by Inlander Staff & r & & r & Watching the Watchmen & r & Finally, somebody's taking the snobs at Pitchfork to task. Tuning Fork's handful of contributors critique the Web's undisputed indie king-makers, calling Pitchfork's writers out on their hauteur, fanboydom and pointlessly obtuse writing. I mean, consider this sentence from Pitchfork: "The rapturous belter's high-minded lyrical aspirations often undermine her throat's unhindered veracity." That shit's begging for a whoopin'. Check out the melee at Tuningforkmedia.blogspot.com.





Flatting the Third & r & Tickets for Ani DiFranco's Aug. 15 appearance at the Met have just gone on sale -- visit www.ticketswest.com or call 325-SEAT -- but if you can't wait to hear angsty female lyricism, check out Portland songster Kate Mann, who plays Rock Coffee on April 5 at 7 pm. We don't know what Mann means when she calls her style "desert gypsy rock," but if you're in the market for moody, minor-key music (all but two tracks on her November Songs debut start with a minor chord -- we checked) with your coffee, she might do it for you.





Josh Ritter Hates You & r & Folkie heartthrob and Moscow native Josh Ritter has announced tour dates for spring and early summer, and guess what? He's not coming to see you. Ritter, who last played the Inland Northwest in 2004, returns from a European gig in May, then hits Seattle (twice), Portland and San Francisco. We're just trying to rock ourselves a little harder here, Josh. Throw us a bone.





Everybody Hurts & r & Matchbook Romance, the Early November, Chiodos, Amber Pacific and We Are the Fury play the Take Action! tour at the Big Easy on Sunday (see story). Anyone else notice the irony in a musical crusade against suicide being stocked by a bunch of emo bands?