"An upbeat little ditty about suicide. My second time sampling the Beatles. Also note that I seem unable to write songs longer than about 2.5 minutes. "

"An upbeat little ditty about suicide. My second time sampling the Beatles. Also note that I seem unable to write songs longer than about 2.5 minutes. "

"If I keep going at this rate, I could potentially release an album by 2010! People laugh at me for the wimpyness of this song. It's allright, you can laugh too."

"If I keep going at this rate, I could potentially release an album by 2010! People laugh at me for the wimpyness of this song. It's allright, you can laugh too."

"More of my stuff. I was living in Prague when I wrote this turkey, and managed to record my busker Irish roommate playing the off kilter, lilting harmonica track using my laptop's terrible microphone. Got back to the states and recorded the rest of it on better equipment. Even if you find the song horrible boring and depressing, it's worth sticking around until about 2:30 in the song at which point Rick comes in and plays this awesome distorted singing-with-guitar solo. "

"More of my stuff. I was living in Prague when I wrote this turkey, and managed to record my busker Irish roommate playing the off kilter, lilting harmonica track using my laptop's terrible microphone. Got back to the states and recorded the rest of it on better equipment. Even if you find the song horrible boring and depressing, it's worth sticking around until about 2:30 in the song at which point Rick comes in and plays this awesome distorted singing-with-guitar solo. "

"Guy Clark should be a lot more well known than he is. He's overshadowed by his contemporary Gram Parsons, but where Gram wrote bittersweet (leaning towards bitter) tragedies, Guy Clark writes the kind of songs that make you wish you were born in Texas. I think KPFA and Mary Tilson are responsible for me knowing these things."

"Guy Clark should be a lot more well known than he is. He's overshadowed by his contemporary Gram Parsons, but where Gram wrote bittersweet (leaning towards bitter) tragedies, Guy Clark writes the kind of songs that make you wish you were born in Texas. I think KPFA and Mary Tilson are responsible for me knowing these things."

"Way back when I worked in an office, way back in San Francisco, way back, I had a nice set of speakers on my desk and would crank the volume way up and play this song five or six times a day. Everyone in the office ended up loving it, although the downstairs neighbors never seemed much to appreciate the habit. "

"Way back when I worked in an office, way back in San Francisco, way back, I had a nice set of speakers on my desk and would crank the volume way up and play this song five or six times a day. Everyone in the office ended up loving it, although the downstairs neighbors never seemed much to appreciate the habit. "

"It's an odd thing about The Shins. You own one record (preferably "Oh, inverted world") and it really feels like that's enough. They do their thing. They do it well. None of their lyrics mean a damn thing. None of their songs are particularly moving. Having said all that, this is a reasonably catchy number off their new album. Great music to do dishes by."

"It's an odd thing about The Shins. You own one record (preferably "Oh, inverted world") and it really feels like that's enough. They do their thing. They do it well. None of their lyrics mean a damn thing. None of their songs are particularly moving. Having said all that, this is a reasonably catchy number off their new album. Great music to do dishes by."

"I like the way this break-up ballad is written in the 3rd person, and still manages to be really kind of touching. It had its time and place for me, which now is mostly gone, but every once in awhile I'm driving somwhere, it comes on, I'm lost. Try to forget that this is from the people who brought you "Stacey's Mom," and you'll do fine with it."

"I like the way this break-up ballad is written in the 3rd person, and still manages to be really kind of touching. It had its time and place for me, which now is mostly gone, but every once in awhile I'm driving somwhere, it comes on, I'm lost. Try to forget that this is from the people who brought you "Stacey's Mom," and you'll do fine with it."

"Yeah, more Okkervil River. Big surprise. I feel a bit like an evangelical christian about this band at this point. It's just been so long since I found a tasty band where the surface is glossy and the album remains deep enough to hold you for months."

"Yeah, more Okkervil River. Big surprise. I feel a bit like an evangelical christian about this band at this point. It's just been so long since I found a tasty band where the surface is glossy and the album remains deep enough to hold you for months."

"'expensive restaurants and cheap motels'. killer opening line, the chorus is perhaps a bit too sweeping but tells a nice story of a man far away from home, missing missing missing. "

"'expensive restaurants and cheap motels'. killer opening line, the chorus is perhaps a bit too sweeping but tells a nice story of a man far away from home, missing missing missing. "

"I confess, I've been listening to really nothing but this album for months. and months. The new Tom Waits lies untouched, unwrapper - possibly just fearful of hating another new waits record, which always makes me sad. Anyway, this song is just so very very good. Okkervil River strikes a very delicate balance between condemming others (great pop material) and self-hatred, and this vacillation appeals greatly. Speaking of which, only the mainstream can afford - just barely - to lack self-conciousness, which seems to be the new trade in our culture. Speaking of which, I did have to look up the spelling of vacillation."

"I confess, I've been listening to really nothing but this album for months. and months. The new Tom Waits lies untouched, unwrapper - possibly just fearful of hating another new waits record, which always makes me sad. Anyway, this song is just so very very good. Okkervil River strikes a very delicate balance between condemming others (great pop material) and self-hatred, and this vacillation appeals greatly. Speaking of which, only the mainstream can afford - just barely - to lack self-conciousness, which seems to be the new trade in our culture. Speaking of which, I did have to look up the spelling of vacillation."

"No wait, maybe this is the standout song. I almost forgot, I'm sick of soft pretty music. Did that for too many years, I'm ready for music that's not afraid to crack its voice, break a sweat or a heart here and there. "

"No wait, maybe this is the standout song. I almost forgot, I'm sick of soft pretty music. Did that for too many years, I'm ready for music that's not afraid to crack its voice, break a sweat or a heart here and there. "

"Long, sentimental. You won't get the full effect by listening to a preview, but this song (one of three decent songs on the album, and basically the end of anything good for Liz Phair) has always carried a certain emotional something for me. It's drifty. I like drifty."

"Long, sentimental. You won't get the full effect by listening to a preview, but this song (one of three decent songs on the album, and basically the end of anything good for Liz Phair) has always carried a certain emotional something for me. It's drifty. I like drifty."

"Tom Waits is comfort food to me. The vicious tiredness, the sad eyes that apologize without knowing what for. The desperation for someone, anyone, you're wrong for me anyway, someone new. Everyone understands, I suppose, but few can make us feel as poetic about needing the quiet reassurance of a waitress. Jesus, this is maudilin."

"Tom Waits is comfort food to me. The vicious tiredness, the sad eyes that apologize without knowing what for. The desperation for someone, anyone, you're wrong for me anyway, someone new. Everyone understands, I suppose, but few can make us feel as poetic about needing the quiet reassurance of a waitress. Jesus, this is maudilin."

"Josh & Steve & I went out and got coffee today and discussed the idea of an "obsessing over" feature, where you get a list of songs that your friends are playing over and over again. I caught this song while shuffling my library, and I do believe it might qualify for this feature."

"Josh & Steve & I went out and got coffee today and discussed the idea of an "obsessing over" feature, where you get a list of songs that your friends are playing over and over again. I caught this song while shuffling my library, and I do believe it might qualify for this feature."

"I admit it, I played this song a good 20 times in one week, leading Katherine to remark "If I give something to you, can you not ruin it for me?" It's the most spiritual song about atheism I can think of. "

"I admit it, I played this song a good 20 times in one week, leading Katherine to remark "If I give something to you, can you not ruin it for me?" It's the most spiritual song about atheism I can think of. "

"This is me, about 2 years ago. I wrote and recorded this song during a nasty winter spent in an artist loft in Oakland."

"This is me, about 2 years ago. I wrote and recorded this song during a nasty winter spent in an artist loft in Oakland."

"If you've never seen the extended version of Wim Wender's "Until the End of the World" (a darn cool movie in its own right), you're missing Sam Phillips doing her Animals on Wheels routine that involves her holding up a micro-cassete recorder with the backing tracks for this song playing. The cassette player is janky, and when she shakes it the entire backing orchestra sways wildly in and out of tune. Good stuff. "

"If you've never seen the extended version of Wim Wender's "Until the End of the World" (a darn cool movie in its own right), you're missing Sam Phillips doing her Animals on Wheels routine that involves her holding up a micro-cassete recorder with the backing tracks for this song playing. The cassette player is janky, and when she shakes it the entire backing orchestra sways wildly in and out of tune. Good stuff. "

"My now-estranged Aunt Ceana and I spent a late night drive to Stinson Beach listening to this bitter and pretty song that seems to be about fame."

"My now-estranged Aunt Ceana and I spent a late night drive to Stinson Beach listening to this bitter and pretty song that seems to be about fame."

"I spent South by Southwest last year with these guys. The trip was what Ian and I called "Worst Trip Ever," and the only bright note was hanging out with Nick and Owen, who are funny funny boys. And write totally despressing, lyrical music. I also became obsessed with this song around the time I was seeing a girl who didn't seem to care that much about me. Go figure."

"I spent South by Southwest last year with these guys. The trip was what Ian and I called "Worst Trip Ever," and the only bright note was hanging out with Nick and Owen, who are funny funny boys. And write totally despressing, lyrical music. I also became obsessed with this song around the time I was seeing a girl who didn't seem to care that much about me. Go figure."

"I have a clip of this song as my ring tone, sometimes I let the phone ring and ring so I can hear it."

"I have a clip of this song as my ring tone, sometimes I let the phone ring and ring so I can hear it."

"I first heard this song at the foot of the Golden Gate bridge on KPFA, and was instantly in love - it may possibly be the song that Sam Phillips has been working towards all her life. It speaks to politics, bad love, and hope. "

"I first heard this song at the foot of the Golden Gate bridge on KPFA, and was instantly in love - it may possibly be the song that Sam Phillips has been working towards all her life. It speaks to politics, bad love, and hope. "