Wedding receptions are awesome: free booze, finger food, and fancily-dressed singles. What more can you ask for? Oh, how about Pavement reuniting to play a cover of Bob Sinclair's "Rock This Party"? You got it!

For the second year running, mom and pop indie music venues will mark Record Store Day, April 18, by offering musical incentives to get buyers through their doors.

Witty and blithe, Stephen Malkmus' jester-of-the-MTV-age lyricism has been as vital to Pavement's music as the lo-fi guitars and catchy alt-pop structures. And nowhere have these assets been as freeform as on "Stereo," the opening track off their reissued 1997 album Brighten the Corners.

It's freezing outside, but here at SPIN.com HQ we're combating frostbite with hot new tracks courtesy of our favorite artists, including Justin Timberlake, Neil Young, the Decemberists, and Kelly Clarkson, all of which were unveiled just this week. Throw in news about Metallica, Lil Wayne, and Ryan Adams, and 2009 is shaping up to be a pretty hot year -- take that Old Man Winter!

Unlike the Smiths, who have repeatedly dismissed the idea of a reunion, lo-fi indie legends Pavement have hinted that a full-on reconciliation could be in the works -- you know, if the price is right.

On the phone, indie-rock wordsmith Stephen Malkmus is exactly as you'd imagine: Gregarious, silly, preternaturally comforting, and entirely friendly. And it's in this tone that he delivers some very exciting news: Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks are gearing up for their next record.