Brattleboro is spring cleaning, not only with a rotation of great cds but with new, fire-red bookshelves that our very own Josh Steele and friend Caleb built over the past week. We are pleased with the over-abundance of dvd/vhs volume that's suddenly available and customers seem to be thrilled with the functional, roomy feel of the store, including changes with our vinyl cases, book overstock and a rejuvenated amount of tapes. Yeah!

Among other news, yours truly continues to cut through magazines like a ransom-note writer for the store's growing display shelves. Collages and homages such as "Mood Music Never Died", "Disco Fire", "A Far Off Time In Jazz", Jethro Tull, Clapton, "What Is Normal: Eno", "There Is More To Music Than Songs", and, oh yeah, Mackenzie's permanent "pick-shelf"-- featured in Ben Zeman's street photography in Through The Music's rocking art gallery.

Also...a few dog bones thrown over to Arcade Fire's side of the tent, seriously. Has anyone noticed how the latter half of their new album, Neon Bible, sounds identical to Bruce Springsteen's Born To Run? A slight let down to the swan-song of Arcade's Funeral, indeed, and with glossy sci-fi album-art, you might get it confused with a Static-X cover if you're not careful. Or maybe this just reimburses the theory that modern rock music is a series of genre imitations carried over at each passing decade. Then again, power-house anthems are hard to write and lately tend to sound & entertain like the bombastic charge of the E-Street shuffle. Ever notice? Polyphonic Spree, Arcade Fire, even Modest Mouse? Ok, I'll quit while I'm ahead... -cwa