Some #longreads as you prepare for a weekend where you can finally stop writing about Project Pabst…

“God’s Pickaxe”

SPIN did a series of interviews with the members of The Walkmen who went solo–first talking to Walter Martin, followed by Peter Matthew Bauer, and today publishing their piece on Hamilton Leithauser.  The fact that all three solo albums are brilliant and remarkably different from one another speaks to how amazing and underrated their band together was.

The AV Club did a roundtable discussing the massive re-release of Adore from the Smashing Pumpkins.  I disagree with most of the panelists about the merits of “Ava Adore” and “Perfect” (both of which I think are fine singles), but I agree with their main point that Adore as a whole is underrated.  A better piece is their Permanent Records feature on the classic from The Replacements, Let It Be.  Though I rank Tim slightly higher, it is still a landmark album worth plenty of discussion.

Gawker, of all places, has a great piece on OutKast’s homecoming show in Atlanta, discussing how their rise influenced a generation in hip-hop and helped the South make its mark on the genre.