As I sit in my office here in Sydney I am AGAIN saddened by the fact that another icon Australia music venue is closing its doors.

But this one holds even more sentimental value than most as the Tote, on the corner of Johnston and Wellington Streets in Collingwood, was not only my old local but a venue that gave me some of my first gigs when I started playing music, it was the venue that hosted the very last Best Of The Brat, I went to two very rock’n'roll wedding receptions at, we had one my best mate Marcus’s 21st there so our bands could play and I saw some of the best and formative gigs there, from the Powder Monkeys and The Hellacopters to The White Stripes, Andre Williams and JET.

This venue to me was as iconic as CBGBS and sadly like CBGBS, all amazing things must come to an end.

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July is the new December with music sites trumpeting The Best Albums of 2009… So Far. We thought we’d join in on this list-making exercise. Here’s some of our faves 7 months into the year that is 2009.

Eels – Hombre Lobo (Nikki)
M Ward – Hold Time (Fez)
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix (Karen)
Yeah Yeah Yeah’s – It’s Blitz! (Lisa)
Andrew Bird – Noble Beast (Tara)
The Decemberists – Hazards of Love (Darryl)
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca (Liesl)
The Crystal Method – Divided By Night (Kara)

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Michaella has already waxed lyrical about the Supergroup To End All Supergroups: the Monsters of Folk. The lineup comprises Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), M Ward, and Mike Mogis – which quite frankly has a few of us around the office a little flustered in Spunk folk heaven.

The self-titled album is out in September, but you can download the track Say Please from MonstersOfFolk.com. All you have to do is say…

Jim James (My Morning Jacket), Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes), M Ward and Mike Mogis have teamed up to form the SUPERGROUP TO END ALL SUPERGROUPS!

After over a year of “will they, wont they?” musings, the aforementioned gods of indie folk rock have confirmed they have been writing together under the name Monsters Of Folk and will be offering up their debut self-titled record late September on Spunk.

All four collaborators shared song writing duties and perform all the instruments on the album, producing an excitingly varied and courageous record that journeys from subtle folk melodies to brash rock moments.

We can’t wait for you to hear it!