But first, a word from Otto, our literary editor, on Franzen’s Freedom: As usual, NY Times critic Michiko Kakutani’s intern was reading a different book than I read. A surprisingly trashy (in comparison with The Corrections) 800+ pages of gossip following mostly unlikeable people as they fail or succeed despite their personality flaws, Freedom’s only […]

New Orleans, you stole something from me, and I want it back. Here We Go Magic – PigeonsNot a turn for the better, but: moments. Less collage&mood and more Eno-ish pop than their still-unassailable debut. But – did Luke Temple injure his voice? On some tracks, he misses. Aloha – Home Acres What can I […]

Don’t call it a comeback. More coming, too. Reviews for the time-challenged: Big Star – Keep an Eye on the SkyThis kicks any record off any desert island list I’ve made in the past. There’s so much on this collection that I hadn’t heard, all of it good -and I call myself a fan — […]

Peter, Bjorn, & John – Living ThingD.O.A. Super Furry Animals – Dark Days/Light YearsWelsh supervillians glass-blow ELO-meets-Elephant6-collective magic pop. They release oodles of albums, so I just picked this one. The others might be as good, or just marginally different depending on your mood. Best moment: “The Very Best of Neil Diamond,” with its Bollywood-meets-Love […]

M83Saturdays=YouthI’m happily eating crow with a mint chutney and sweet potato fries. I hate (read: hate) previous M83 releases, but I’m kablooey for this ventriloqiusm (me being the dummy) of good 80s euro-pop. Who cares about the (are they?) songs – he gets the tones right, from small touches like electric piano pinched from Bryan […]

The fucking pope is in town. Look for the ex-Nazi with the $5000 hat. J Frank’s ghost writer has shaved his head, a requirement for baby #2’s imminence. Feels like the tucked sleeve of a one-armed-boy, to quote a poet from Union, NJ. The new release roundup, possibly my last, for a while: Cut Copy […]

The Long Blondes – CouplesI’m still waiting for the day I’ll hear the Long Blondes blasting from some frat-girl’s Hyundai on the Garden State Parkway. Last album it was “New Girl,” this time my vote goes to “Guilt,” the best Madonna single since “Material Girl” in a world of needless Madonna singles, including her own. […]