Today's Hotness: The Answering Machine, Superchunk, Stone Roses

>> For those of you who don't read something called Record Of The Day magazine, which we freely admit we don't, you may have missed this Feb. 5 issue of its weekly magazine (we know, a weekly version of a daily, we're confused too) in which our humble blog was profiled. We endeavored to be interesting, and are not sure we succeeded, although we don't think our case was helped by how our remarks were edited to fit in the news hole. But the most important takeaway from the interview is our answer to question three, in which we name The Answering Machine's debut full-length Another City, Another Sorry the most likely thing to break big in 2009. The video for the track "Cliffer" -- which will be released March 9 as the first single from the full-length, and which will probably sell out in no time -- is embedded atop this item. We heard from our man MGrooves Monday night that folks in the U.S. can already purchase the digital version of the Manchester, England quartet's single via Rhapsody.com right here, right now. We downloaded it last night and it is massive: gigantic guitars, big hooks, it's the whole package. The b-side "Your Home Address," a demo of which we've been digging for months and months, is also really enjoyable, although its more mid-tempo attack is eclipsed somewhat by the energy of "Cliffer" (not to mention the energy of the title track to the full-length). Anyway, our point is this track is awesome, the full-length is going to be huge, and enjoy the video.

>> We really feel the music zeitgeist is tipping back toward our tastes in indie rock. One sign of this is news Tuesday from Pantsfork that legendary indie rock foursome Superchunk will issue a new EP April 7 called Leaves In The Gutter. Will it be as good as the "Mower" b/w "On The Mouth" single from 1993? Probably not. But maybe, just maybe, it will be. What we do know, according to the Pantsfork item, is that the EP will have five tracks, including two version of "Learned To Surf" and one cut ("Misfits & Mistakes") that was previously issued on vinyl in 2007. Speaking of "Mower," did you know the band offers that track for free download at its site right here, along with a handful of other excellent tracks? Well now you do. Here's "Mower" and "Watery Hands," because, you know, why not?

Superchunk -- "Mower" -- On The Mouth
Superchunk -- "Watery Hands" -- Indoor Living
[right click and save as]
[buy Superchunk records from Newbury Comics right here]

>> Since we've already fallen down the rabbit hole of oldies, we thought we'd throw out there that we're pleased that The Stone Roses' superlative '89 self-titled debut will be remastered and reissued some time this year as a box set. This according to the NME here. We can't imagine what if any rarities could be packaged with the box that haven't already made the rounds of fans several times over, but that is no matter. What is important is that the record gains currency with new fans who may not have discovered it yet. It is truly a wonderful record.