I'm not done with my traveling

I think I may be allergic to alcohol. After a few drinks, I start feeling kind of light-headed, and I have trouble keeping my balance. I say really stupid things and find myself attracted to almost everybody. The next day, I have only a fuzzy recollection of the events of the night before. It's really weird.

So on Friday, I think I promised Lisa and her boyfriend Callan that I would post some new music. At least, I think it was them. It could have been someone else. I'm pretty sure, but I wouldn't swear on it, because of my allergy.

Point being that, at some point on Friday, some blurry people asked for some music. So here's some.

Peter, Bjorn and John: "Objects Of My Affection" and "Young Folks" {listen}
Let the early '90's retro begin! The last time I heard reverb, acoustic guitars, semi-funk beats and distortion making this much sticky musical love was back in the days when every band had a single word name like Swell, Ride or Lush. Still, production barely matters with music as glorious as "Objects Of My Affection" or as hooky as "Young Folks". If I was still inclined to do such things, I'd lie down on the floor with my arms outstretched. But we all gave up crap like that years ago. Right?

Ben Kweller: "Run" {listen}
Ben Kweller is a lot like the New Pornographers: he's not going to make music that's going to knock you on the ground with it's orginality or make you question if you've *really* ever heard music before. He just makes great albums. That's it: they're just great. Catchy, enjoyable, sweet, good, great.

Lily Allen: "Knock 'em Out" {listen}
Speaking of catchy...you can pick at Lily Allen's spoiled-brat lyrics all you want, and I'd have a hard time disagreeing. But choruses like this one are the kind that make you wonder who sold their souls. Because someone must have.

DJ Shadow: "This Time (I'm Gonna Try It My Way)" {listen}
The story goes something like this: Mr. Shadow "found" a recording of some guy in the '60's who was singing some song to warm up, and so DJ Shadow turns it into this. I suppose you could come up with a good argument about how this isn't really DJ Shadow's song, but it's enjoyable enough that I can't say I care. Especially because the rest of the album is really dull.

M. Ward: "To Go Home" {listen}
I've never really liked anything I've ever heard by this guy. It always sounded like boring, run-of-the-mill Americana to me: stock melodies, lyrics which try to be clever and poetic and wind up being neither, and dull arrangements and playing. But a highly respected authority on music (aka "Christian") recommended the album based on this song, so I picked it up. And although the rest of the album mostly stuck to my expectations, I did really love this song. Then I found out that it was actually a cover, which was a relief, since I would have otherwise had to admit that I was wrong.