Los Campesinos have just released a video for the song “Death to Los Campesinos!” from their forthcoming LP, Hold on Youngster …

As with all their past work, it’s completely brilliant. For fans of Heavenly, Belle and Sebastian, Bis, even Black Flag!

When did Merge become the greatest record label in America? It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a video on Subteranean that made me buy a record, but here’s the first since at least 2006: “Impossible” from The Shout Out Louds. It’s like the Cure rose from their schlocky grave as a pack of pretty Swedes.

And in the “old favorites from 2006″ department, here’s the Thermals with “Pillar of Salt.” Their LP, the Body, the Blood, the Machine is still in heavy rotation on my iPod.

I was in our bedroom this morning, digging around for some clothes, when I happened to glance over at my old CD shelf. I haven’t bought a new CD in about three years, and it’s been even longer since I’ve bought a vinyl record. I’ve gone completely digital.

Now, when I hear about a band (usually from a Pitchfork review), I immediately check eMusic for them. If they’re not there, I make a mental note to check iTunes, and if they are there I add them to my “Save for Later” list, to be downloaded once my eMusic subscription refreshes.

There was a time only a few years ago when a new release meant a desperate jaunt over to a brick and morter indie record store to hunt for that elusive record, only to find out that they just sold their last copy five minutes ago. And god help you when that indie record store inevitably went out of business — your access to music was seriously diminished. Now music is accessible beyond measure, and with eMusic, it’s pratically free, though perfectly legal.

I guess what I’m getting at is that I don’t miss records at all. At the dawn of the MP3 era, with the advent of Napster, I was depressed by the loss of physical media. Now I wish it would all go away. Movies and games are next, thank god.

Oh, how I’ve missed Kim Deal. The Breeders will be releasing a new record in April, entitled “Mountain Battles.” You can listen to one of the new songs on their MySpace page.

“Title TK,” their last LP, was a work of genius. Totally ignored by music fans, but easily containing some of Kim’s best songs. What I’ve heard from the new record sounds equally as good — definitely more in the “Pod” vein than “Last Splash.”

Now if only that Pixies reunion record will ever come together …

This song is over ten years old, but look at the audience reaction. New Mountain Goats record out in February — huzzah!

Imagine Carter USM and Heavenly having a kid. That kid would be Los Campesinos, who I believe are from Wales:

“I never cared about Henry Rollins … I never cared about Ian MacKaye …”

Great stuff.

I never heard of Palomar before I saw an online ad for their new record, but darn it if they’re not continuing the stylistic legacy of some of my favorite bands — namely Heavenly, Velocity Girl and Tsunami. I just picked up their new record, “All Things, Forests” on eMusic and I can’t turn it off.

Here’s a video:

One of my favorite records this summer is the National’s “Boxer.” Sort of like Interpol crossed with Bauhaus minus the pretension.

Here’s a clip of them playing the song “Fake Empire” on David Letterman:

Years ago, I remember going into the University of Maryland book store and religiously picking up PUNK PLANET, which in those days was the kind of newsprint zine that turned your hands a charcoal gray. I’d sit in my old Chevy Malibu station wagon in the College Park metro parking lot and read PUNK PLANET while I waited for Tina to get off work. I was crushed when they stopped carrying PP, and desperately sought out another store that carried it.

I also remember sitting in my boss’ office, chatting with editor Dave Sinker on the PUNK PLANET chat room, while nervously hoping that she wouldn’t walk in to find me on her computer. I was so surprised that he knew about RESTAURANT FUEL (the ‘zine, not the blog), and that he actually liked it! I was a huge fan of PUNK PLANET, and that meant a lot to me.

Over the years, PUNK PLANET grew to be a thick magazine full of great independent reporting, interviews and reviews. I can’t say that I read it as often as it should have, but I’m proud to say that PP reviewed every record, ‘zine and comic book I ever produced. Its death more or less signifies the inevitable demise of the ‘zine movement of which I was a part. An era really has come to an end, never to return.

One forgets in the age of the internet just how difficult it was to get information on independent music, ‘zines, books and comics. PUNK PLANET was as valuable for its advertisements as it was for its actual content. I remember going through all the ads, picking out records I thought sounded good and mailing off checks direct to the record labels in the hopes of finding something I liked. This was before online record stores, when the only way you might hear a record was sending off an order cold from an advertisment in a magazine, or being lucky enough to see a band live. PUNK PLANET was a place to get information about all kinds of indie media.

Nowadays, we have the internet. In 1996, PUNK PLANET was almost all we had. Even though I haven’t read it regularly in awhile, I’m definitely going to miss it.

I’m currently enthralled by “Boxer,” the new LP by The National. Think post-goth, new-wave-inflected indie rock. I’m reminded somewhat of Bauhaus, if Bauhaus were a serious band and not a brilliant joke. This from a recent convert to Peter Murphy and company. The music is slow, building with emotional intensity, but it’s subtle — it’s not in your face. It grows on you. Fans of Interpol, The Stills, Stellastar, etc. should like them.

I saw them open for Arcade Fire a few weeks back and in some ways they were more exciting than the headlining band. They were definitely a nice surprise. And yes, Emusic has all their records available to subscribers, so they’re practically free. Download now.