Broken Social Scene

Even on dreary days like today, we can smell the old-hot-dog-and-rotting-garbage-breeze blowing in festival season this summer. At Coney Island, the Village Voice's 8th Annual Siren Music Festival on July 19 is one main events, with a decent line-up this year. Pitchfork alerts us that Indie rock god Stephen Malkmus (Pavement reunion, please!) and the Jicks, Canadian noise rockers Broken Social Scene and CMJ Music Festival darlings Parts & Labor and Dragons of Zynth will be playing, along with Beach House, Times New Viking, the Dodos, Annuals, the Helio Sequence, These Are Powers, Film School, and Jaguar Love.

The big dogs of publishing might have Oprah Winfrey’s Book Club, but the little ones have indie rock. Unclear when the flirtation became a marriage, but the benefit concert held Sunday night at Beacon Theater for 826 NYC, the McSweeney’s-sponsored reading-and-writing program for kids, seems a good indication that independent literature and independent music are happily locked in a warm, wordy bear hug.  read more »