One of the best things about taking over as music editor here at the Mercury is all the local CDs that were left behind. As (now retired music editor) Zac Pennington was filling his mailer crate with pens, comp bottles of booze, and old business cards, he sighed and pointed to a massive bookcase of promos along one wall, "You're welcome to any of those." So when I set up my workspace, I dug through the whole mess, carried a stack over to my writing desk, and began listening to them. This week has been Toothfairy's Kinks-meets-Jimmy-Tamborello deal Formative (dude name-drops Plaid Pantry; it's genius), the new Junior Private Detective, and Adam Forkner's [[[[VVRSSNN]]]] record. And there's hundreds more—a huge, leaning testament to Portland music's deep rabbit hole of talent.

So, some local music news. This week sucks. It crushingly, violently, brutally suffocates any chance of fun. In a town where good times explode from every corner, dead weeks like this are even worse. So while the Too Much Fun Club takes a few days off, let's dig through some online action.

Aaron MacDonald, who plays in the New Mexican Revolution and works as a runner for the Mercury (beer for office parties, birthday cake, etc.), emailed last week about his Song a Day project. Aaron writes, records, and posts an MP3 every day, then types up a quick blog entry. If you wanna keep tabs on this totally admirable art project, check out www.aaronmacdonald.com. And while you're at it, email him and tell him to bring me some cake and beer.

Also in the world of online music stuff, local turntablist DJ Sneakers (AKA Ash Wendt) has launched his new site at www.djsneakers.com. The site has info on his many DJ gigs, some words about hiphop, and the goods on his management company Sneakerbox Promotions.

Finally, while this week does blow, New Year's is looking pretty decent. Soul singer Jimmy Scott will be at the Schnitzer Concert Hall. (Check out Zac's write-up next issue.) 31 Knots is at Berbati's. Suckapunch is at Doug Fir. Lifesavas rock Wonder Ballroom. Oh, and Sleater-Kinney and Stephen Malkmus will be playing the night before at the Crystal. Start stocking up on booze, bullets, and bail money...

Bribe: adam@portlandmercury.com