Ah hah! Finally!

[plunkybug]

We went to Border's tonight to use a 20% discount coupon that expires tomorrow. Chas bought the MST3K version of Red Zone Cuba, and I finally bought "The Long Goodbye" by The Essex Green. For those new to me, or who need refresher... I've been wanting this for a long time. Fans of bands like Belle and Sebastian, Mazzy Star, Jellyfish, and the 60's bands they take influence of (Mamas and the Papas, The Kinks) will like this.

This group's area code may suggest an ordinary Brooklyn address, but its spiritual home is harder to place. On "Old Dominion," the trio visits the pastoral California coast to indulge in some bright harmonizing in the style of the Mamas & the Papas; "The Late Great Cassiopia" takes a jaunty stroll through the Kinks' tree-lined London streets; and the misleadingly titled closing track, "Berlin," actually signals a summer spent in Baja, with its leisurely verses and light touches of Latin percussion recalling the naïve baroque pop of the Association. Maybe it's not so much a question of place as time. The follow-up to the group's ambitious 1999 debut, Everything Is Green, is a diverse and engaging work, expanding on the delicate psychedelic touches of its predecessor while updating the Essex Green's vivid '60s influenced pastiche. The Long Goodbye is all over the map and it's wonderful. --Aidin Vaziri

Well, I am getting sleepy and it will soon be time for beddy-bye! I must get my beauty rest. Maybe I can get Chas to read to me a little tonight (fingers crossed) ; )