"All I want... is your pity"

DB and I listened this album about 200 times today. It gets better with every listen. Do whatever you have to do to get it immediately. And treat yourself to some nice speakers or headphones. Just trust me. Or really, just trust James Murphy. At this point, you can pretty much give him the keys to the car. Dude knows exactly how to make music.

In reference to Dear Companion, a nice checklist of contemporary acoustic Americana by [cellist] Ben Sollee & [guitarist] Daniel Martin Moore, DB emailed me:

"Also kinda like the ben sollee album...in a fresh laundry w eeextra downy kind a way...."

Ha! Listening to it right now, and I feel like I'm in a commercial, hanging white sheets from a clothesline with a big smile on my face. Not that that's a bad thing. Seems to me these Kentuckians (produced by fellow Kentuckian Jim James from My Morning Jacket) write pretty thoughtful songs. And they kick it into gear just enough to remind me that the breeziness is not for the sake of being inoffensive, but because it comes from their specific musicultural (I think I just made that word up?) background.

Bonus points for Mr. Sollee's political activism. Among other things, Wikipedia tells me he did a summer tour last year on his bicycle... WITH HIS CELLO ON HIS BACK... to encourage greener living. Like whoa.

Ben Sollee & Daniel Martin Moore - 'Try'

I vowed not to criticize artists in this space, so I will let an artist take the reins on this one. I also have to concede a healthy dose of ignorance to the fashion world that might prevent me from fully appreciating what others see as a brilliant melding of two art forms. But musically, I can't say I disagree.

Except when it comes to Madonna. Actually, JP and I had a conversation a while back in which I made the Gaga-Madonna comparison, and we vehemently disagreed on the latter's artistic merit. Doubtless you have an opinion on the subject. Personally, one look at the Immaculate Collection tracklist is all I need, but I can definitely understand the criticism. Sometimes, it's impossible to distinguish between the impact a song/album/artist has on you and its musical value. Was she brilliant, or am I simply a product of those impressionable '80s?? If I was my current age then, would I have felt the same way I do about contemporary pop stars?

Fair point, by the way, by the article's author that the Gaga debate is exactly what she's trying to accomplish.

I'm still wrapping my mind and ears around this new Broken Social Scene album, but I realized that I always tend to gravitate towards their smooth jamz. The soft, whispery, eyes-closed ones that tuck you into a groove and take the edge off your day. Songs like "Looks Just Like the Sun," "Swimmers," "I'm Still Your Fag," and now "Sentimental X's." Which is ironic for a band more visible for its massive membership, huge sound, and life-affirming anthems. But that's what's so great about them - they cover the entire spectrum, and each album has pretty much everything I want in contemporary music.

This one is basically just a vehicle for Emily Haines' uber-cool croon and would fit in perfectly with her (much more popular but creatively less... ambitious) side project Metric.

Sorry it's been a while, folks. I was caught up with finals for a bit, and then, well, it turns out all that stuff you say you're gonna do when vacation arrives doesn't actually get done because you're too busy doing all the other things you didn't do when you had too much to do. Know what I mean? I suppose waking up at 11:00 every day doesn't help either.

But I've also been waiting until I found a replacement for LaLa, the service I have used to embed songs in my posts. Still empty-handed, I am just going to use YouTube as a band-aid until I figure out a fix. It's not ideal, but it'll do the trick.

Hopefully you'll be hearing more from me. You can breathe now.

This one's really doing it for me right now, keeping the blood flowing and the mind focused as I fight through my last day ever studying for exams...

http://lala.com/zFNF