Even as I write this, many of you are already preparing for your expeditions to the Pitchfork Music Festival this weekend—buying that nice spray-on sunscreen instead of the gross lotion kind, picking out your favorite vintage 80s rock tee, coordinating body-paint colors with your friends, et cetera. And of course you’re all picking up copies of this week’s Reader in order to make use of our massive in-depth guide to all things Pitchforkian. It’s what scientists call “a doozy,” with previews of every single act that will grace Union Park over the weekend, all the relevant info you need to get to and around the festival grounds, and even a free digital sampler from eMusic with tracks from 29 festival acts. And if three entire days of music aren’t enough for you, we also have a guide to the best afterparties and off-site entertainments, which will keep you busy well into the early morning.
This week we also have Brain Idea’s Joe Wetteroth interviewing Kurt Vile, who’ll be making an appearance at Pitchfork on Sunday. The Secret History of Chicago Music tells the story of the Starlets, “a tale of girl-group innocence and music-industry corruption.” Gossip Wolf—which is sure to have some juicy tidbits in its post-Pitchfork edition—tells us of music-biz nuptials, “country-fried, radio-ready folk-rock,” and the good news that Sharkula’s not dead. And in case you aren’t getting your fill of live music at Pitchfork, Soundboard offers a slew of non-fest-related recommendations, including Cibo Matto, Toots & the Maytals, Sourvein, Eleanor Friedberger, the Peoples Temple, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra.