Pitchfork

Okay, so you've got your tickets for the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival (or you don't-- what are you waiting for? Friday's already sold out!). You picked up some sunscreen, made off with grandma's BluBlockers, put a little cash aside for the record/craft fair, and penned your personal love letter to Cat Power and/or Carl Newman, folding it up into a paper airplane so you can hurl it onstage when the moment is right (not that we endorse hurling of any kind on festival grounds, but you know).

With less than a month to go before gates open at Chicago's Union Park on Friday, July 13, we are officially in Pitchfork Music Festival mode. So we've decided to keep spirits high with a series of pre-fest happenings and a handout of free tracks from festival artists.

First up: As we did last year, the Pitchfork Music Festival has once again teamed up with our pals at eMusic to present a *totally free* downloadable compilation packed with songs from festival performers. The 17-track comp, stuffed with well over an hour of music, can be yours, now, by clicking right here.

What's more, you don't have to be an eMusic subscriber to download it. (But hey, you're on the site-- it's a good excuse to join up.) The compilation's tracklist is printed below for your convenience; it includes jams from Sonic Youth, Of Montreal, Voxtrot, Deerhunter, Battles, and 12 more. As Clinton Sparks once suggested, get familiar.

Secondly, in collaboration with the Pitchfork Music Festival and several of Chicago's finest music venues, the Chicago Cultural Center will once again present a series of special LunchBreak concerts across the week leading up to the festival (July 9-13). Each of these five shows takes place at the Cultural Center's Randolph Café at 12:15 p.m., and admission is free. Check the schedule of performers, all local favorites:

Monday, July 9 - Red Chamber (presented by Martyrs')
Tuesday, July 10 - Baby Teeth (presented by The Hideout)
Wednesday, July 11 - The Narrator (presented by The Empty Bottle)
Thursday, July 12 - Watchers (presented by Schubas Tavern)
Friday, July 13 - May or May Not (presented by Metro)

Finally, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention how all tickets for the 2007 Pitchfork Music Festival are nearly sold out. Act fast and you can still nab two-day passes ($35) or individual Saturday and Sunday passes ($25 each). Friday tickets and three-day passes are already, as you may know, completely sold out.

As always, keep your browser tuned to the Pitchfork Music Festival website for all the details, and we'll see you in a few weeks!

2007 Pitchfork Music Festival Sampler:

01 Dan Deacon - "The Crystal Cat"
02 Professor Murder - "Free Stress Test"
03 Voxtrot - "Mothers, Sisters, Daughters & Wives"
04 Craig Taborn - "Junk Magic"
05 Cadence Weapon - "Sharks"
06 Deerhunter - "Heatherwood"
07 Menomena - "Wet and Rusting"
08 William Parker - "Purple"
09 Beach House - "Apple Orchard"
10 The Twilight Sad - "And She Would Darken the Memory of Youth"
11 Grizzly Bear - "Deep Sea Diver"
12 The Ponys - "Let's Kill Ourselves"
13 Nomo - "New Tones"
14 Sonic Youth - "Kill Yr Idols"
15 Lightbox Orchestra - "#18 (Roby's)"
16 Of Montreal - "Suffer for Fashion"
17 Battles - "TRAS2"