by SHANE SINNOTT

Hey, Pop Montreal, how’s it going? That’s good. Nice to see you again too. I suggest, folks, that one of the many things you do this weekend is go see the Burning Hell on Friday at l’Escogriffe, opening for the FemBots. Yes, I know, I always plug them, but it’s because they’re really freakin’ good, and not enough people hear them live. This is a band that plays perfectly together, all eight to 13 of them, and to witness their ambitious, silly-serious pop in person is a good thing. You can download “I Love the Things That People Make,” off their first record, at tinyurl.com/3v7ja3, and listen to a bunch of stuff on the CBC Radio 3 site at tinyurl.com/3o6bl8.

In case you’ve forgotten about Barack Obama, a blog has been set up that features musicians recording original material for the man. It’s at barackrock.iwroteyouasong.org, and the self-described mandate is to create a catalogue of “free, exclusive songs, each with its own individual art, meant to inspire participation and donations for the Obama campaign.” There’s stuff by a bunch of smaller acts up now, and they’re promising that folks like Jens Lekman and Antibalas will be contributing soon. The National have gotten into the act as well, selling “Mr. November” t-shirts on their site—a photo of Obama with the song title, which happens to be my favourite of theirs. Here’s a link to it, recorded live in Norway: tinyurl.com/3gae7n.

Meanwhile, Wilco and Fleet Foxes have released a live version of Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” which is available on their Web site at tinyurl.com/52udym. The catch, if you can call it that, is that you have to fill out a form with your name and e-mail address, and check a box saying, “I Pledge to Vote in the 2008 Election,” and then a download link will be sent to you. I have to admit, the carrot-dangling seems like a better way to rustle up a mailing list than going door to door, and I’ll let you in on a little secret—they’ll send you the song even if you live in, say, Canada.