Neko Case

Okay, I'm not a constant reader or anything, but if you pressed me, and not too many people where around, and I was drunk, and I was tired, and I had a headache, and I had Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, and I had an infected razor cut on my right "jowl," and I had just found out Michael Nesmith was an avid reader of my research, well, I might just admit that from time to time, at other people's houses, I read and enjoy GQ magazine.

I do not read for the fashion tips. That's Lee.

I read because they often have some of the most insightful reviews and interviews available - granted, they are buried in a horde of advertisements featuring men who have never eaten red meat, but they're good when you find them. That is how I heard about Neko Case.

I don't know a lot about Case yet, but I do know that she has a distinct accent which, GQ tells me is Virginian (Alexandrian to be exact), ANTI- tells me is Northwestern, and I think is kinda', I dunno', American. She seems to be deeply interested in the visual aesthestics of flesh-consuming mammals. She has associated with one of the up-and-coming indie supergroups (irony intended) The New Pornographers but remains on the free-trade list. Whatever.

So, her music is awesome. That's it. I'm not certain how best to characterize it, but the closest I can come is to say: imagine Loretta Lynn was born in the '70s, was heavily influenced by art rock as well as good ol' mountain music and bluegrass, and then have her spend her musically formative years in Canada. Bizzy-zizzy zam.

You can hear it yourself in a number of key venues - first and foremost Case's homepage and secondly ol' reliable NPR has a couple from her album Fox Confessor (ditto but different here).

In closing: if you like rock and classic country, you should like Case. If not, well, perhaps you should. Jerk.