national

Skin a Night & The Virginia Ep (2pc) (W/CD)
$19.98
The DVD is okay, but the CD is great. If you're a fan, you won't be disappointed. The cover of Springsteen's Mansion on the Hill is brilliant.

Cherry Tree
$8.98
There is one problem with this album: it's too short. Funny thing is, I was listening to it when I got the Amazon e-mail asking me to review it. It's better than 98% of the crap on the Billboard Top 40 albums. (Is music popular because people like it or because the record companies tell them to like it???) It does contain a couple of my all-time favorite TN songs - "All the Wine" and "Murder Me Rachel (live)." The only song that I found even slightly disappointing was the last one, "A Reasonable Man." [My favorite artists: Neil Young, Yo La Tengo, anything from the founding fathers of Uncle Tupelo, R.E.M., The Silos, Steve Forbert, Stan Ridgway, Paul Kelly (Aussie), Beck, Bob Dylan, The Jazz Butcher, BNL, Norah Jones, Natalie Merchant, Dinosaur Jr., Marcy Playground, K.T. Tunstill, Billy Bragg, Frank Black] I add this because I know our favorites influence these reviews. I like artists that write their own material.

Alligator
$14.98
When I first got this CD I thought it was just puffery and couldn't get into it. Today it clicked for me and I haven't stopped listening to it, though I can't quite say why. This group needs to watch their step... they're dangerously close to having their music overwhelmed by that chic, hip and... empty ooze that sticks to many irksome indie bands when they get attention. I guess it's about not being too clever for their own good, staying humble enough to take risks and especially not pursuing polish for its own sake or, worse, cultivating an absence of polish for its own sake. Get it?

BOXER
$14.98
This is by far my favorite album. It literally made me fall in love with music. I do recommend buying it from iTunes though, because they offer two bonus songs, "Blank Slate" and "Santa Clara" which are very good.