“It’s a sound rooted in a history that includes early Rilo Kiley, the Mountain Goats, Barsuk Records, and Saddle Creek: small-town, big-hearted indie-rock realism. Through unpolished sounds come intimate, unpolished scenes.” Mike Powell on Waxahatchee’s Cerulean Salt. Waxahatchee also played last week’s Indie Pop Prom, which was covered by the likes of the Times’s Jon Caramanica and Impose.

Rosie Schaap recommends her favorite cinematic bar scenes.

“…from song one, he sounds like he’s working hard, short of the times when he’s not having an outright blast with his dichotomies.” Katie Hasty has some thoughts on David Bowie’s new album The Next Day.

Mingering Mike at the Smithsonian? Excellent.

“If “Gilmore Girls” is a text, then it’s a big, fat one—in fact, double that of most evening television dramas—with heaps of knowledge to dispense.” Jane Hu on Gilmore Girls.

Tim Horvath shares tips on writing very short fiction.

The Tournament of Books guys sorted out a dozen literary beefs.

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