You don’t need to be told who Sarah Vowell is anymore. You can immediately recognize her voice from years and years of This American Life appearances, her role in The Incredibles, and her road-trip ready audio books, especially Assassination Vacation. Maybe you find her nasal tone irritating, maybe you don’t, but you know that she has an uncanny ability to nail down the unique contradictions to be found in the stories of Americans. You also…

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it’s a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-a-verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we’ve all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked…

Congratulations, Alyssa R.! Your thoughtful commentary on this week’s Decemberists show won you the gatefold vinyl copy of The Crane Wife and a special, limited edition lithograph signed by the band! We were particularly fond of Alyssa’s social and political observations as they related to the show. Here’s what she had to say: A couple of thoughts: 1)The material from “The Crane Wife” rocks a lot harder on stage than it does on the album,…

WEDNESDAY Fast Company’s Charles Fishman has a dirty little secret: he loves him some savings at Wal-Mart. It makes him all hot and bothered. But he feels really guilty about it, because, apparently, the retail behemoth may have certain deleterious effects on the marketplace. Who knew? Join Fishman as he discusses The Wal-Mart Effect at Politics and Prose. 5015 Connecticut Ave. NW, 7 p.m. THURSDAY Pint-sized author and newly minted voiceover star Sarah Vowell will…