Inspired by Lauren Leto’s “Stereotyping People By Their Favorite Author,” we realized the incredible potential for a mercilessly judgmental list of indie band stereotypes. It is a common fact that Cormac McCarthy readers are men who don’t eat cream cheese, but what about those who listen to The XX on repeat and The Flaming Lips on hallucinogens? They need labels, too. After the jump, in collaboration with contributor Jeff Luppino-Esposito, we lay down the reckless assumptions.

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1. Kings of Leon will collaborate on a collection of down home jackets, jeans, shirts and accessories with French designers Surface To Air next month in Denmark. [via Xfm]
2. The co-hosts of the 82nd Academy Awards will be Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin; Martin previously hosted in 2001. [via Awards Daily]
3. James Franco will follow up his current gig on General Hospital with a guest appearance on 30 Rock. He’ll be playing Jenna’s love interest. [via EW]
4. Pulitzer Prize-winning author Annie Proulx (The Shipping News, “Brokeback Mountain”) is donating her diaries and manuscripts to the New York Public Library. [via BBC]
5. Flight of the Conchords may not be coming back for a third season because “it requires so much work.” [via Reuters]

Bonus link: Sufjan Stevens Calls 50 States Project “Such a Joke”

Barry Hogan, you warned us: The schizophrenic lineup that the Flaming Lips curated for 2009’s All Tomorrow’s Parties fest could only have been dreamed up by indie-rock’s favorite acid-damaged elder statesmen. You saw the Lips’ penchant for both the beautiful and the deranged reflected in the juxtaposition: well-mannered indie-folk acts like Iron & Wine and Sufjan Stevens sharing the stage with drone and agro-rock heavyweights like the Melvins, the Jesus Lizard, and Boris. Rounding out the lineup’s highlights were sets from festival favorites like Animal Collective, Deerhoof, and the Flaming Lips themselves, while the Feelies and Suicide gave performances of their respective debut albums in their entirety.

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1. Sufjan Stevens will launch a fall tour of smaller venues starting September 21; also, Dan Deacon designed the cover art for his BQE CD/DVD set. [via Pitchfork]
2. Mitch Hurwitz and Will Arnett, who previously collaborated on both Arrested Development and Sit Down Shut Up are developing a third comedy for FOX. [via Ain't It Cool News]
3. What does the music industry’s $675,000 victory over a Boston University grad student mean for file sharing champion Charles Nesson? [via NYT]
4. Many of your favorite Friday Night Lights characters are not long for this world, but Riggins is returning. [via The Watcher]
5. Richard Nash (formerly of Soft Skull Press) on why “indie” is dead. [via Richard Nash]

Today, we listened to the most organic music in the world. We learned French and then contemplated the future of reading. We rode the Google Wave. We laughed at George Clooney’s new ride, which looks like the Segway’s lesser-loved brother. We were slightly confused by Sufjan Stevens’ new hula-hoop movie. We learned the virtue of selfishness in preparation for the Atlas Shrugged mini-series. We wanted to play the viral Tron 2 arcade. We discovered the key to seduction via the Huffington Post. And finally, we hit the gym before trying out for the new Bruce Lee biopic.

Pitchfork reports that Sufjan Stevens has been added to September’s All Tomorrow’s Parties lineup, marking his first announced U.S. show in more than two years and undoubtedly pleasing all of his crazy fans. He’s part of the ATP-curated Saturday lineup, joining the likes of Animal Collective, Panda Bear, and Deerhunter. Sunday, which is curated by the Flaming Lips, includes acts like Crystal Castles, Super Furry Animals, Boredoms, Deerhoof, and Caribou.

Flavorpill favorite David Cross is curating a comedy stage on Friday night, which leads us to believe his friends Eugene Mirman, Todd Barry, and Jon Benjamin might show up; The Jesus Lizard and Iron and Wine will also play that evening.

Translation: You’re going to have to buy some tickets, rent a car, and make the 90-mile drive to Monticello.

Demanding that anyone who wants to hear the song come in person has earned Mr. Duffy the wrath of some fans online. They call him everything from a Brooklyn elitist to arrogant to things that can’t be printed in this newspaper. “Given the economic woes and geopolitical instabilities of the day, is now really the time to hold effete little tea parties” to hear the song, asked one blogger.

- Alec Duffy owns the rights to an otherwise unreleased Sufjan Stevens’ song and forces fans to come to his apartment to listen to it. So far around 60 people have dropped in; he offers them tea and cookies. Does that make him a music hoarder? [via WSJ]

This week, we came across a post on the Guardian’s music blog entitled Reader Recommended: Songs named after Towns. Inspired, we decided to compile our own list of songs named after US towns. Gosh, we’re clever. Although the list could have included hundreds of tunes, we had to be selective — you will not find overplayed tracks like “New York, New York” and “Viva Las Vegas” on this list. Sorry. As always, feel free to add to our list in the comments. Read More »

While Annie Clark, (aka St. Vincent) first made her name as a member of pseudo-religious psych-rockers the Polyphonic Spree and touring singer for folk-popper Sufjan Stevens, her crisp, melodic solo albums are a revelation all their own. Since going solo she’s risen rapidly, earning glowing reviews for both her debut, Marry Me, and the recently released Actor. She adds another notch to her belt on June 8th, kicking off this summer’s free Millennium Park Monday music series in Chicago. In anticipation of the appearance, we sat down with Clark to find out how she got her start in the biz, what happens when the Internet gets it wrong, and whether or not she’s secretly a sociopath. Read More »

Today at Flavorpill, we geeked out over Sufjan Steven’s song for Sofia Coppola, his imaginary confidant. We chased it with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart’s new video for “Young Adult Friction.” We thought of all the spots we’d like to add to the official list of Endangered Places. We enjoyed reading some “wingnut” responses to Arlen Specter “becoming gay.” (Mostly because we feel the word “wingnut” is underloved.) On another political note, we decided not to follow the SEC on any of their Twitter accounts. We thought this swine flu post on Slate was funny. We were glad that Bobby D didn’t really croak. (Side note: Leah came up with a much better way to describe his vocals: “Really need a drink of water, but all I have is this pack of cigarettes.” Use your words music journos!) And finally, we’ll leave you with this shot of young love. Spring is in the air people! Except in our office, where we’re waiting for the A/C to be delivered. Here we’re in the dog days of summer.