the pointlessness of it all: tim makes some valid points about how difficult it is to write about pop music/culture following the events of this past week. as usual, he's right. i mean, i can tell you that i bought the new chemical brothers single, "it began in afrika," and that i was ABSOLUTELY freaked out by the ominous voice that intones the title phrase at song's beginning (and don't get me started on the lion noises!).

i bought jay-z's new album on wednesday. others have talked about the superior quality of the music, so i will instead say that these are the most opulent sleevenotes i've ever seen. i mean, he really includes a blueprint. it's as rich as the backing music and as bling as jay himself. part of me, though, thinks he'll regret that back cover photo and its, um, implications. (i wonder what kind of week this will be for record sales. i'm sure def jam was betting on a big opening for jay-z.)

right now, i'm listening to "xanadu" by olivia newton-john. it's warm and enveloping and paints a picture of a world far more enticing than the one we currently find ourselves in, even if jeff lynne does live there. it's not frightening like the chemical brothers, or intense like jay-z, or melancholic enough to bring me to tears like mercury rev. it's, as they say, just right.