When We Kiss, Oooh, Fire

Apparently, Bruce Springsteen recognizes a good performance opportunity when he sees it. From Stereogum:

Remember when you first heard "Keep The Car Running" and thought, "That's the best Bruce Springsteen song not written by Bruce Springsteen"? Apparently so did the Boss!

Springsteen brought two members of Arcade Fire on stage in Ontario and performed their song together with the E-Street Band. As I heard it on the radio, "When Bruce Springsteen covers your song, you know it's good."

That's the song that did it for me with Neon Bible, and I wish they had led with that as a single rather than the more isolating "Black Mirror," because as I've suggested elsewhere, I'd like to see these guys take the mantle from performers like Springsteen and U2.

Download now: "Keep the Car Running" and "(Antichrist Television Blues)"

Red Rover, Red Rover

I've been memed by two people, Jenn (with one J) and Pete (with two ees). Jenn wants to know what tunes people are digging lately; Pete wants to see your office space. So here, without further ado, are my responses.

1. Office.
Here's a picture of our home office. Note the superhero stuff on the wall, painted and otherwise crafted by friends along the way. Also note the open container of dark-chocolate-covered espresso beans and the unopened box of Turbo Tax. Believe it or not, I cleaned up a bit before taking this picture.

2. Music.

Most of the new music I've been digging lately isn't all that new. I bought the new Switchfoot (Oh! Gravity!) and actually like it more than I expected; it's pretty rockin, and I'm apparently in a pretty rockin mood. Best tunes are "Amateur Lovers" and "4:12."

Another recent purchase was John Mayer's Grammy-winning Continuum. I'm willing to forgive his fascination with Jessica Simpson because he's so good at writing songs and playing guitar. He takes a great turn on Jimi Hendrix's "Bold as Love" and crafts a wonderfully melancholy consolation song with "The Heart of Life." I wrote at Strangely Dim about the cultural significance of his song "Waiting on the World to Change"; all told, it's easy to see why this record has gotten such high praise.

I've become a big fan of Arcade Fire, though thus far I've only borrowed, never bought. They have unbelievable texture to their music, though they're definitely an acquired taste--as are the Decemberists, who made my last list of good music with their Picaresque album. Their single "Valencia" is OK, but "Crane Wife" is a very moving song.

Finally for now, I've been taking every chance I can to listen to Madeleine Peyroux, who revisions other people's songs like nobody's business. The one on the new album, Half the Perfect World, that really gets me is "Everybody's Talkin'." Listening to her is like knowing then what we know now--a savvy innocence, wounded but healing.

3. Tag!

OK. Red rover, red rover, send Carolyn, Web and Rebecca's current favorite songs and photos of their offices right over.