYC Ghosts and Flowers LP that they are currently flogging (like on Conan O’Brien featuring Jim O’Rourke, woo hoo!). And why shouldn’t there be tribute songs to Royal Trux on a NYC tribute record by Sonic Youth? The fact that Royal Trux came out in New York in the late 80s (as they have said themselves, in the tradition of great NYC bands like the Ramones, Television, New York Dolls, the Velvet Underground and the Lovin’ Spoonful) just adds another proud line to the NYC resume, if you ask us!

Meanwhile, back in the present day, Pound for Pound is rising ever higher on the CMJ charts, with more stations being added every week. Plus, they are getting play on commercial stations in Detroit, Boston, Albany, New Orleans and Chigago. And last week, their live show being broadcast on supersphere.com was topping the Supersphere charts with over a thousand hits! Get with it kids – basically, if you haven’t heard this band or this record yet, you’re wrong.

DAVID GRUBBS TOUR!
Don’t forget the David Grubbs tour, beginning in Pittsburgh PA on the 26th of this very month (July, at our last count) and continuing through major eastern markets though August 5th, when it all comes down in David's hometown, Louisville, Kentucky. It’s in support of his fantastic new LP, The Spectrum Between, available from us on starting the last day of July. And it’s fantastic!

IN SUMMATION
Ah, we’re beginning to repeat ourselves – that usually means it’s time to go. Don’t forget – Display Contest – O’Rourke on Conan – Papa M on HBO – David Grubbs on tour, and Royal Trux on...what? Hmmm...let’s just say, Royal Trux are on!