Since I've been writing copy again (amongst many things I'm revisiting) I've been paying more attention to lyrics -- more than I usually do. In fact, they've become more important than what the actual act of listening to the music makes me feel.

This has made it more difficult, albeit more interesting, to find music to listen to. Lately, I've been stuck going back and forth through Sparklehorse, Ryan Adams, Wilco and The New Radicals (the latter, through an invitation from my brother). Adams, who is rumored to have enough songs written for eight more albums, is a bit of Bruce, a bit of Bob Dylan, and a lot of everything brokenhearted and Western. Of course, his work is lyrical and intelligent given the high-calorie subject matter.

Then, as if to deflect age, I started listening to The Killers. It may be too late, but Wilco's as old as dirt anyway. I've begun to, also possibly to deny charity for my wrinkles, pay more attention to local pop culture. I'm not talking about badminton, but rather, John Lloyd and Bea Alonzo. The other night I took in "Now That I Have You" without the slightest bit of reluctance.

Normally, yes, normally, I would loathe spending more than 15 minutes over such fare; this one was unusually entertaining (maybe it was because I really had nothing better to do or that it was set against a backdrop of MRT-commuting individuals, and somehow reinforcing my new membership). At any rate, it held my attention, considering "Batman and Robin" and "Cold Mountain" were the other options.

More importantly, I have, through searching for ad reels to present in class, recently found Jose Gonzalez. His cover of Heartbeats, used for Sony's famous Bravia commercial, is quite unforgettable. Iron and Wine-ish, yes, but it sounds old enough to remind me of how simple it was to be eight years old.

Check it out.