For weeks, I have been unimpressed by every new song I've heard. Uninspired arrangements, soulless, digi-tweaked performances, asinine lyrics, a waste of sound waves... And then, one morning, I checked out VH1's Top 20 Countdown. Which song snapped me out of my music funk? Believe me, I was surprised too.

Before He Cheats, a perfect pop/country nugget performed by Carrie Underwood, green-screened in the appropriately dramatic video, with broken glass and debris whipping behind her.

After one listen, I knew every note of the melody and every word. That, my friends, is catchy. Slickness and all. Well done, Josh Kear and Chris Tompkins. This song is a bulls-eye.

Still 8670 items, 22.2 days worth of music. I've started ripping new music onto the other computer, as this old workhorse, bless his OS 10.2.8 soul, is not compatible with my iPod shuffle.

"I've Got A Crush On You" - Luscious Jackson from Red Hot + Rhapsody

What could be better than an assortment of musicians reinterpreting Gershwin tunes for a good cause?

Ah 1998... AIDS awareness, indie rock, heavy-soled shoes and corduroy pants, Bill Clinton, that newfangled internet... Ah the days before corduroy had its own Wikipedia entry.

First, let me say, I was thrilled by the macabre, sensationalistic news that the body of the Big Bopper has been exhumed to rule out foul play in the February 1959 plane crash that killed him, Buddy Holly and Richie Valens. Forensics anthropology and rock 'n' roll are always a good pairing. Now, where's his rock 'n' roll biopic?

Today's pick is Del Shannon's "Mind Over Matter," just one of the heart-breakers on Andrew Loog Oldham-produced Home And Away. The album was shelved by the record label for years, finally released (leaked?) for the collector's market, and then remastered and reissued last fall by EMI.

Here are some gorgeous pictures of Del in the studio during the "Home And Away" sessions.

This whole album makes me want to go back in time and be his girlfriend. (Only without the heart-breaking).

Here is a video of him playing an earlier hit on Top of The Pops.