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This week's dispatch is a little longer (also a little more intense) than usual, but we hope that you'll still give it a read and some thought...

In 2006, Dave Eggers published a novel based on the life of one of the 'Lost Boys of the Sudan', a group of nearly 20,000 children displaced by civil war in that country. Some of these boys were conscripted as soldiers and forced to fight. Others wandered across the land together into Ethiopia to refugee camps that weren't necessarily happy to have them. Countless died. This week's Perennial 'What is the What' takes its title as well as some of its themes from that book. The song also draws from our own mixture of awe, discomfort, sympathy, admiration, sadness, and confusion when it comes to relating to our own friends and loved ones who have experienced warfare first hand, and who have been irrevocably changed because of it.

This song's narrator is alone, in a forest, fighting for his life alongside others who are doing the same - which is to say that it is at once a song of terrible solitude yet also one of camaraderie. Its musical elements also hang in a tense balance. On one hand it is as stripped down as we get: piano, cello, mandolin, and vocals. On the other, it is sonically massive, multilayered and barely contained.

On a more personal note, this song is perhaps one of my (Paul's) favorite collaborations…

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For thoughts on this week's Perennial, Atychiphobia, we go to Paul:

Here's the thing. Before joining Jones Street Station, I had a hell of a time finishing any of my own projects. Some of that had to do with procrastination, some of it due to being too busy with work. But in the end, it was often the fear of failure itself that kept me paralyzed. The Greeks dubbed this woeful experience 'atychiphobia'.

Lately, not getting things done due to atychiphobia hasn't been as much of an issue. That is because I've found the best cure for it: You just need to set goals for yourself that are so unwieldy and ludicrous, that merely attempting them is its own feat. You win as soon as you start.

This tune has been in the works for quite some time. Everyone on the track brought their A-game: Nate Dillon makes an appearance on steel guitar, and we have a new guest cellist who masterfully delivers parts that I was previously told were unplayable! (talk about achieving the impossible). Kevin Clayton threw an assist with engineering and recording, and Jeff Kryka helped me wrangle and orchestrate the strings.

So, after you listen to this song, go and climb Everest, or write the next great American (or French, or Chinese, or Nigerian) novel, or invent a new language that everyone ends up using in 40 years, or cure malaria and cancer in the same year. Or, maybe, just start…

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We're very proud to turn the May Charity Spotlight on Housing Works Bookstore Cafe, a NYC based 501c3 that's a downtown cultural mainstay and was an early home to our band.   JSS hosted a night there called Live from Down Home through a good portion of 2009 and 2010, where we bought in our favorite local bands, played impromptu bluegrass jams, threw a VP debate show (Palin vs. Biden), and generally cut our teeth and made lots of new friends.  

The venue is an exceptional testament to the staff (mostly volunteers) and their dedication to advocacy for HIV/AIDS.   We have the fondest memories of our work there, and hope you'll take a moment to learn more about their mission or make a donation. 

Housing Works Bookstore Cafe is one of downtown New York’s most vital cultural institutions, presenting an eclectic mix of events -- from readings and concerts to comedy nights and storytelling competitions – featuring many of today’s most exciting artists. The bookstore is staffed almost entirely by volunteers and 100 percent of its profits go to Housing Works, Inc., which provides housing, healthcare, job training, and advocacy for New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS. As an independent cultural center, it offers patrons a unique opportunity to join the fight against AIDS and homelessness simply by buying or donating books; eating at our cafe;…

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This week, we bring you "The Buzzsaw," which reminds us (not that we need much reminding) that some people are just impossible to deal with.

Yet, if those people happen to be a friend or (worse!) part of your family, you simply can't always avoid the heartache, frustration, and crazy-making that might come along with dealing with them. What's more, sometimes, the closer you get, or the more you try to help them, the more likely that they will snap back and hurt you. At some point, you might find yourself licking your wounds and wondering whether it's worth it and whether you should wise up already.

So, the Buzzsaw is dedicated to all those people in your life that drive you crazy, but that you love anyway - sometimes in spite of yourself and almost always in spite of them. (Though it is worth mentioning - for us at least - that these very people can be the same ones who inspire us to be creative. So we have, at the very least, to thank them for that.)