Snow day + day off = time to catch up on my backlog of CDs! I'm listening to a few records that I borrowed from Fred, and they are defying my expectations.

Now playing is Mass Romantic, the New Pornographers CD that caused such a stir a while back. I had completely misjudged this band....I thought they were an alt.country band, a genre for which I have little patience. But they have more in common with Cheap Trick than Wilco. I like it, some really good sing-along tunes.

Similarly, I'd thought Old 97's were strictly a twangy affair, but their Satellite Rides is more rockin' than I expected. Still very roots-rock, but the guitars are big big big.

Then there's Saint Low, whose Tricks for Dawn I've been listening to all morning. I loved Mary Lorson's previous band, Madder Rose, and I was under the impression that Saint Low was a continuation of latter-day MR's dreamy swirling pop...but this CD is almost torch-y, dare I say....jazzy. I love the way her vocals are recorded, very warm and glowing like an old 60s folk-pop record.

In movie news, last night we watched a film called Mystery, Alaska, which had been recommended to me by my boss as a little sleeper movie that should have been much more successful than it was.

Within minutes, I hated it--yes, it's a "little" movie, but it is as cliche-riddled as the biggest Hollywood piece of fluff. It's sort of a guy's version of My Big Fat Greek Wedding--a jock fantasy film in which the underdogs make good for themselves and everyone is a cartoon version of a real person, and there is no doubt what the outcome of the conflicts will be by the end of the film. Add to that a stinky sexist undertone, and you've got the makings of a wasted 90 minutes of my life. Oh well!