Steady On: Several years ago I was routinely asked to judge open-mic events in Athens. That didn't last very long—mainly because I refused to give a participation ribbon high-five to every Joe Blow covering frat-dork Jack Johnson songs. However, there was a woman named Sarah Tollerson who stood out from that ragged crowd. She's now living in Nashville, TN but came back to her native Winder, GA last week to celebrate the release of her second full-length album, Wherever We Go. Tollerson's music is, generally speaking, pretty lightweight and breezy with diary-style lyrics but, I dunno, there's still something intangible about her songs. And that's probably why she always stood out as a real talent in a sea of mere chum. Check her out via sarahtollerson.com or facebook.com/sarahtollerson.

Taking the Rough with the Smooch: Shitty Candy & The Circus Peanuts may well be one of the local bands that never fails to irritate me, but I can't deny it's got a sparklingly good-looking brand-new video. It's for the group's cover of “I Enjoy Being a Girl” from the musical The Flower Drum Song. Although Rodgers & Hammerstein is totally misspelled as “Rogers” in the opening credits, the live action and animation are a nice touch together. But this isn't Mary Poppins, it's Shitty Candy and all that implies. The video will make its official debut at Max on Thursday, Nov. 8. That night, Shitty Candy teams up with Thunderchief and SheHeHe—the latter of which has been particularly tight and rocking lately even though it still plays that awful “Whale Vagina” song—for a show at the popular drinking establishment. But if you want to peep it now, head to youtube.com/user/ShittyCandy.

You Sure Miles Davis Done It This Way?: DJ Other Voices, Other Rooms just released his most fully realized mixtape yet. It was recorded back in August with Athens rappers Ced & Roc from Redklay. The music itself—or, in hip-hop parlance, “beats”—was recorded and mixed at home, but the vocals were literally recorded on a street corner in the Athens neighborhood of New Town. Which is why its title, On the Block, is so appropriate. There's all sorts of creative samples herein, from New Order, Kraftwerk, Millie Jackson, Clams Casino, David Bowie, et al. And because it was recorded outside in the summertime, you can hear crickets and cicadas. There's even a freight train rolling through at one point. In other news, Other Voices, Other Rooms says he's got one more mix of his turntable skills to finish up and upload, but after that, he's going off the grid for a while. So, go grab On the Block over at redklay.bandcamp.com and keep summer alive forever.

Eureka California

Cats Can Be Cool: I kinda feel bad for never mentioning that Eureka California was releasing its debut album, Big Cats Can Swim, last week. But I'm telling you now, so we're good, right? The record has already received a huge swath of positive press for its remarkably cohesive and updated style of 1990s slacker indie-rock. The band most recently played New York's CMJ Music Marathon, and the album was released in a pressing of 500 LPs (digital code included) courtesy of homeboy Mike Turner and HHBTM Records. Keep yourself up to date at facebook.com/eurekacalifornia.

Yes, It Does: I remember the day Athens cyclist and music fan Sam Lane was hit by a motorist on Prince Avenue. I was driving home and passed the awful scene. He suffered massive traumatic brain injury, and his recovery has taken years. Now, five years later, in a very touching turn of events, there was a new collaborative cookbook published last month. It was written by Lane's best friend’s mother, Katy Houston, who had promised to “feed him back to health.” She made good on that promise by delivering him special desserts every week for over a year. The book contains those recipes, along with Lane's story. It all sounds so simple on paper, doesn't it? But the love, dedication and struggle involved in this story is completely overwhelming and thought-provoking. Lane chose the title Sweetness Follows as a hat-tip to the Athens music scene in general (and R.E.M. in particular). There will be a book signing at Avid Bookshop, which is located just one building over from the Daily Co-Op where Lane volunteered, on Dec. 2 from 3–4 p.m. Lane was primarily attracted to Athens because of our music scene, and his story is so remarkable that if I can't write about his book in the local music column then I don't know what.