Through this "long, hard slog" it's nice to have some old tunes for companionship, especially on rib-to-rib MRT rides. Busted this one out as part of a mix CD I made for the car (no, no one's gotten me an iTrip yet) that had the theme "Happy Place, Happy Place" -- an antidote to the tough Manila driving. It's still hasn't been burned, but the lineup looks pretty good.

Jonatha Brooke, like the Oracle, has been with us since the beginning. I had a chance to see her in Philly, but dowsed it upon hearing it was at a sixties-styled cafe in a place where buses stop running after 10. She would croak, and tease, on live performances, which intrigued me. But if she's alone with her guitar (without a band), I didn't think it was worth it.

Brooke reminds me of what I like about folk music: it makes you feel good before tearing your heart out. You see, there's Ryan Adams, there's Wilco, and then there's "So Much Mine," which informs the listener that regret, which Adams does excruciatingly well, can come in a form of saltwater taffy.

Listen.