"New" Music

The snob in me may be slowly dying, but he's still glad the quotation marks fit better over new than music. He holds his nose up high, mutters some cliche about quality over quantity and moves on. Moving on...

I got three new CDs over the weekend and promptly added them to my iPod. I'm still pondering them, but I'm enjoying them quite a bit. So for a few brief recommends, here goes:

1.Modern Guilt,Beck. It's a cross between Beck's latest two, sound wise, and the lyrics are more accessible than usual. The title song's sound is weird enough yet catchy in that Beck sort of way to keep me listening to the words. Modern guilt is shown as feeling bad when you don't know what you did. Makes for great conversation. After all, I'm not that bad of a person, am I? I mean, I know why everyone else should feel guilty, but I'm okay.

2. Wait for Me, Moby. Initially, I was a bit disappointed. Moby's latest isn't super-catchy in the "I can't sit still" vein of some of my favorites. Actually, many of the songs are not only low-key but also instrumental. So much for my work-out mix. What to do with my head band, I have no idea.

The longer I listened, the more I "got" it. It's supposed to be low key, a sort of straightforward un-newagey Enigma. And it has the intriguing mixes of choirs and spirituals with an occasional beat. It's moodier and less upbeat, but I like it. If you take it for what it is, it works.

3. The Resistance, Muse. If Queen and Radiohead had a baby and he/she drank a Red Bull then fell down a flight of stairs, you might have something that sounds like Muse. I like having an album for comic relief that's still admirably well-made, and Muse has that. The one I'd share with friends is still Black Holes and Revelations, as The Resistance is an acquired taste. However, if I really need some time off from work, playing this album a lot could make a decent plan B. If that doesn't work, Plan C, or "Operation: Sing Along" should do the trick.