Last year, Mates of State provided music for the This American Life 2007 live tour (with Sarah Vowell, David Rakoff, Dan Savage and others). You can hear parts of this tour now (including Mates' musical interludes) on the This American Life website.

New video from Mates of State for the song get better (off their upcoming May 20th release, re-arrange us) is being featured at Paste Magazine as their video of the day.

Barsuk loves vinyl, and to prove it we'll be releasing a bunch of records on vinyl later this spring and summer, including:

• Steve Fisk & Benjamin Gibbard / kurt cobain about a son: original score : Out May 20 (limited edition hand-numbered double LP)
• Nada Surf / lucky : Out June 17
• Mates of State / re-arrange us : Out June 17
• Death Cab for Cutie / narrow stairs : Summer '08
• Lackthereof / your anchor : Summer '08
• Nada Surf retrospective vinyl box set : Late Summer '08 (details to come)

The upcoming record from Mates of State, re-arrange us will be available May 20, but you can get a preview of the tracks now by watching the new video, for the song get better — you can read what Pitchfork has to say, or just watch the video on YouTube and leave your own comments.

On Saturday, April 19, independent music stores across the country will be taking part in the first annual Record Store Day, celebrating those wonderful and unique places where music fans can find satisfaction. Several of Barsuk's artists will be taking part in this event — be sure to check out your local record store to find out what events they have planned.

Here's where you can find our bands:

• Aqueduct performance at Sonic Boom (Ballard) in Seattle, WA at 4pm
• Mates of State performance at Newbury Comics (on Newbury Street) in Boston, MA at noon
• Menomena foosball tournament at Jackpot Records (SW 9th) in Portland, OR from 1pm to 3pm — anyone who beats the band members at foosball will have their name put into a hat; at the end of the tournament, one lucky winner will win a special gift. The band will also be DJ'ing during the event.
• Nada Surf performance at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ 2:30pm
• John Roderick (The Long Winters) DJ set at Sonic Boom (Capitol Hill) in Seattle, WA at 3pm
• Jesse Sykes performance at Easy Street (Queen Anne) in Seattle, WA at 5pm

Kori Gardner and Jason Hammel, the he and she music factory known as Mates of State, have confirmed the May 2008 release and tracklisting for their fifth full length album, re-arrange us. They've also confirmed their appearance at the Sasquatch Festival on Sunday, May 25, followed by a May 28 date at Los Angeles' Henry Fonda Theater, and a full headlining tour and numerous other festival dates to be announced shortly. The tour will mark Mates' first extensive road trip since NPR's This American Life tour last February, where they provided musical interludes between Ira Glass, Dave Eggers, Dan Savage, Sarah Vowell and David Rakoff's readings to 3000+ crowds across the U.S.

Look for more news about the upcoming release — including sample MP3s — in the coming weeks.

The nominees for the 2nd annual Libby award (honoring those who have made a difference in the lives of animals) have been announced, and Mates of State's anti-fur ad have secured their place in the "Best New Fur Foe" category. Learn all about the awards (and vote!) here.