Buzzcocks founder Pete Shelley has always surprised his public. Just think of the overt craziness of “Orgasm Addict,” or the hinted gay innuendoes of “Ever Fallen in Love (with Someone You Shouldn’t’ve)” that exploded later into righteously electronic gay anthems such as the BBC-banned “Homosapien.” Yet even I was floored by the revelations on this Drag City box set, which contains the entire catalog of his short-lived, spaced-out noise, late 70s label Groovy Records—even the name hints at a secret life behind the backs of his punk brethren.

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2010’s On Patrol was a dizzyingly complex, room-filling psych-dub wonderland; with Ancient Romans, Stallones’ fifth full-length under the Sun Araw moniker, the textures to the music have evolved (simplified, even) but that body-numbing heaviness remains as Stallones searches for new lenses through which to project his quasi-religious musical musings.

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When it’s boring, it’s Kate Bush singing hokey Hawaiian songs. But when it’s not, it’s tripped-out island music—ethereal and mesmerizing … they brought 60s continental rock to the table (Buffalo Springfield, Jefferson Airplane) and of course, traditional Hawaiian music; Pardeiro, a South American vibe. No surprise you get some Incredible String Band, but it’s not as conventional or familiar, with sparer production, spooky harmonies and adventurous Moog and dulcimer noodlings.

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Low is one of those bands from the 1990s that continue to be–and pretty much always were–absolutely timeless. They self-indentify as “slowcore”, making music that is austere, subdued, and hypnotic. They play with Bachelorette, a.k.a. Annabel Alpers, whose mix of 60s psyche and girl group pop sounds like a computer took a bunch of ecstasy, [...]

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Looking back, you might say that brothers Bobby, Dannis and David Hackney started as a ‘proto-punk’ band, but really this is pure punk rock made years before anyone else even touched the genre. Death seem absolutely sagelike in their prescience. Bobby and Dannis speak now from a snowed-in recording studio in Vermont about Death’s upcoming visit to L.A., David Bowie, and the day disco came to town. This interview by Kristina Benson.

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Laetitia Sadier’s voice will always be associated with Stereolab, but that’s not really such a bad thing. Still, Sadier is eager to discover a new space of her own. She has recently scored a Marxist film, made three albums with her band Monade, and now presents her first completely solo endeavor, The Trip. This interview by Kristina Benson.

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Trash Humpers is Harmony Korine’s latest film, shot and edited entirely on VHS and featuring a “loser-gang cult-freak collective” that smashes TVs, eats pancakes with dishwashing liquid instead of syrup, hangs out with overweight singing hookers, and yes, humps trash. Korine speaks on the phone from Nashville but got up mid-interview to try to tase a convict on a bike for throwing lemons and limes at his house.

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Download: Baby Dee “Lilacs” [Audio clip: view full post to listen] (from A Book Of Songs For Anne Marie out now on Drag City) BABY DEE WITH SIMONE WHITE ON SAT., MAY 1, AT McCABE’S GUITAR SHOP, 3101 PICO BLVD., SANTA MONICA. 8 PM / $15 / ALL AGES. MCCABES.COM. BABY DEE’S A BOOK OF [...]

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Singer and guitarist Mayo Thompson formed the Red Crayola (or Krayola) in Houston, Texas in 1966 with Frederick Barthelme and Steve Cunningham, and has continued to lead the group up to the present day with an ever-changing cast of musicians. This complete interview by Oliver Hall.

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Download: Joanna Newsom “’81″ (Temporarily removed by polite request of Drag City!) (from Have One On Me out Feb. 23 on Drag City)

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