It’s finally here. Though the months of anticipation, Outside Lands-related posts and Radiohead worship have been fun here at the Stranger Dance, it’ll be nice to get this bitch done with, so we can have some fun. So, in the spirit of community, good citizenship and milking this high-traffic cow one last time, we present the Stranger Dance Outside Lands Survival Kit. This will (hopefully) be everything you need to survive the day, minus the tickets, money, booze and drugs … if you’re into that type of thing.

Join us, won’t you, after the jump.

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So, exciting times around these parts. Not only are 5 bajillion cool bands playing at Outside Lands a mere nine days from now, but we’re also breaking out of our little shell and throwing a party to celebrate the release of Cousin Chris‘ debut album Moon Paper. We’re inviting all our readers and fellow bloggers to join us next Thursday, Aug. 21 at House of Shields downtown (New Montgomery b/w Market and Mission) between 6PM and 10PM to celebrate the release of a great album and prime the pump for a great weekend ahead.

For those who don’t know, Chris Schreiber, aka, Cousin Chris, is a local boy who wrote, sang and played every instrument on Moon Paper. Rooted heavily in a blues (but not at all derivative), bathed in slide guitar and accented with his unique voice, Moon Paper carves out an original sound that, while minimalist, is still compelling and – most importantly – interesting. The album was recorded at John Vanderslice’s Tiny Telephone studios where bands like Death Cab for Cutie, Spoon, Nada Surf and Mike Watt have all recorded. Cousin Chris sat down with me for a chat, which you’ll find – along with a sample of his music – after the jump.

And don’t forget to come out to House of Shields next Thursday and support a local musician (and bloggers!).

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Critic Simon Reynolds is generally credited as the first to use the term “post rock” in his review of Bark Psychosis’ album Hex in the March 1994 issue of Mojo magazine. As the almighty Wikipedia states, he used the term to describe music “using rock instrumentation for non-rock purposes, using guitars as facilitators of timbre and textures rather than riffs and power chords.” Since then, the genre has come into its own, remaining decidedly outside the mainstream. Simply stated, it’s music for music nerds.

I’d like to think that I can definitely tell you what is post rock and what is not (kind of like the rap vs. hip hop debate). But once I start to write a definition worthy of the dictionary, it gets a little tough. The term can mean any number of things depending on who you talk to. Is it a stand-alone genre or an umbrella term used to describe art rock, math rock and atmospheric rock? Is there singing or is it purely instrumental? How many computers should we allow before we cry foul and deem it electronica?

The point of this three-part series on post rock is to try to finally bring a little clarity to one of music’s most neglected genres. Let’s set the record straight right here, right now. Either that, or let’s get into a nasty debate.

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Senior Stranger Dance Correspondent, JD Patton, checks in:

Dear Stranger Dance,

When I was approached by the Panther to crank out one of my ideas for the SD, I thought that I should immerse myself in the San Francisco music scene to find out what makes it one of the most respected in the country.

But where to start? Talk to people at Amoeba? Go see some shows at the Fillmore? No, we need to go to a place that is all about the Sucka Free, a network that shows who the people of San Francisco really are: The San Fran Network on Facebook (feel the sarcasm, people).

Now I know what I need to like to fit in around here, and from looking at the stats I need to really, really like Radiohead. In a city where music is the number one interest of the masses, Radiohead sits on top of the list.

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This past Wednesday, Radiohead performed “House of Cards” live on Conan to celebrate Earth Day. Well, sort of. The band did not actually make the trip to NYC, but instead opted to record live from a London studio in an effort to save the carbon emissions produced from flying a plane across the Atlantic.

Radiohead - “House of Cards” (Live on Conan O’Brien)

Notice the bleeped out F-U to Prez Bush? No? That’s because NBC censors have a better knowledge of British slang than you do.