At what age does it become possible to have early-onset Alzheimer’s?

I am listening to Band of Horses, which came recommended by one of my trustworthy recommenders (as opposed to the non trustworthy ones, where afterward I think “Why did I waste my money? I KNEW I wouldn’t like something they suggested…”). And I like it, but it …SOUNDS LIKE… someone I can’t think of. And it is driving me crazy. It’s all I can think about it, and I can feel the answer swimming around the black outer depths of my mind, poking forward, retreating back, never quite coming into consciousness… Argh.

I am also listening to Alexi Murdoch, who fits quite nicely into my Melancholy Boys for Mondays playlist. You will recognize one of his songs as it was on both The O.C. and the soundtrack to Ladder 49.

Silvia sent me Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s. “Skeleton Key” is a lovely, lovely song. They are a bit confusing to my mind though as the presumably female “Margot” does not appear to be the lead singer. Thus I can never remember the name of the band (there’s that Alzheimer’s again).

I forgot (and again) all about John Vanderslice until my iPod’s shuffle seemed to get stuck in his section driving back from Minnesota. Everytime one of his songs came on, I thought ” Huh. I like this. BUT WHO IS IT?” That’s one of the hazards of buying too much music; if you don’t listen to it right away, and decide whether you like it, there’s a chance you may forget to ever listen to it… and you won’t know it when you do.

Donavon Frankenreiter is friends with Jack Johnson and is being promoted as that type of singer. Actually I find Jack Johnson super boring and way too mellow, and Frankenreiter actually adds just a li’l’ bit o’ soul to the mix. A little bit of funk hidden in the mellow surfer boy, just enough to make it listenable as opposed to sleep-inducing. Still pretty calm…not for everyday, but for sometimes.
Have you heard Boy Least Likely To‘s cover of George Michael’s Faith? I heard them do it live the other day and finding an MP3 of it online was sooooo pleasing to me. Great song to cover. Also great cover. They’re a great band to see live, full of pep and constantly teasing each other.

Speaking of covers, the Magic Numbers, who I recommended to you at the end of last year, have covers out there of the Smiths, of Franz Ferdinand (love when people cover their peers), AND of Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”. It’s worth looking for, as it’s one of those songs like the Kelly Clarkson “Since U Been Gone” number; i.e., it’s actually a good song when sung by someone who isn’t just shouting it out for all they’ve got (you don’t have the Ted Leo cover of “Since U Been Gone”? Where ya been?).

Speaking of ‘in concert’, Corrine Bailey Rae is also good to see live; she funks things up and really throws it all out there…Much livelier and fuller than on the album, which I personally get very bored by. She’s also a teeny tiny skinny girl and you find yourself wondering the whole night WHERE that deep rich Aretha Franklin voice is coming from. Loved her in concert; but can’t listen to her album that often. Maybe she’ll put out a live album!!

And in terms of singles, I’ve been playing Dave Matthews’ “Steady as We Go” a lot these days. I’m not really a DMB fan, he happened a little too late for me — I find my friends who love him were in college when he was really warming up (while I was OUT of college by then), while people who were in college when I was are instead fans of the Indigo Girls and bands who were making the college rounds during that slightly earlier time period — but occasionally I find a random one-off of his that I like and SAWG was recently on an episode of the much-loved late-Everwood.

That’s it for now; back to the pod…