If he can't catch it, nobody can

So the good old boys at Underwater Peoples' records, they of all of your favorite vaguely folksy indie rock acts -- Real Estate, Woods, Islands, etc. etc. are planning some epic hootenanny up in the mountains this July 24 featuring all those bands and more, but they need your pledge or it won't happen. I'm broke so I can't help, obviously, but maybe you can make this happen. This event is all but guaranteed to feature flannel shirts and beards galore-- how could you say no?



Also, I don't have a car and have no idea where Saratoga Springs is, but if I'm really lucky, maybe I'll be able to hitchhike up there in the Woods Family Van. I'm stoked.

Take the plunge

Friday night, possibly for the only time in history, you'll be able to experience me, Ben Greenman, David Hollander, shipwrecks, burlesque theater pieces, the 19th century maritime painter Thomas Chambers, and the mournful gothic-roots music of Richard McGraw (whose album Burying the Dead is out now on Non-Utopian Records, and whose single "Hurting Heart" is stream-able below), all in one place. Plus more, all in celebration of the wacky and vaguely disturbing, in some cases, objects lurking beneath the waterways of New York.

It's a reading-theatre-music-art blowout at the American Folk Art Museum, and it starts at 5:30. The museum is located at 45 W. 53rd St, between 5th and 6th Avenues. Did I mention that it's free? More information can be found at the official UNY site.

Stream - Richard McGraw - Hurting Heart

We all scream for Japanther

Friend and well-wisher of Indichik Lauren Cerand, a leader and pioneer in literary publicity (think Roxana Robinson and Diana Balmori), is branching out into punk rock, and we here couldn't be more excited about it. Her first project is the latest album from Brooklyn tongue-in-cheek punks Japanther (who were, appropriately enough, one of the first genuine DIY shows I ever saw, shortly after moving to New York). And I'm not just saying this to make Lauren happy, those of you (like me) who have recently been disenchanted by a music scene increasingly full of bland indie poseurs doing more of the same nondescript, overly-mannered electronic shit. This is one of those rare albums you always sort of assumed existed ever since sometime in 1981, but it wasn't until you actually heard it that you realized that it didn't, until now. Please take a minute to get yourself excited about music again by checking out the Mp3 of "Alone in the Basement" below, then go live it up at the Mercury Lounge tomorrow night. I'll see you there.
Mp3 - Japanther - Alone in the Basement

What's the deal? Your weekly Publisher's Lunch deal snark (Beloved Childhood Series Edition)

Publisher's Lunch says: Francine Pascal's SWEET VALLEY CONFIDENTIAL, following her iconic identical blonde twins and full cast of characters into adulthood, now in their late twenties and early thirties, "where the real world intrudes," to Dan Weiss at St. Martin's (who created the original series with Pascal when he was a book packager), with Hilary Rubin Teeman editing, for publication in early 2011.

Indichik says: In a departure from my usual attitudes about PM deals, I'm kind of genuinely excited about this. I wasn't a big Sweet Valley girl (meaning I probably only read about 10 of the 8000 books in the series), but this fills me with joy if only because I love that no attempt whatsoever is being made to market this to children. I hope it's the beginning of a very successful trend

In fact, Ann M. Martin, god bless her, is already getting in on the act by reissuing the first Baby-Sitters Club book as a semi-ironic graphic novel that will deliberately not update the circa-1983 story, and that's a good start. But please consider going a step further. We as a generation need to know whether Mary Anne married Logan, whether Claudia ever learned to spell, and whether Jessi and Mallory finally embraced the love that dare not speak its name.

R.L. Stein? K.A. Applegate? Donald J. Sobol? Kathryn Kenny? David A. Adler? Judy Delton? Anybody else want to get in on this?

RAAWART Presents Click

On February 24, RAAWART gallery presents an new exhibition of edgy photography and an afterparty at Juliet in SoHo: Click is so chic.

We all miss our loved ones and gases

Get a breath of fresh air by checking my review of Diary of An Oxygen Thief and its very mysterious anonymous author in the books section of The Faster Times, a new-ish online-newspaper site that I love because it's full of fresh-faced young go-getters like myself (see for yourself, our pictures are right on there) and covers things that people actually want to read about. Take that, Panorama.

Mardi Gras Madness

We heart Hank & Cupcakes here at Indichik, and we especially heart the chance to see their new video for "Pleasure Town" FREE at Brooklyn Bowl.
On Friday, there's also this, which seems like it might be huge and unfortunately is not free, but that you can RSVP for ahead of time to get reduced admission:

Also The L Magazine, who I hate to promote because the evidence is mounting that they're all a bunch of misogynistic, self-important dicks, is sponsoring a Mardi Gras parade in Williamsburg tonight followed by a free show from Wavves at Brooklyn Bowl. I have absolutely no clue what Nathan Williams has to do with Mardi Gras and it's snowing, but whatever, it's free, and people will go, especially if there's any chance that the Black Lips will show up, shit could get ugly