David, you'll love this bit -- okay, way more than "a bit" -- of obsessive fandom: "English [Richard Thompson]-fan Dave Smith has written a 300+ page study of RT's songs, entitled 'The Great Valerio' after an RT song which he thinks is representative for what RT's trying to say." Available for free in four parts: Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4. The project has been blessed by Himself.

Interviewer: Do you agree that many of your fans look too deeply into your lyrics, and if so, did the detail of The Great Valerio surprise you?"

Richard Thompson: Not really. I think Dave Smith's basic premise is correct - my use of symbols and mythology is influenced by Graves, Yeats and Eliot. I would argue that this is not unusual; this was the diet we were fed by enthusiastic English teachers on A Level courses in the 60s; if I had gone on to study English at university, perhaps the influences would have broadened. It might be worth looking at the lyrics of my old classmate Michael Quartermain at some point, to see if he does the same thing - he wrote a number of songs with Stomu Yamashta. Some of Dave's suggestions of cryptic references aren't too far off, either; on a line like "I find myself strangely true" I would be turning the four letters of true around in my head as something of a game, and would be happy to find 'uter' in there, but that's what happens to your brain after years of The Times Crossword. I think people should take lyrics as they find them, go into them as much as they feel necessary, or ignore them and just listen to the bass line."

I'm feeling kinda' uter at the moment....

I'm feeling kinda' uter at the moment....

"Don't make me run! I'm filled with chocolate!" - Uter, The Simpsons

Joe, I've downloaded the RT treatise for those rainy days at work. Oh look! It's rainy.

Okay, you've got to like an obsessive Richard Thompsons treatise that opens with a Calvin and Hobbes exchange, and then gets into a Peter Sellers performance.

Oh, jeez, musicologist FAQ Girl is gonna love this....

I missed Hayden's news! What was it?!

We have been talking about talking this summer about maybe shacking up in the fall.

Oh, Jon, that is just wonderful. Will one of you move to the other's apartment, or are you gonna get a new place together?

How's the wedding plans?

Great! I bought a dress and shoes on Saturday. Now I just have to find a good string quartet w/ some degree of endurance.

Ooh I just found the announcement! Welcome to the crazy awesome world, Abraham!

Will one of you move to the other's apartment, or are you gonna get a new place together?

Jon owns a very nice, very large, very cool and hip house in Somerville. I figure she'll be moving in come the fall.

If all goes well, you figure correctly.

Have we talked about The Futureheads? Pitchfork described them as Wire meets the Whifflepuffs, which isn't far off - they do stop-start new wavey rock a la Franz Ferdinand (although they do it better, being crunchier and more dynamic) topped off with essentially barbershop vocal harmonies. No, wait, come back! They're bloody good - their cover of Hounds Of Love is genius, and there are half a dozen brilliant songs on the album.