■ We’d like to thank everyone who came out to our most recent musical endeavors, Speed the Plough’s show at Mexicali and John and Ed’s adventure with Yung Wu at Tierney’s. And coming hot on the heels of The Trypes holiday show with Yo La Tengo. Phew. It was wonderful sharing stages with friends both old and new. (Getting a little misty here.) Let’s hope that 2012 brings more of the same.

Here are videos from the STP and Wu shows for your (hopeful) enjoyment.

Speed the Plough, “Madeleine”	Yung Wu, “Strange Little Man”

■ While we’re taking a little hiatus from playing out, things will still be bubbling under the surface. For starters, we’re going to start recording some brand new songs and one or two from John’s notebook that have never seen the light of day. Some interesting new approaches/instrumentation are under discussion. We’ll keep you posted.

■ The other iron on the fire is being tended by Marc, Toni and John, who are getting to work on compiling songs for a compilation of the first four (presently unavailable) Speed the Plough albums. Most of the suggestions we received seem to segue perfectly with what we have in mind. If you’d like to add your two cents, please post your thoughts on our Facebook page. To get the juices flowing we’re featuring three songs we consider locks “for your listening pleasure.”

■ And production is well under way on The Trypes compilation. We think that the package alone will be worth the wait. And it’ll be great to put a new slab of vinyl on the turntable.

■ In case you’re a first time visitor, or even if you’re not, please be aware that our sixth album Shine is available from New Jersey’s own Dromedary Records, on iTunes, at Amazon and elsewhere. Get yourself a copy or get one for a friend.