The near future holds several interesting projects from some favorite artists. The most exciting is the long-promised Replacements box set. Some tangible news about that has started to surface, most on the excellent unofficial Paul Westerberg page Men Without Ties. It seems there will be a 'Mats best of called Bastards of Young in May from Rhino -- one that, unlike the decent but unremarkable All For Nothing/Nothing For All set from Sire a few years back, will also draw from the band's Twin/Tone days -- followed by a multi-disc set. A podcast with Tommy Stinson reveals that the set will be "a joint release with Ryko and will include previously unreleased stuff (yay), a DVD with live footage, including SNL, and some European TV appearances," according to Men Without Ties. Sounds promising; there's obviously a lot to draw upon. (funny note: Blogger's spellcheck suggests "extrovert" for "Westerberg." Yeah, right)

Audika Records has revealed that another set from the late Arthur Russell is forthcoming. Last Thought Best Thought will include a disc with "Instrumentals," which was part of a planned 48-hour cycle, and the previously unreleased "Reach One," and a disc with the extremely limited (320 copies) "Tower of Meaning" and the previously unreleased "Sketch for the Face of Helen." That release is scheduled for April 4, and continues Audika's loving restoration of Russell's work. I became instantly fascinated in Russell in 2004 when a first wave of reissues and compilations raised his profile seemingly overnight (helped mightily by simultaneous and overwhelmingly positive press from the likes of Sasha Frere-Jones and others). I was particularly interested in Russell because he hails from small town Iowa just south of my own Des Moines roots, but that geographic hook wouldn't be enough to sustain interest if his music wasn't so singularly compelling. Audika also reports that filmmaker Matt Wolf is working on a film about Russell. It seems as if 2006 is shaping up to be as important for Russell's music as 2004. Stay tuned.

Joe Pernice will appear in the flesh on an upcoming episode of "The Gilmore Girls." The show has featured Pernice's music before, but now Joe will get to try out his acting chops. Those indie rock "Cribs" episodes on his web site don't seem so silly now, do they? Can you say "audition tape"? The show regularly features Grant Lee Phillips (he of Grant Lee Buffalo), but the plot involves Neil Young discovering Phillips' character and taking him on tour. Pernice will be among many "troubadour-wannabes" seeking to fill the role, according to his office.

Lastly, Jose Gonzalez, whose album Veneer was in my Top 10 of 2005, will make his national TV debut with a performance Wednesday on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." He'll perform "Heartbeats." His publicist reports that Veneer will be reissued by Mute on April 4, though anyone who still doesn't have it ought to rush out and pick up the original Parasol Records version to help those folks out.