Feeling the (Cover)Flow

Some music-related questions that are on my mind.

Is Nirvana’s In Utero the greatest rock album of the last thirty years? Quite possibly.

The only Jay-Z album I’ve ever enjoyed was The Grey Album, and that had a lot more to do with Danger Mouse and the Beatles than Jay. But I listened to his new, movie tie-in record, American Gangster, over the weekend, and it’s pretty great. Not Kanye-level revelatory, but, I think, at the bare minimum, it’s marginally triumphant, almost inspiring. My question, then, is: What’s wrong with me?

Nada Surf only ever had one hit song, a rulebook-riff indie novelty track, “Popular,” that hit MTV in the late 90s. It sounds nothing like the rest of their output. But the rest of their output is really good, a sort of hybrid of Rainer Maria, Death Cab, and The Shins. So why aren’t they more popular?

Perhaps I should add that I got an iPod Touch this weekend, and yes, that’s why music is on the brain, and yes, it is, indeed, the Coolest Thing Ever.