Rendezvous In Black by Cornell Woolrich (1948) - A noirish mystery story. Or, not so much mystery as “how to stop him?” Not as hardboiled cool as Hammett or stylish as Chandler, but has a nicely depressive Americana tone. Funny thing… there are characters named Morrissey and Johnny Marr.

ReFrederator — because you need a vintage cartoon every day.

Perfect Sound Forever posts Be Wild, Not Evil: The Link Wray Story — an epic account of Link’s rough life.

The Fretboard Journal’s second issue seems to be available at last. Neko Case moves from interviewer to interviewee, Martin family history, Rick Bishop of the Sun City Girls, vintage string packets and more fun and games for the twang-compulsive set. I’ll be planted pathetically by the mailbox until my copy arrives. Don’t forget their blog.

This July, the PBS documentary series POV will be airing Tintin And I — a film about Tintin comics creator, Hergé. Now there’s something out of the blue.

Rip It Up And Start Again: Postpunk 1978-1984 by Simon Reynolds (2005) - A crisp and clean accounting of a very busy period for independent minded music. Up to now, this era has been given little coverage in the history books, so it’s good to see a serious survey. I didn’t realize until too late that the US edition is a cut down version of the UK edition, so you might want to be sure to seek out the ‘long player’ version instead.

Shango, Shouter and Obeah: Supernatural Calypso from Trinidad 1934-1940 by various artists (Rounder Records) - Another collection of old calypso sides, this one featuring songs on supernatural and religious themes. Some lyrics are tongue in cheek commentary, some are spooky narratives, some include actual ritual chants. A solid, supernatural set.

The Legend Of Blind Joe Death by John Fahey (Takoma/1959-67) - This 1996 CD release compiles the various versions of Fahey’s debut album, Blind Joe Death. A landmark in the steel string acoustic guitar instrumental field. Further… a relentless steamroller of fingerpicking polyphony that’ll run you down like a deer frozen in the headlights… to mix vehicular metaphors.

Philadelphia’s mighty and majestic Wanamaker Organ. The first (only?) pipe organ to be declared a national historic landmark, with 28,765 pipes in 466 ranks housed in a 7 story atrium. That’s a lotta hot air…