“Older Than My Old Man Now” Loudon Wainwright III: I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again: NO ONE sings of Life’s foibles (and lets us laugh and cry at them) like Wainwright. From living longer than your parents to making your padoozle work through the miracles of modern medicine, Wainwright never holds back.
“The Sound of the Life of the Mind” Ben Folds 5: Folds is an amazing songwriter, and after a long absence from his original trio (it wouldn’t have that alliterate sound if it had been Ben Folds 3, would it?) he comes back with a CD that ya can’t take out of the player.
“Silver & Gold” Sufjan Stevens: Yeah, I know, it’s a Christmas box set (5 CDS!!) but Stevens shows his love of the holiday in so many musically different ways, that I may just pop this on in July.
“The Idler’s Wheel …” Fiona Apple: Though I recognize the beauty of Fiona’s latest, I think it’s one of those works that will continue to let out more chunks of pleasure and wisdom as I continue to listen to it.
“Trouble in Mind” Hayes Carll: This isn’t his latest, but Carll is one of those “folkies” who can not only write heart-wrenching and hilarious (check out “Bad Liver and a Broken Heart”), but his take on Tom Waits’ “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” is also great. —SJA