Today's Hotness: Mendoza Line, Smashing Pumpkins, Built To Spill

>> And we're back. We're so far behind that we're not sure where to begin. Let's just set 'em up and knock 'em down shall we? In addition to this round-up, keep your eyes peeled in the coming days for track reviews for The Mendoza Line (in the meantime, check out the mother lode of information about the tumultuous state of the band -- yikes! -- in the comments to Frank's Chromewaves post today) and Sleeping In The Aviary as well as our show review of the Fields/Blonde Redhead gig Wednesday night.

>> NME reports here that Smashing Pumpkins 3.0 (or is it 4.0? There was someone before Auf Der Mar but after D'Arcy, wasn't there? The '90s all start to blend together after a while) will include bassist Ginger Reyes and guitarist Jeff Schroeder. We don't know either of them by name, but Schroeder plays with Lassie Foundation, who we've heard good things about from our guy at Rhapsody. Anyway, NME cites reports in the Chicago Trib and MTV News while also reporting that nothing is confirmed by anybody. Smashing Pumpkins will release the (attempted comeback) record Zeitgeist July 7. And if it is anywhere near as good as Gish we'll eat one of our many hats.

>> Pantsfork reports here that three Built To Spill records will get reissued on vinyl in limited editions of 2,000. Unfortunately, none of these records is the band's high water mark and sophomore set There's Nothing Wrong With Love. Instead, Built To Spill's major label releases Perfect From Now On, Keep It Like A Secret and You In Reverse get the nod. The trio will be released by Warner Brothers as double LPs. The band will play at Boston's Avalon nightclub, assuming that the club isn't shut down for the renovation and remodeling of the property described in this Boston Globe article.

>> Quick ones: Ride's not reforming; our senior year we had Sun Ra Arkestra and Cub; Qui, the trio newly expanded to include David Yow, actually signed to Ipecac; the Operation Ivy reissue we've mentioned here and here previously is delayed again, this time until an unspecified date in the fall; the forthcoming Photon Band release has also been delayed [scroll down to comments], unfortunately for an indefinite period of time; Last.FM is adding videos to its music and social networking service; a preview of the forthcoming Dinosaur Jr. DVD and clips of J Mascis playing live at VPRO in Holland.