Demolishing the Notable

I've often struggled to explain my complicated relationship with music. You might read my rambling or tossed-off praises of some singer you've half-heard of or some song you don't love as much. It's hard to put into words about why I "get" the Mountain Goats, Steely Dan, Will Oldham, and Billy Joel but can't conceive of liking Tom Waits or the White Stripes with anything more than a bemused appreciation of their craft. But then America's finest songwriter Craig Finn nailed it in an interview from three years ago that I just read this morning:

Any good band has some element of danger in them. A band without a sense of danger is about the worst thing in the world. That said, danger comes in a lot of different ways, and I see danger in Cat Power and Belle & Sebastian and not in the Hives/Vines/etc.

And that's it! Danger takes different forms. Sometimes, the cuddliest one in the room is the most dangerous. In other words, who would win in a bar fight - the young Neil Young or the old Jonathan Richman? It'd be close but Jonny would be the only one walking home.

Where are my NCAA basketball tournament predictions. You remember last year, don't you? I'm still working on it. Tomorrow morning.

Finally - click here. Scroll down to pindeldyboz, find a familiar name. I'm notable again.