It's raining hammers, it's raining nails

It has been raining a lot lately, which means our apartment is leaking, and it means that the store is leaking, and trees are falling over, and all sorts of shit like that.

Yesterday I got a big stack of CD's from the library, catching up on some older releases that I'd been interested in but never picked up, including:

Johnny Cash, The Great Lost Performance. I give it a "B+". A concert from 1990, which was when he was starting to sound old, but still had that great Johnny Cash thing goin' on. Listening to it makes you proud to be an American.

The Stars of the Lid, And Their Refinement of the Decline. A solid "A". If you ever need background music for anything, but especially something relaxing, look no further than Stars of the Lid. It's soothing without being new age bullshit.

Hem, Eveningland. A "B". I have mixed emotions about this album. I love the lush country-folk instrumentation (guitar, piano, pedal steel, strings) and the vocals and melodies are gorgeous, but at times it feels a little schmaltzy.

Sparklehorse, Dream for Light Years in the Belly of a Mountain. A "B+". Catchy yet weird, more accessible than other Sparklehorse albums. Not for everyday listening, but good to listen to when you're not sure what you're in the mood for.

The Twilight Singers, Powder Burns. An unfortunate "C-" (although I haven't finished the whole thing yet). Greg Dulli, please please please get an actual good producer to produce your next album (and stop acting and writing like a young, oversexed junkie).

Josh Ritter, The Historical Conquests of Josh Ritter. I haven't really listened to enough of this one yet. I liked The Animal Years, and so far this one doesn't sound as interesting, but it still sounds decent.

And a few others as well. (Hot Chip, Marah).

And now a few random thoughts:

1. I think I feel comfortable enough to say that the lime is my favorite fruit. I realized the other day that a lot of my favorite foods (and a few choice beverages) have a lime involved in some way. So let's celebrate the incredible, edible lime!

2. I think the umbrella is perhaps the stupidest invention ever. I would rather be absolutely soaked all day than have to carry an umbrella around for 5 minutes.

3. Writing that made me remember the time that Jeannie said: "I would rather poop in my pants and sit in it for an hour than watch Jay Leno." How true that is!