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You left us standing with no understanding

1. I voted for Obama today. I'm going to be out of the state on primary day (January 8, this time around), so I stopped by the Town Clerk's office and filled in my absentee ballot. The primary system without a doubt gives unearned and unfair power to a few predominantly white and homogeneous states, so it is definitely in need of some reform. That said, there's something pretty amazing about casting a ballot where you have good reason to believe it will have a major significance.

2. I love the snow, and happily enough this year it actually contrived to snow a fair amount in December, unlike last year when we had to wait until February for anything meaningful.

Ice and Snow - Sambassadeur

3. I love lists, and while my biggest excitement this time of year is the music lists, there's also a lot of other fun end-of-the-year summaries. One I've looked forward to for a long time is Phil Plait's list of the top 10 astronomy pictures of 2007, over at his Bad Astronomy Blog. #3 is the best of the lot, in my opinion.

4. I posted about The Wombats a couple days ago, so why not another entrant in the dance-rock with fuzzed guitars competition today? The Maccabees do a little bit of the art-rock thing, with eminently danceable rhythms, and lyrics that would be overly precious if they weren't encased in some driving rock and roll.

Colour It In is a record that certainly doesn't take itself too seriously, even the cleverness is a level more surreal than, say, The Wombats (an ode to the new wave machine at the local pool, for example). Indeed, part of the joke is how seriously they sing about things that would normally seem completely mundane. But ultimately, the reason it works is because the music is strong enough to carry the premise. The riffs are tight, the vocals are full of swagger and just enough tenderness to keep it all in good fun, and they don't overstay their welcome. At just under 40 minutes, you'll definitely be wanting more, and might very well just jump right back to the beginning and start over.

All in Your Rows - The Maccabees

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