New music, new videos, and news as you recover from a weekend spent with the sun shining mercilessly on a gravel pit…

Wilco shocked the music-loving world last week with the surprise release of their latest album, Star Wars, for free through their website.  The record is a very loose affair, hearkening back to the pre-Summerteeth era, and serves as the perfect soundtrack for a lazy summer afternoon.  They played the record in its entirety during their Pitchfork Musical Festival-headlining set, so those of you who are lucky enough to have tickets for their current tour should prepare yourselves accordingly.

We are entirely against the idea of playing the song “Friday I’m in Love” on any day except Friday, though we may have to make an exception for Yo La Tengo’s pleasant take The Cure’s classic for their new covers album Stuff Like That There, especially for its hilarious music video that is perfect for any Monday.

Wavves shared their latest single “Way Too Much” last week after a brief brouhaha with their label.  The drama seems to have ended, which is great news because the song has us amped for the October 2nd release of V.

Pitchfork has a handy guide to a list of the best books of the 33 1/3 series, which allows writers to examine classic albums through a variety of perspectives.  We can vouch for the excellence of the entry on In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, and one of these days we will pick up a few more selections.

If you are in need of a laugh this week, we highly recommend you check out Clickhole’s irreverent take on the Oral History.  Their most recent look at the making of Jay Z’s The Blueprint is hysterical, though it may be topped by their examination of the creation of OK Computer.  Those expecting a serious look at the making of those classic albums will be sorely disappointed, but everyone else should enjoy the mocking of an often tired format.