recent tracks:

Thaobama, etc.

I have been listening to lots of Thao with the Get Down Stay Down lately. Courtesy of Pitchfork:

Until Hollywood gives us a good portrayal of the adolescent-leaning female, we have Portland-based Thao Nguyen and her backing band the Get Down Stay Down, who specialize in galloping indie pop with sugar-coated hooks, a frosting of horns, and a considerable dark streak. The 23-year-old singer-songwriter, whose expressive voice suggests an earthbound Beth Orton, sings about such youthful concerns as ice cream cones and cannonballs off diving boards, but with unexpected maturity, dignity, and charm. These qualities make her second full-length, We Brave Bee Stings and All, sound so immediately distinguished and spirited.

Note well that the link has song samples.

Summer and I went to the RI Obama election results party, which retained an upbeat mood (thanks to What Cheer? Brigade) despite the RI results. It was quite the event, and a nice counterpoint to a disappointing evening. Unfortunately, every time Sen. Clinton flashed onto the giant screen, this and this were all I could think about. Former Sen. Chafee saw what Sen. Clinton saw, and believes that Sen. Clinton's (and Sen. McCain's) vote should be an automatic disqualification to the presidency. That says something huge to me. To borrow Sen. Clinton's hypothetical, when that 3 A.M. phonecall comes in, I do not want Sen. Clinton or Sen. McCain to be on the receiving end. As a sidenote, I grow ever more impressed with Mr. Chafee (who was among the first in line to vote for Sen. Obama, which I know because of this and this, and because he was leaving the polling place at 7:05 AM, as I was entering). I hope that a place emerges for Mr. Chafee in state or national politics in the near future--under any other circumstances, he would have had my vote in 2006.

As to other reasons to be disenchanted with Sen. Clinton, here's one.