We Can Take Dictation and Learn to Smile

Paul McCartney's DIY solo works McCartney and McCartney II are getting the deluxe treatment. Remastered single disc, two-disc, vinyl, and the ultimate four-disc w/DVD and book will be available June 14.

Because we've all been waiting for the remastered Temporary Secretary!

It's All Worth Waiting For

It's been true for a while now, but Toad the Wet Sprocket has made it official: they are now a nostalgia act. After many years of hitting the summer neighborhood fests they've finally released a new album. All You Want can hardly be called new however. It's a collection of some of their best songs entirely re-recorded and in some cases significantly reworked. They say they're "reclaiming our past for ourselves" and lament the fact that they don't own many of their recordings. It sounds like it was a cathartic experience for them and I'll likely pick it up, but I hope they don't settle for the past only. They just might have another great album in them.

Buy All You Want and check out all the upcoming tour dates here.

I'm Over My Head

Lollapalooza announced the 2011 lineup and they had me at Foo Fighters ... and then lost me at Eminem. But I suppose the benefit of a festival is that you get to pick and choose. Other Too Poppy-approved headliners: Coldplay, Muse, The Cars, Bright Eyes, Big Audio Dynamite, Sleigh Bells, and I suppose I should say Explosions in the Sky considering I roomed with the drummer in college although he probably has no recollection of that! We had a lot of people in that house.

Check out the full lineup here. Can't say I'm wowed by it. Lolla11 is August 5-6 in Chicago's Grant Park.

Thank You Friends

In celebration of Record Store Day tomorrow, Steven Wilson of Plasticsoul and Brandon Schott have released a cover version of Big Star's Thank You Friend. It's a very limited download for the first 200 fans here! Quite nice, but I would not have expected any less.


Big Star is also celebrating the bygone era of record store glory with a test pressing vinyl release of Third (from which Thank You Friend comes). Other notable releases include Bruce Springsteen, Built to Spill, Crowded House, Death Cab for Cutie, Fistful of Mercy, Fleet Foxes, Foo Fighters, Green Day/Husker Du (!!), Nirvana, Pink Floyd, R.E.M., The dBs, The Flaming Lips, and the like (not the band). See a full list here.

Many of the releases are exclusive to Record Store Day and quite rare. A few bands make the product available after, but many don't. Lines have been known to form early in the day so go to your favorite local shop and support a dying breed for at least one more day! I'll be hitting Zzz at some point tomorrow!