Rich Juzwiak, definitive, on Clay Aiken.

This has been brewing for a bit now, so I'm psyched that my first of what will be a weekly music post on Good magazine's blog is now up. The column is called Needles in the Haystack, and I'll be doing more general think-piece type stuff there, as I do when I contribute to the magazine's Stimuli section, though I anticipate doing some spotlights on individual artists and releases in the future.

What I will be listening to this week for various assignments:

The new Ne-Yo (two listens in, sounds like a grower--subtle, moody, mature, the usual)
Brother Ali, Shadows on the Sun; Cows, Cunning Stunts; Fog; Happy Apple, The Peace Between Our Companies; Mint Condition, Livin’ the Luxury Brown; Sean Na Na, My Majesty (Twin Cities, they're ganging up on me)

The Best of Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour Vol. 1 and 2 (Chrome Dreams) and Theme Time Radio Hour with Your Host Bob Dylan (Ace) (the Dylan Industry strikes again)

The new Matthew Herbert Big Band
The new Simon Bookish
The new Murs (if it arrives on time)
Madlib's WLIB AM: King of the Wigflip and Madvillainy 2: The Madlib Remix (twofer, obv.; playing the Jackson Conti as well I've decided I don't care for it at all)
Fucked Up (it it arrives on time)
Kruder & Dorfmeister, DJ-Kicks (like so many DJs their best album is a mix-CD--an exceptionally cheesy one, too; yum)
The new Of Montreal
Various singles

Wish me luck!

I like this one: It's a Hit this week is about how Katy Perry paved the way for Sarah Palin.

Found in notebook:

Tue 5/13 - 10:20 p.m.
Fell asleep on train, 8:45; just awake from absolutely ridiculous dream. First, was driving car over bridge in dense traffic, where a pair of skinny teenage girls had enacted a suicide pact--one laid atop the other while cars ran them over. Mine was the first one to hit them. Then I was in another car, further back, and somehow undid my running-over, but the girls had still been flattened. So me and someone else went and stopped traffic, plucked them up, and walked them