Today's Hotness: Haywood, Ulrich Schnauss, They Might Be Giants

>> Get out your Christmas, kids. You can actually now purchase Haywood's "final final" record As Long As There Is Track, I Will Not Go Back from the erstwhile band's MySpace mausoleum -- look for the "buy now" link in the right-hand column. Purchasing the album will set you back $9, but having heard it we can assure you that it is worth at least $12.99. Great value! Awesome indie rock! Wanna hear one of the new tracks? Below we've posted album opener "Far Rockaway." It turns everyday commuting around the boroughs into an anthem ("We.Must.Take.The.A.Train!") but gets in a dig at the same time ("tell me why can't I live my life without all of the things that people say?"). It's classic Haywood. Well, we remember talking with a couple of the lads about how "Come On Tell The Truth Now" from the quartet's prior try at a swan song was classic Haywood. What the hell, here's both songs, so you can have your lively Haywood and your sad Haywood all at once. Why not just make a day of it and take a spin through our small collection of pics of the band here, too.

Haywood -- "Far Rockaway" -- As Long As There Is Track, I Will Not Go Back
Haywood -- "Come On Tell The Truth Now" -- We Are Amateurs, You And I
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[buy Haywood records from Self Starter Foundation and the band]

>> Billboard today reports here that electronic music impresario Ulrich Schnauss will release his third set Goodbye July 10 on Domino. The set took Mr. Schnauss two years to complete and he spent much of that time adding layers upon layers of sound, which led to big-time headaches during the mixing. "Some of these songs have about 100 tracks playing simultaneously, and I had a lot of trouble getting the balance right." Schnauss aims to build interest in Goodbye by releasing an EP to whet fans appetites; Quicksand Memory will feature "Medusa" from the forthcoming set, another track with Long-View bandmate Rob McVey and two remixes from Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins; Guthrie and Schnauss each contributed to the most recent Mahogany set Connectivity!). Here's hoping that at least one of the new tracks is as strong as "As If You've Never Been Away," which is our favorite U.S. jam.

>> BVegan points out here that the forthcoming new set from They Might Be Giants is produced by the Dust Brothers. That sounds pretty darn promising. Which reminds us: in 1990 the ocean levels were rising up because of a brand new record, Flood. Now it's just global warming. Crap. Anyway, the new TMBG may or may not be the band's 13th proper release and it is titled The Else.

>> Take four and watch stoner rock foursome Panthers slam through "Goblin City" during VBS.tv's Soundcheck At The Southpaw web series. It's a hot rocker. Here's the link.

>> Got $1,250 and change to spare? Some one is selling a used but apparently "near virgin" copy of Dinosaur Jr.'s self-titled debut with album art that pre-exists the band being forced to add the "Jr." to its name. Wish the guy -- it's gotta be a guy, right? -- had posted a photo. Check it out here.