Following perhaps in the footsteps of this blog, the New York Times weighed in on the ukulele craze a few days ago with this well-measured overview of the surge in use of the tiny twanger on the current rock scene (especially at the hipster end of the spectrum). Wonder what kind of hate mail they’ll get.

“What happens when you take a 1977 Lester Bangs review of a Tangerine Dream laser show and replace ‘Tangerine Dream’ with ‘Beat Connection/USF’?” the Seattle Weekly wondered. The alt paper’s Eric Grandy then proceeded to answer his own question, illustrating not only that a lot of “chillwave” was as static and mind-numbing three and a half decades ago as it is today, but that good criticism is timeless, and even can aspire to be better or at least more enduring “art” than the stuff that it’s critiquing.

The Wild Hare, the long-running reggae club on Clark Street in Wrigleyville, is closing on May 15. Howard Reich had the scoop in the Tribune.

Looks as if the powers that be at South by Southwest weren’t kidding about the desire to crack down on extra-festival parties and events in the wake of this year’s Weaselgate (though, as noted earlier, that was a sanctioned showcase). Here’s an interesting piece from the University of Texas blog.

Finally, Odd Future playing this summer’s Pitchfork Music Festival: Thoughts? Trying to sort out my own, and curious to hear yours as I prepare to weigh in.