The current (Aug 23) issue of The New Yorker has a huge article on Björk.

Also an article by Oliver Sacks on abnormal perceptions of time.

Buffistas! Musicistas! Hi!

Will stop exclamating now.

I, finally having some money due to my new waaaaay tooooo crazy job, have bought a load of CDs. Among the first was Wig in a Box (let's see if I can still remember my quick edits) and holy crap is it fantastic. There is a song on it - "Milford Lake" that is not in the movie that, being a Kansan and having camped and drank many a Miller Lite at Milford Lake (a man-made lake right outside of Junction City, Kansas), brought a big tear to my eye.

I also took on Angus' Streets challenge and bought their new CD. (I caught up on loads of posts last night but was a bit too tipsy to post.) Haven't had a chance to listen to it on headphones so have no tears to report as far as it goes yet. But I will soon, I'm sure. But I am also ALL FOR Angus watching all three extended LOTR movies, so it will be tought to be 100% honest.

Also - new Rilo Kiley came out today. Didn't take them long to leave Saddle Creek and Nebraska for the more familiar confines of an L.A. label. I haven't listened yet but I love it just from the liner notes so far. Jimmy Tamborillo from the Postal Service has some credits on it so there is a Death Cab (via Ben Gibbard) connection to go with a semi-recent conversation.

I took lots of last-minute vacations right before the ol j-o-b started up and damnit if Jon's and Hayden's 2003 mixes weren't big hits among my road-trip partners. Thus causing a whole round of "now how do you know these people again?" explanations.

What else?

Speaking of mixes. I know I still have to send out mixes to Lyra Jane. I feel pretty sucky about it and will get on that right away.

Also Katefate - I don't know if you will ever see this - but Winfield! Less than a month away! We have to make plans to meet there somehow. I think I have your e-mail somewhere. Will send you something nearer to Sept.

Hec! Congrats on all the book goodness!

I exclamated again.

Anyway, Hi.

What does Jamie Cullum sound like?

Kinda lame cocktail bar jazz. He can certainly play and sing, but is a bit meh.

You may all gasp with my musical ignorace, but who was the original artist for "Ballroom Blitz?"

Unless it was a cover even then, it was Sweet (although they may have still been The Sweet at the time).

The Sweet. It's a Chinnichap song, IIRC.

What does Jamie Cullum sound like?

Kinda lame cocktail bar jazz. He can certainly play and sing, but is a bit meh.

I disagree on the meh part. I like him a lot. I've compared him to Harry Connick Jr., but poppier.

Really, you could just listen to samples at Amazon.com.

It's a Chinnichap song, IIRC.

Sure is. "Ready Steve?" "Uh-huh..."

you could just listen to samples at Amazon.com

Harry Shearer played Cullum's cover of "The Wind Cries Mary" on Le Show last week & the archive has the whole song. (Click the link to hear the entire show and scroll over to the 8 minute mark.) I'm with Jim on the assessment, but listen & decide for yourself.

Speaking of Le Show, check out this week's clip of the off air (but recorded) chatter between Larry King and the Bushes. Laura: "That was the wild night when everybody was drinking?"

Speaking of funny...

Speaking of "hey, pal, this is the music thread"... David, Hayden & any Charlie Rich and/or Mystery Train fans (the Greil Marcus book, not the Elvis song), I was listening to the Charlie Rich obit set on The Hound and I was really struck by the version of "I Feel Like Going Home" played at the end. I've never heard the version Marcus talks about at length in the book, but was thinking maybe this was it. When the back up singers came in, though, it was clear that this is from the Pictures and Paintings sessions. Granted I haven't listened to the album in a long time, but I really think this is an alternate -- and much better -- version. Maybe I'm wrong and this is the album track -- but I always found that one vaguely disappointing, and this one is so good. Anyway, I strongly recommend clicking the link & listening to it.

Shows I'm going to in upcoming months:

• Sebadoh (Lou and Jason only)
• Pixies
• Guided by Voices
• PJ Harvey (again in Oct. per Ms. Harvey herself at last night's Knitting Factory show)

So excited!