what's the deal with the singles club, anyway?

We here at Dark Beloved Cloud really like singles: little recordings focused on one great song that's not part of an album, with extra stuff that complements that great song somehow. And, as much as we love selling records and CDs, we also really like giving people music in exchange for something other than money. Hence, the Dark Beloved Cloud Singles Club. Every month, you'll get a 3-inch (small!) CD (like the current Singing Catalogue). They're songs exclusive to these singles, and they're by some pretty amazing bands. Small, simple, cute, great. And how do you get them? Well, the one way you can't get them is by paying for them. You can subscribe to the dbc singles club for six months by sending us your name, your address, and six hand-decorated 3" x 3" cards. They will, in turn, become the "cover artwork" for six other subscribers' singles. The first two are already here--Family Fodder's "Tender Words" and the Cantilever compilation. (Let us know if you want your subscription to include them.) Next up is Oedipus's exquisite 16-minute dream-murmur "Hybrid Phase Yellow." Beyond that, there'll be brand-new singles by Kimya Dawson, Nothing Painted Blue, Sarah Dougher, Ninetynine and some special surprises.

An MP3 file of the song "Happy Birthday" performed by the popular alt-country darlings Wilco has been making quite a stir in file-sharing world and getting rave reviews from the record reviewers who have downloaded it.

Critics everywhere — from Rolling Stone, Spin, Alternative Press to Ebony, Rosie and Newsweek — are hailing this version of the sing-along classic, "The Best Song of 2003."

"I realize we are only in the first week of the new year, but I find it hard to believe any subsequent release will be as good as this," said Greg Holsapple of the alt-rock magazine, No Depression. "It's an elegant yet heartfelt low-fi masterpiece. Like most Wilco songs, it seems uninspired at first listen, but upon future spins, you realize and feel the sublime beauty of it."

The "live" song was performed after a recent Wilco show. Jeff Tweedy, the main singer-songwriter for the band, called his mother to wish her a happy birthday. He and the other band members picked up their acoustics and performed an impromptu, yet expertly crafted 47-second rendition of the party favorite. Everyone backstage within earshot was floored by the hauntingly poignant paean to a mother from a loving son. Many listeners broke down and sobbed.

Well it's not a brand new CD as such but Wilco's "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot" is being re-released in Australia with a limited edition bonus CD containing 6 previously unreleased bonus tracks. Available from Monday January 20th, we've been directly contacted by online Aussie music retailer Sound World who will ship the CD worldwide. Head over to www.soundworld.com.au to pre-order and support independent music retailing 22,000 km away. In the meantime, here's the bonus disc track list:

1. Camera
2. Handshake Drugs
3. Woodgrain
4. A Magazine Called Sunset
5. Bob Dylan's 49Th Beard
6. More Like The Moon