notepad a few quick things:

- apparently Rainer Maria is finished. they'll play two shows, December 15th and 16th in Philly and at the Bowery (good place to leave it, i'd say). as usual, that's Pitchfork. i'm surprised and i'm not -- they've been around for quite a long time, and they've done some great stuff. i see future projects though, from separate band members. you know, you'll one day check PF and find an article on a new release with "guitarist from Rainer Maria..."

- is CMJ over yet, guys? sigh. it was bad enough that we couldn't go, but it was plastered all over our emails and everywhere we checked for the last month. in any case, for some of the best coverage, check these usual suspects: stereogum, definitely Brooklyn Vegan, and a no-comparison composition by fluxblog.

- rbally, one of our favorite Boston bloggers, has decided to call it quits. this is such a crime, but to tell you the truth, we get it. life+blog=something messy. he'll be missed around here.

- in a spectacularly short snippet with a little jolt to bloggers everywhere, i'm willing to take the hit for NY Times's review of my beloved Annuals. i won't get all sappy on you here, but this is sort of my pet band. by FAR their debut Be He Me is in my "top-three-most-listened" since September. constantly stuck in my head. anyway, check out the article and catch another little snippet of Frida Hyvonen. her stuff is so good. [Largehearted Boy]

alright. most of that was news of quitting or endings, but i stuck in a little positive at the end there (rock on Annuals, Ace Fu). now get on with your lives.  shan  9:00 AM  |  view comments (0)