Some things are timeless. If you are a beaver, these things might include being brown or chopping wood all the time. If you are Dubai, these things could be constructing new buildings in the shape of things that aren't buildings, or putting a scale model of the Atlantic Ocean in a shopping mall. Now if you are, say, Mark E. Smith of seminal post-punk outfit The Fall, these things might include buttoning your nerdy oxford shirt all the way to the top at all times -- decade be damned -- and cultivating a reputation for having some major ’tude. This is important because, as you may have guessed, this story is about The Fall.

Which leads me to my next point: some things change. For example, right now The Fall has found a new label to add to its ever-growing list of conquests. This time around it's Domino, home to Animal Collective and Franz Ferdinand, to name but a few. Domino previously released Tromatic Reflexxions (TMT Review), the 2007 album from the Mark E. Smith/Mouse on Mars collabo known as Von Südenfed.

The Fall are heading back to the studio in the very near future, so word on the street is that a late-2009 release might be a possibility.