assuming yes

L is for "like"

Randy Newman, Born Again
Don Drummond, Jazz Ska Attack
tUnE-yArDs, w h o k i l l
Panda Bear, Tomboy
Beach Boys, Pet Sounds
Bonnie Jo Campbell, American Salvage

I'm not sure I can tell the good Randy Newman albums from the bad; his performing persona annoys me just enough that I can't get in close enough to let the lyrics seep in. I know the big songs and love them when other people do them. That's how I am with Randy Newman. I was listening to Born Again based on the suggestions Rhapsody had after Glass Houses and through little wisps and splinters I caught, thought hmmm... not bad. Maybe I've misjudged him. Then I looked at AllMusic to see what they say and that Born Again, outside of his soundtracks, is the worst in his catalog. I suppose I could go up the ladder and find the real acerbic treasures and I'm glad to know they are there, but eh, I could just listen to some music that I actually like*. It was one of the  points I wanted to raise in the great Steely Dan debate: OK everything is perfect and the players are top-notch and the production is peerless as every major Dan dude will tell you ad nauseum, but do you like it? I'm assuming yes, but why, outside of the quality of its components? It's the synergy of those pieces that I am missing.

Not missing synergy: this poem "BIPEDAL" by my friend Dave "Gorjus" McCarty on the Pretty Fakes group blog.

*except for Tomboy, I think I don't really like it but I keep listening**
** ditto on a grander scale for Pet Sounds.