Poor Richard's Scorecard

If I Start Drawing Unicorns on My Book Covers, Then You'll Know I'm in Trouble

There's no good reason for me to have fallen as hard for Taylor Swift as I have. Her voice is pretty enough, but a tad thin--especially compared to that of a true belter, such as Stevie Nicks, with whom she tried to keep up at the Grammy Awards the other night. Swift's primary theme is the high school crush, a malady I have not had to confront--blessedly--for well over 20 years. She's cute, but half my age, a demographic that holds little appeal for me now that I'm, well, older.

Recreating an iTunes Library Unearths Even More Treasured Cheese

Every so often when I was a kid, my mom would rearrange the furniture for no other reason than personal whim. And I absolutely loved it. The new perspectives, the different angles of light and shadow, and the unfamiliar footprint combined to shake me out of my everyday routine for a week or two, but in a harmless and easily accessible way.

I'm doing something similar right now with my music.

I Will Try Not to Breathe, I Will Hold My Head Still With My Hands on My Knees

It would infuriate the R.E.M. purists to no end to know that Automatic for the People is my pick for the band's best record. Elegiac and deeply moving, it is a fully realized work: Shattering lyrics speak directly to the soul; Michael Stipe vocalizes strongly, and clearly; clean production augments the spot-on instrumentation, a bridge between the clangy guitars of the early days and the sometimes overwhelming experimentation of recent albums.

Automatic is a record that I can listen to today, nearly two decades after its release, and still hear new things in. More, I still find myself enthralled, still am subject to its emotional wallop.

The Moldy Cheese Report

So where, you demand, has the Daily Cheese Report gone? Am I so ashamed at the state of music coming from my favorite iTunes playlist that I've abandoned posting notes about it here?

Nah.

We got a new PC a few weeks back, and I've yet to figure out how to get all of my music files from the old machine to the new one. While that task should be low on the to-do list, given the lengths of my work to-do and honey-do lists, I can imagine somehow carving out some time to get 'er done sooner rather than later. I mean, I'd hate to disappoint all of you wondering why I'm not writing about Roxette or Yvonne Elliman or Hoku. | PRS

The Daily Cheese Report: How Like You to Make the Whole World Disappear

"DND," Semisonic | Dan Wilson's criminally underappreciated band was so much more than just "Closing Time," its justifiably well-known single. This gem, for instance, a strings-soaked ode to quiet time with the one you love, is, like so much of Semisonic's work, purely perfect pop. | PRS

"The Daily Cheese Report," thoughts on the first song to be played randomly from my iTunes playlist "Of the Level," appears in Poor Richard's Scorecard every day.

The Daily Cheese Report: Show Me, Show Me, Show Me How You Do That Trick

"Just Like Heaven," The Cure | During my brief and not especially noble tenure as a clubber, this was maybe the one song absolutely guaranteed to get me to leave my Miller Lite at the bar and sprint to the dance floor to engage in an activity that more closely resembled an epileptic seizure. | PRS

"The Daily Cheese Report," thoughts on the first song to be played randomly from my iTunes playlist "Of the Level," appears in Poor Richard's Scorecard every day.

The Daily Cheese Report: Don't Get Up, Gentlemen; I'm Only Passing Through

"Things Have Changed," Bob Dylan | Dylan delivered world-weary lyrics and matter-of-fact vocals to the soundtrack of Wonder Boys, Curtis Hanson's excellent adaptation of Michael Chabon's equally excellent novel. The match between Dylan's performance and the film's tone is superb. | PRS 

"The Daily Cheese Report," thoughts on the first song to be played randomly from my iTunes playlist "Of the Level," appears in Poor Richard's Scorecard every day.

Daily Cheese: Wonder How You Manage to Make Ends Meet?

"Lady Madonna," the Beatles | Paul McCartney's bluesy, piano-driven tune, from late in the Beatles' career, was inspired by Fats Domino, who would go on to cover it. | PRS

"Daily Cheese," thoughts on the first song to be played randomly from my iTunes playlist "Of the Level," appears in Poor Richard's Scorecard every day but Friday.

The Friday Cheese Report: Gather 'Round, All You Clowns

Count me among those who have noticed the tendency of iTunes's shuffle function to be less random than one might expect. Today I have the evidence to prove it. Sprinkled among the repeats, though, is some delightfully cheesy music. Happy weekend, friends.

Daily Cheese: I Used to Have You in a Photograph, But Now I've Got You and It's Gonna Last

"Do You Believe in Love," Huey Lewis and the News | Early-'80s rock with a '50s doo-wop sound, and somehow it works. Lest you think Huey and the boys were too square to be hip, recall that this tune popped up in the seminal imprimatur of coolness, Miami Vice. | PRS

 

"Daily Cheese," thoughts on the first song to be played randomly from my iTunes playlist "Of the Level," appears in Poor Richard's Scorecard every day but Friday.