It's nice to have my iPod updated again. These days, I only really get to know an album by listening to it on the subway for a few days running, which I haven't been able to do for months. As a result, I've finally begun to get acquainted with albums I bought months ago, notably Nick Hornby's Songbook. I know I've quoted from the book itself quite often on this blog, but I haven't said much about the accompanying CD. It's great. The highlight is Paul Westerberg's "Born for Me," which, as Hornby notes, has one of the loveliest piano solos ever, and has already found its way onto two of my own mix CDs. Another high point is Rufus Wainwright's "One Man Guy." Noah isn't the only one who can quote sad bastard lyrics on this blog:

I'm gonna bathe and shave
And dress myself and eat solo every night
Unplug the phone and sleep alone
Stay away out of sight
Sure it's kind of lonely
Yeah it's sort of sick
Being your own one and only
Is a dirty selfish trick

Looks depressing on the page, I know, but I wish we were all still living together, so I could play it for you: Hornby says that the second verse of this song is what makes even a hard-headed agnostic like himself suspect that God exists, and having listened to it three or four times this morning, I know what he means...