Well, I know Harvey Danger and Pond already, so I kind of do want to hear your other 10!

Hi Glenn,  

I've been a long-time (pop-in-from-time-to-time) reader ever since I found your Suddenly, Tammy! review (it helped me convince a few ladyfriends s,t! were worth listening to) back when I was in college. You were really ahead of the curve on this whole "blog" thing, eh?  

Anywho, I've personally appreciated several of your issues: I'll just single out your thoughts on Winners Never Quit, In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, and "Valentine's Day" as they regularly bounce around in my head.  

I've found it interesting how many gems I discover on my musical journey that you've already got thoughts on, and I wanted to thank you again for keeping all of the TWAS issues live. I'm sure its a labor of love, given all the time you've spent thinking and listening.  

Regularly tweaking Pandora has gotten me smitten with Irish music (Traditional, The Pogues, Saw Doctors, and the American variety like Black 47) while rediscovering my love of indie-pop (Velocity Girl, Heavenly, Tiger Trap) and girly brit-pop (Lily Allen, Kate Nash, Lenka [granted, she's an Aussie]). I'd say the main drawback to new discoveries is finding 90's era CDs at reasonable prices nowadays (as I'm allergic to iTunes).  

If I may be so bold, I'd like to suggest you give Harvey Danger's - King James Version; their 2nd album a spin. I remember waiting excitedly for it, telling friends about it, and *zip* how many years later I've only proselytized to a few friends and shaken my head as I see it on listicles of commercially ignored, critically underrated albums. Its worth a good listen. Sean Nelson is a wonderful lyricist, and I'm glad he's becoming active again (glad to see NPR show his solo album some love). Their other albums are worth it too (only two more and a few EPs!), the last one is free on their lackadaisically-updated website, along with their farewell song (a good gem). The idea of their band as a "one hit wonder" leaves me sick as always.  

I'm prone to rambling, so I won't toss out 10 more albums I think are worth listening to (though my brain is already working on compiling it), hooray for self control!  

I'd say my "Big Country" artist for me is Pond, the 90's band (two albums on Sub Pop) that fellow music enthusiasts I chat with have never heard of.
I suppose I'm still so fond because of the time and place I connect with when I dial up a song or 10. While I work at convincing my kids that Daddy's music is worth learning about, I'll probably keep the buzzy guitars and foamy feelings to myself - for now.  

Looking over my scribblings, yes its clear I use too many parentheses - sorry its a inherent flaw in my brain.  

Be well,
Mikeropod