I got my mitts on two John Vanderslice albums: Time Travel is Lonely and Life and Death of an American Fourtracker.

Baby, I'm in love.

1. I dig the whole "setting William Blake poetry to music" schtick he has going on.

2. The orchestration for his music is always interesting.

3. He has a really distinct style that doesn't sound like anything else on the indie scene today.

4. Gorgeous songwriting.

5. He writes these incredibly sad songs that are really funny at the same time, like "You Were My Fiji": www.johnvanderslice.com/html/l...xt.html

I'm waiting for Pixel Revolt and Cellar Door to arrive from the library. If I'm feeling too antsy, I might just pick them up myself--that's what I did with Life and Death of an American Fourtracker, and I have absolutely no regrets.

His voice might strike some as annoying, but if your eardrums can deal with vocalists like Perry Farrell or the singers from Built to Spill, Neutral Milk Hotel or The Arcade Fire, I don't think Vanderslice should present any problems.

I'm re-reading this, and the recommendation sounds really lukewarm, but it's not. It's wholehearted and enthusiastic. Listening to John Vanderslice will cure cancer and prevent birth abnormalities. So go do it. It's for SCIENCE.