You know how long 400 words is? Fuckin' tiny. This column is 400 words, and if you're only reading it in the paper, you're getting the truncated, summarized, runt-ass version. All week, I file local news at the Mercury's Blog Town, PDX, so what you see in Thursday's print edition is a "best of" compendium. Type: portlandmercury.com/blogtown for the full course.

Brent Bell writes to say the up-with-local-music org. PDX Pop Now! is scouting bands to play this year's festival. Says Brent, it works as a nomination process; fans can go to pdxpopnow.com, browse a list of local acts, and "request" that their favorite band play the fest. Action goes down July 28-30 at Loveland.

Rabbits and Under Mountains have a split 12" coming out on Eolian Records and it's fucking weird and thunderous and awesome. The record release party is Saturday, May 27 at Towne Lounge.

Congrats to Ferocious Eagle for signing to 54º40' or Fight!, which has put out great music from people like Pseudosix and 31 Knots. Says FE's Greg Dalbey, "the record is going to be loud, crazy, and hopefully fucked up. I don't want it just to be another rock record; I'd rather it be something most people find irritating and abstract." The album will be out in October.

Big news from 'zine wizard Mike McGonigal. His 33 1/3 book on My Bloody Valentine's Loveless will be out in September but he's already on to new adventures. Says Mike, "I have a few other book projects—one is a best of comp of my old 'zine Chemical Imbalance—CD plus book, gonna be awesome. I'm editing it and wrote a fair chunk of it. The other is the first in a series of Yeti guide books, printed on yellow plastic cover stocks just like bird field guides—there will be a CD inside it and it's going to be a guide to gospel blues/bluesy gospel."

How fucking GOOD is the new Yellow Swans record? Shit yeah. Sounds like washing machines, broken microwaves, and feeding back amps all gettin' dosed together in the woods. Check out Psychic Secession on Load Records and fry your brain like chorizo. (I go for the soyrizo, but whatever.)

Finally, house shows... weather's getting warmer, it's time to start throwing them. Let's make some miracles happen. Email me if you want your house show in this column. Fuck the arenas. This is your place.

Aqui: adam@portlandmercury.com