New Yorkers live in such close proximity to each other that we get real, unadulterated opportunities to observe each others behavior. In fact, we don't have a choice. Especially on the subway. If you're like me, you try as hard as you can to live in the bubble between your backpack and your book only letting your eyes venture out enough to find a seat. Sometimes, though, we forget our books and are forced to people watch to make our journeys pass by. In doing this I've noticed a disturbing trend: people leave their earbuds in constantly. I've seen a pair of friends having a conversation and one of the two is listening to music. If one of my friends did that to me I would get off at the next stop and never look back. What, my conversation skills are not entertaining enough for you? Even worse is seeing a couple in which one or both is wearing headphones. And the worst of all is seeing a mom or dad listening to music while their kids sit idly by wondering what they did wrong. I don't get it. I love music; so much so that I've built my life around it. Yet I could never do this! Am I just getting old or is this as terrible as I think it is?

The other day, I was early for a rehearsal and wandered into a record store to kill time. As I walked through the door I noticed that the employee sitting at the cash register had white earbuds in his ears. There was music playing in the store and he appeared to be the only person working. This confused the hell out of me. He was the only one there! And, still! Gah!

OK. I feel better now that I've got that out of my system. Before I get to this month's recommendation, I would like to give a little update on my practice space building. Apparently, the booger problem is under control, but there's a new issue. Check out these notes from the management:

I don't have much to say about those signs besides yikes. I fear for the next issue the management has to deal with via Sharpie'd signs.

Well, I was all set to recommend the new Midlake album The Courage of Others but, unfortunately, I can't really do that. It's OK but it's a bit boring and repetitive and one song is a blatant rip-off of Radiohead's Exit Music (For a Film). I mean, come on, you can't rip off anything from OK Computer; that album is far too classic. Anyhooz, I'm a huge fan of Midlake's last release The Trials of Van Occupanther so I'll recommend that. It mixes '70's folk and Fleetwood Mac with their own mystical, other-worldly charm. The first song, Roscoe, is worth the price of the album alone. It's that good. It's hard to play that song in the presence of people who've never heard it without someone saying "What's this?".