The Fredösphere

Memo to Alex Ross:  shouldn't you spell it "anti-poppist"?  Otherwise, people will think you are stealing one of my schticks.  Speaking of which, it turns out Pope Paul VI was murdered sometime in the mid-70s and replaced by an imposter.  You learn something new every day.

These days I'm listening to some Christmas gifts:  this Nitty Gritty Dirt Band classic (lot's of fascinating banter between takes), Chanticleer's latest (long stretches of experimental atmospherics), and Terry Teachout's favorite post-bluegrass band ("post-bluegrass" -- can I claim to have invented the term?  I'm awfully proud of it.  Google says ... of course not!).  I'm also enjoying something I found in the New CD bin at the library:  Essential Aúna.  Let's see, what slot can we slide them into?  Their sound is engineered with a bit of a poppish sensibility (hey, look at that:  the word that ties this post together!) but the music is good, serious stuff; I'd call it post-minimalist, but what do I know?  From their outfits it looks like they are trying to decide whether to take the red pill or the blue pill.