It's the end of the world as I knew it...

Well, not really, but I realized something recently: I don't like REM. I used to, and there are still some songs that I like of theirs from the old days, but hearing their most recent number makes me come to the conclusion that Michael Stipe whines too much. It doesn't bother me with the Smiths, although I usually can only take a couple of their songs in one sitting (and that one sitting generally does it for me for a few months), but REM offers little beyond the whining.

In a similar pessimistic mode, I would like someone who knows the B-52's to tell them that they should hang it up. Quite before they get further behind and all that. Egads. Talk about formula.

On a happier note, musically speaking, I am finding that Palestrina excites me more than he used to. Now, I have always liked Palestrina, but not in that sitting at the edge of the seat way. Now, I find that I really like to listen to him. It is probably because I have been singing him a lot recently (in two choirs), and being in the music like that forces you to pay attention. Palestrina's counterpoint is so fluid that as a passive listener it is easy to be, well, passive.

Also, this young singer from Israel, Yael Naim, might be someone to watch. Or to listen to.

And finally, now that the weather is warming up, I am listening to more Portuguese music. Now, I always listen to Portuguese music, but the rate changes in the warm season. I got into Cristina Branco before I heard Mariza, and Mariza quickly eclipsed Branco for me (imagine getting excited about Buxtehude and then discovering Bach). However, listening to Branco recently reminds me of why I was so crazy about her to begin with. It is sort of like hearing Buxtehude after having studied Bach for years...you realize that there is something grand in the Buxtehude music as well.

One last thing: we have birds in our neighborhood. Lots of birds. I never was one to pay a lot of attention to bird calls, but I have been since moving to Vallejo. That is one of the pleasures of living by an estuary. I highly recommend it.