Don Pyle takes his book Rough Desciption on the road for a reading tour

Don Pyle will be telling tales from his Rough Description memoir and Yo La Tengo's Georgia & Ira will spin records in Toronto!  

Writes Don...

My book, Rough Description, is released on Tuesday, May 26th (you can pre-order from ECW Press here here), although I see that some stores already have it. Here are the current reading/slideshow tour dates. More to come. Could it be where you live?

Joining me at the Toronto launch at Standard Time (165 Geary Ave, 2nd Floor, Unit A) on Thursday, May 28 are writers Jason McBride, Kirby, Tabatha Southey and Chris Colohan, reading their writing. Damian Rogers leads the interrogation after my reading. Extraterrestrial DJs Georgia Hubley and Ira Kaplan of Yo La Tengo spin records all night. (Get tickets here: https://ra.co/events/2368611). 

Jenny Mitchell conducts the line of questioning at La Poche (40 Quebec St) in Guelph on Saturday, May 30.

Liz Worth will ask probing questions following my reading in the Bright Room at The Staircase (27 Dundurn St. North) in Hamilton on Sunday, May 31.

Pete Crighton will read from his 33 1/3 book Cosmic Thing, along with my presentation at Books & Company (289 Main St) on Thursday, June 4 in Picton.

I will be in conversation with Kirby, about Rough Description, on June 11 at Kitchener Public Library (85 Queen St. North).

And in London, Ontario on June 19, I will be joining (Faith No More co-founder) Roddy Bottum at Midnight Mass Books (1034 Dundas St) who will read from his new memoir The Royal We. I'll read from my own book and show some pictures.

Come to all of them! Links: https://linktr.ee/donpyle.

Here's Don chatting about Rough Description on the Booked On Rock podcast, Toronto Mike'd podcast and more...

Dallas Good's final recorded project due from Yep Roc on June 26th

Dallas Good's Were The Watchtowers, features Kurt Vile, John Doe, Yo La Tengo, Jon Spencer, Scott McCaughey, Gary Louris, Neko Case and others.  

From Yep Roc HQ...

Yep Roc is honoured to announce the June 26th wide-release of Were The Watchtowers, the final recorded work of Dallas Good, completed before his unexpected passing in February 2022. Written and recorded slowly over more than a decade with Richard Reed Parry, the project captures a deeply collaborative, cosmic strain of psychedelic Americana. Guest appearances include Neko Case, Kurt Vile, Yo La Tengo, Jim Jarmusch, John Doe, Jon Spencer, Scott McCaughey, Gary Louris and Margaret Atwood. 

Listen to the single "Echo the Part" (below) and order a physical copy on White vinyl or CD at https://goodparry.lnk.to/echothepart.

Happy 70th Birthday Lee Ranaldo!

Celebrating 70th birthday of Sonic Youth co-founder Lee Ranaldo with a few old faves performed with his pals in Yo La Tengo. 

Remembering trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr. on his birthday

Remembering free jazz trumpeter Roy Campbell Jr. (who passed away in 2014) with some rare performance footage. 

That time Ira Kaplan threw out the first pitch at a Mets game

Yo La Tengo's Ira Kaplan did a much better job of tossing a ceremonial first pitch than either 50 Cent or Questlove. 

Yo La Tengo's latest album, This Stupid World, is available wherever fine vinyl recordings are sold. 

90s Nostalgia: Yo La Tengo on The Wedge, 1997

Back in 1997, Wedge host Sook-Yin Lee had a chat with the members of Yo La Tengo in a Toronto home furnishings store. 

Yoko Ono tribute album Ocean Child curated by Ben Gibbard out Friday

Flaming Lips, David Byrne, Yo La Tengo, Sharon Van Etten and Death Cab contribute covers of Yoko Ono's much-maligned tunes. 

Here's the scoop...

Death Cab For Cutie's Ben Gibbard, frustrated with the way Yoko Ono's music has been unfairly assailed over the decades – largely out of ignorance – has decided it was time for a rethink of Yoko's songwriting accomplishments. So he called up a few celebrated pals who also happen to be Yoko fans,  including David Byrne, Sharon Van Etten, Stephin Merritt, along with the members of Yo La Tengo,  Flaming Lips, Deehoof and US Girls, to revisit a few of Yoko Ono's compositions and perhaps offer a fresh perspective. 

The result is the 14-track Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono tribute album set for release by Canvasback Music/Atlantic on Friday, February 18th which happens to be Yoko's 89th birthday. Looking over the tracklist, it appears that Gibbard missed an opportunity to have the members of Redd Kross resurrect  their Tater Totz alter ego to reprise their raucous version of "Don't Worry Kyoko" which got them booed off the stage by angry Beatles fans at BeatleFest 1988 in Los Angeles (watch the entertaining footage after the track listing below).  

To coincide with Ocean Child's release, there will also be a podcast hosted by Gibbard and Rolling Stone contributing editor & Sirius XM personality Jenny Eliscu who will speak enthusiastically about why Yoko Ono's songs are so darn wonderful with the artists who chose to cover them. 

Check out the preview trailer, David Byrne & Yo La Tengo's lullabye-style update "Who Has Seen The Wind?" and Death Cab's jaunty run at "Waiting For The Sun Rise" followed by the track listing and the vintage Tater Totz performance footage from L.A.'s Bonaventure Hotel. 

Various Artists – Ocean Child: Songs Of Yoko Ono

Toyboat - Sharon Van Etten

Who Has Seen The Wind? - David Byrne And Yo La Tengo

Dogtown - Sudan Archives

Waiting For The Sunrise - Death Cab For Cutie

Yellow Girl (Stand For Life) - Thao

Born In A Prison - US Girls

Growing Pain - Jay Som

Listen, The Snow Is Falling - Stephin Merritt (of Magnetic Fields)

No No No - Deerhoof

Don't Be Scared - We Are KING

Mrs Lennon - The Flaming Lips

No One Sees Me Like You Do - Japanese Breakfast

There Is No Goodbye Between Us - Yo La Tengo

Run Run Run - Amber Coffman

Watch Yo La Tengo cover the Dream Syndicate and The Ramones

Yo La Tengo were alternately joined by Bill Frisell & Rob Zabrecky and then Greg Hetson & Fred Armisen for a punk rock encore. 

Yo La Tengo vs. Rodd Keith

Yo La Tengo did a fine job recreating the odd vibe of Sven Swanson's song-poem classic "Santa Claus Goes Modern" recorded by Rodd Keith. 

Watch Yo La Tengo jam with Sun Ra's Arkestra

Yo La Tengo's new album There's A Riot Going On is out March 16. Watch the clip of "Sudden Organ" below.

Alejandro Escovedo tops TURF's stacked Sunday line-up @ Fort York (1 pm) and The Horseshoe (10:45 pm)

TURF – OUTDOORS @ Fort York

Sunday, July 7th Gates: 11:00AM
8:30PM	Belle & Sebastian
7:10PM	Neko Case
6:00PM	Xavier Rudd
5:00PM	Cat Empire
4:00PM	Whitehorse
3:00PM	Yo La Tengo
2:00PM	Kurt Vile & The Violators
1:00PM	Alejandro Escovedo & The Sensitive Boys
12:10PM	The Sadies
11:20AM	The Wooden Sky

One For The Weekend: Wreckless Eric