I'd like to direct your attention...

...to two very worthy new albums that were released today.

In the mood for stripped-
down garage rock with just a whiff of an unwashed boy in a white t-shirt? Then check out "Phantom Punch" by Sondre Lerche. He's a Norwegian singer-songwriter who manages to sound underground without being over-the-top pretentious. I think it's because he occasionally makes a really pretty song like "Tragic Mirror," which sits in the middle of the new album like a pleasant conversation. And two tracks later you get "John, Let Me Go," which is deliciously sunny.

On the other side of singer-songwriter town (the blues-gospel side) is "Children Running Through," the new album by...

...Patty Griffin.

'Nuff said.

In other news, I'm taking a work-related trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado this week. And guess what: It's going to be in the 40s. Oh, global warming! You're so crazy! But that does sound better than the fourteen degrees New York is currently dropping on me.