Best of 2008 Nominees: Best Record

People are starting to ask about the Best Of 2008 list (at least five so far: Leigh, Joe, Kelly, TM, Igoe). So I'm going to get that rolling here. But I'm going to introduce a couple categories to whet your appetite today.

Much like how there is a Grammy category for Best Classical Instrumental Soloist Performance (Without Orchestra), the Best Of list has a bunch of categories only purists care about. But most people pay attention to the biggies: Day, Album, Show, etc. So here's a rundown of nominees for Best Album (listed in an order only TM will probably get):

• Baseball Project, Volume 1: Frozen Ropes and Dying Quails
• Dolly Varden, 13
• Alejandro Escovedo, Real Animal
• Gary Louris, Vagabonds
• Scott Miller, Appalachian Refugee
• Scott Miller, For Crying Out Loud
• Old 97's, Blame It On Gravity
• Kasey Chambers/Shane Nicholson, Rattlin' Bones
• Sheryl Crow, Detours
• Kathleen Edwards, Asking for Flowers
• Jenny Lewis, Acid Tongue
• Tift Merritt, Another Country
• She and Him, Volume One
• Bob Dylan, Tell Tale Signs: Bootleg Series, Vol. 8
• Paul Westerberg, 49:00
• Counting Crows, Saturday Nights and Sunday Mornings
• The Hold Steady, Stay Positive
• R.E.M, Accelerate
• Vetiver, To Find Me Gone
• Various, FUV Live Volume 11
• Various, XRT Live from the Archives: Volume 11

A quick explanation/review of the nominees:

Baseball Project is a side effort of Scott McCaughey (Minus Five) and friends like Peter Buck (R.E.M.). A must have for diehard baseball fans, they wrote a dozen or so songs about the nation's pastime. A sample of names covered: Ted Williams, Oscar Gamble's huge afro, all the guys who have thrown a perfect game, Willie Mays, Fernando Valenzuela, Curt Flood.

Dolly Varden is a great local band who have been together for 13 years. To celebrate, they released a double-disc set of greatest hits and rarities. Included is a great, lovely version of Alex Chilton's "13."

Escovedo's latest was a bit of a disappointment, only because he turned away from his distinctive Americana sound he's perfected over the years to revisit his punk-rock roots. While this record grew on me for its own merits, I missed the strings and the Texas plaintiveness. Instead, this is more of an homage to the late 70's punk scene. (Of course he's so versatile it's hard to fault him.)

Louris released his first post-Jayhawks record, and it was pretty good. It doesn't overreach its grasp, just adds to the Louris canon with songs like "Omaha Nights" and the title track.

Appalachian is a set of demos Miller put out that was available only in limited release through his website. (TM jumped on it, of course.) The demos show him getting back to a more homey, authentic sound, as opposed to the Citation record that we felt was a little too polished for him. Appalachian also has the funniest legal disclaimer about not sharing/selling/trading the music, spoken by the artist himself. Many of the demos (with the notable exception of "People Who Rule") ended up on the official record....

...The end result of Miller's demos was this full length record, released in limited edition right before the end of the year. This sounds more like his first two records, which is a good thing.


The 97's came back from hiatus and got back to their roots, too. Gravity was more fun, more loose, more natural than Drag It Up and celebrated the band's longevity with songs like "The One."

I got the Chambers/Nicholson free from the good people at Sugar Hill Records. I've seen Chambers live in concert, and this record is a nice set of duets, a folky bluegrass sound.

TM got the Sheryl Crow record, and accurately described it as scattered and schizophrenic. The first song is a Dylanesque protest song, and it bounces around genres and feels from there.

Edwards' third release builds on Failer Back to Me (got my Edwards out of order --ed.) with more mature songwriting. Features the song that identifies her as a Canadian.

Jenny Lewis was another TM pickup. I liked what little I listened to, but I think I prefer Rabbit Fur Coat.

I stumbled across Tift Merritt somehow, and decided to try Another Country. Good pick by me: this record has warm vocals, catchy melodies and shows more range than her prior record, Tambourine. (Trivial fact: the titular country is France.)

Tift, as seen through the Barbara Walters "soft focus" lens.

The grammatically incorrect She and Him could be passed off as a vanity project from a movie star (Zooey Deschanel of Almost Famous) except for five things: she wrote most of the songs, the songs are good, the covers are impeccable (Smokey Robinson, the Beatles, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot"), the presence of indie god M. Ward keeps it musically interesting and finally, there are no pictures of her anywhere on the packaging.

Dylan: I must admit I've only started listening to this. So far, it's fascinating. Completely different versions of songs released on his last few albums.

Easily the weirdest record of the year was 49:00, which Westerberg released via Amazon download only, for 49 cents. It's a single track, almost 44 minutes long, that contains smatterings of songs that start and stop, random covers, noise, and other loose ends. Then one day the download was no longer available, anywhere.

I haven't listened much to the new Crows, but I like the concept: the first half is songs about all the crazy sinful things you do on Saturday nights, and the second half is about the regret and redemption of the following morning.

Steady. I could spill a thousand words on the Steady. (Of course, I already have.) I absolutely loved Boys and Girls in America and was so excited for the new record. I struggled with the fact that no record would ever be as good as that one. But beyond that, I'm still trying to like Stay Positive. It's growing on me, but it's not there yet.

I think I put my figure on why I didn't like the Steady record: not enough Franz. His keys and accordion are practically invisible.

Josh promised us the new R.E.M. record was good, and it was pretty darn good: a return to the aggressive rock sound they had on Monster and then lost on later records. However, I haven't listened to this record in months, so what does that say for its staying power?

Vetiver opened for Louris at the Metro. This record is slow and moody. Like many bands, it's better live than on record.

The FUV compilation is still in the shrinkwrap. But the lineup looks great: Spektor, Aimee Mann, the Steady, Louris, Bell X1.

Ditto for the XRT comp: Counting Crows, Liz Phair, the Dead, Bob Mould, Mellencamp.

Finally, special mention to Eddie Vedder for his contribution to music in 2008. Vedder met Ernie Banks (I think at Cubs Convention) and Ernie asked him to write a song about the Cubs. As Vedder said at one of his Chicago Theater shows: "If Ernie Banks asks you to write a song, you better write a fucking good song." And so he did: the earnest, hopeful "All the Way." It became an anthem of the late season and (short) playoff run. Maybe we didn't in '08, but someday we'll go all the way.

Barack and Roll: Revisited

Back in April I predicted who some of my favorite artists would back for president. I thought it would be nice to take a quick look, the day before the election, at who these bands actually endorsed.

Bruce. It all started with this article about Bruce endorsing Barack Obama. The Boss stayed true to his word, introducing Obama at a rally in Ohio in the campaign's final weekend.


The Hold Steady: I didn't see or hear anything from the Steady this election season. I did get an email saying that the Koob (Tad Kubler) fell ill with pancreatitis, so maybe they were preoccupied. However, they are from blue-collar Catholic south Minneapolis, and they live in Brooklyn, probably the bluest borough in Gotham. No way they vote McCain.

Wilco: Umm, yeah, this was a no-brainer. They gave away a free song for those who pledge to vote. Republicans don't give anything away for free, except tax breaks to big corporations.


Patty Griffin: PG stayed under the radar this season too. No idea what she's thinking. Hopefully good thoughts.


R.E.M.: Obama.


Dylan: Back when I wrote this, I predicted Dylan wouldn't vote, cause at the end of the day, "Dylan will still be Dylan."

While I would like to think that everyone who is cool (not in the hipster Wicker Park sense, but the overall attitude towards life) would get behind Obama, I figured the famously aloof Dylan would remain aloof.

However! Lookee here! Dylan tells some newspaper in a foreign country that he likes Obama. Hopefully he's not just playing pranks on the European media ... he's done that before. AND he has a new two-disc record out. Double cool.


Old 97's: I passed on this one, but it turns out that they are ready for the end of the Bush years just like the rest of us.

Kelly Willis: No idea. Lives in Texas. Not a good sign.

Kathleen Edwards: Still Canadian. Still can't vote.

Gary Louris: He didn't say anything political when we saw him a couple weeks ago. Maybe he's sitting this one out.


A. Scott Miller: He has a song on his recent demo collection warning about "People Who Rule." Sounds like he's in the "Eight Is Enough" camp. On the other hand, in "I Been Drunk All Around the Town," he did acknowledge that even Republicans get the blues.

Zep: Still British. Still can't vote. (And apparently not touring, either. Damn.)

Josh Rouse: Unknown.

Dolly Varden: As if there was any doubt, I got this email from Steve Dawson the other day: "And for those of us on the radical fringe left, here's [a video clip of] Dolly Varden with Edward Burch at our 13th anniversary concert singing my ode to the Bush years: "Sold Down The River" ... now get out there and vote!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Poor John Maverick! Oh, but he did get one rocker endorsement: the guitarist for criminally underappreciated and underplayed on FM radio Aerosmith*. The self-described "hardcore Republican" waited until five days before the election, or about ten months after the Iowa caucuses, to make his endorsement. Massachusetts, long considered a blue state, may now be on the verge of tipping red*. McCain also got Brady Quinn. Let's hope Ohio is able to overlook that.


* sarcasm.

Week 9 Review/Week 10 Preview

Week 9 Review: I Hate Being Wrong

First off, a little humility.

I took some mild-mannered heat from my co-author for talking about my success in the last write-up. I blew that off, until I drove past Riverside Baptist Church before Saturday's games...

All glory and praise to the guy who runs this website.

...but I still figured I was unstoppable. And then, Saturday happened.

Look at all that red. Okay, duly noted: no more bragging til the season is over.

After all, I've been sucking in the Pick Six game pretty much all year, and Week 9 was no exception.

A lot of "L"s litter the Pick Six board. Quigley had four losses in five games, plus a bye. The worst hit was Ohio State (MPF and Quigley), who fell to Penn St. (Quig's only win) in an epic defensive battle, decided by a freshman's screwup. Don't worry kid, at least you didn't go to Michigan. Kansas (Quig again) got tripled up by Texas Tech. TMMPF's shared teams biffed--South Florida lost to Louisville and Wake lost to Real Miami.

Meanwhile, in non-Top 25 oblivion, Auburn (MPF) lost at W. Virginia on Thursday night, Illinois (Q for three) lost to Wisconsin (previously 0-3 in conference ... this gives me hope for next week) and Cincinnati (Quig IV) got crushed 40-16 by another basketball school, UConn.

Bottom line: I'm barely ahead of the cat.


Okay, let's see who else is sucking ...

Schadenfreude Dep't.: This season keeps getting funnier and funnier. 1000 Words:

photo by Wendy Tocco. It appeared at freep.com.

Okay, the Irish. The Irish played Washington. The Huskies were about this scary.

ND dominated from beginning to not-quite-end, the middle of the fourth quarter, when Charlie put in the third string. We missed the second half to go up to Lincoln Square to see That Guy From The Jayhawks. We followed the game from a Tennessee bar called Bad Dog, but it appears we didn't miss much.

Oh, and this guy got his wish.

Iowa had a bye. BHGP summarizes it nicely.

And finally, in response to a commenter's question: Manchester Central 47, Manchester Memorial 0. I got that right, but I ain't bragging.

Week 10 Preview: Schizo Mania

Some guy posted pics of all the mascots of 2008 ND opponents, some of which I've used for this season's writeups. However, this was the best he could do for Pittsburgh:


Clearly, the mascot for the impossible-to-predict Panthers is this:


Pitt is 5-2, but those two losses are to Bowling Green, a middling MAC team, and Rutgers, who before Pitt had scored a max of 21 points against a D-IA team. Rutgers hung 54 points on the Wannstache. He has proven to be awful at game planning. Charlie eviserated him back in 2005, when TM and I were crammed into Blue Bayou on Southport with hundreds of Irish fans for a gamewatch. Yet at the same time, Pitt has beaten two teams that will probably go to a bowl (South Florida and Iowa) and that many fans expected a loss.

Speaking of schizo, I'm not sure you ever know what you're going to get from a Ron Zook-coached team. Maybe 2-10? Maybe the Rose Bowl? Maybe losing to an 0-3 Wisconsin team that Shonn Greene dominated? Maybe water-skiing?

You thought I was kidding, right?

After watching Iowa and Illinois play Wisconsin in back-to-back weeks, plus Iowa's performance against Illinois last year, I think we have a good chance for a win. Missouri laid out the blueprint for beating Illinois back in Week 1: force the erratic Juice to throw the ball. Get ahead early, shut down whatever semblance of a running game they feature that week, and make the Juice throw downfield. If the Hawks do that, it should be an enjoyable game.

Pick Six: Biggest game is the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, aka Florida (TM) vs. Georgia. C'mon Dawgs! Other matchups of note: Texas (TMMPF) at the Pirates of Lubbock, and a family matchup of South Florida (TMMPF) vs. Cincy (Quigley).

Nebraska: Herbie's back! Thanks for taking care of Iowa State. Of course, have you seen Iowa State lately? It ain't that hard. Even smoke stops the Cyclones.

This week the Huskers face a tough, tough Oklahoma team, who took the No. 1 team in the nation down to the wire. If we see Herbie next week on the blog, it will have been a major upset.

Phew! I'm ready for football. Enjoy the games!

Week 8 Review/Week 9 Preview

Week 8 Review: I Love Being Right

Eat turf, Badger!
photo by Matthew Holst of the Press-Citizen

We spent Week 8 in Iowa City, where Iowa hosted Wisconsin and Shonn Greene ran over, through, between, on top of, and fill-in-a-prepositional-phrase Wisconsin.

We saw the new (or new to me) Nile Kinnick statue. I rubbed his helmet for good luck. It seemed like the traditional thing to do, not that we necessarily needed it with this Wisconsin team. A couple pictures:

The Black Swarm takes the field:

Forget the turtle...Fear THIS!!

The final score and proof of our dominance. The backups gave up a late TD, after the PA system inexplicably played "Jump Around."

I'm not a coach or player, so I'm allowed to ask "what if" about this Hawkeye team that looked incredible against cupcakes, couldn't put away three straight winnable games, then absolutely crushed two conference foes. Nine points separate Iowa from an undefeated season. Nothing can make them 8-0 instead of 5-3, but the confidence of knowing they can win should be exciting to watch when they face Illinois after the bye week.

If this video is still up, please enjoy the afternoon of Hawk joy we experienced, condensed into eight minutes of awesome:

I predicted a win, although not necessarily this big. My friend Tonya wrote: "hope you have fun and Wisconsin doesn't kill Iowa too bad :( I know...not much faith, but Wisky is pretty good and sadly, Iowa isn't..."

I wrote back to her before the game:

Did you see last Sat's game? Iowa crushed Indy. we put it together in all phases of the game. Our most complete win of the season.
We are catching Wisky at the right time. They are stunned and defeated mentally, confused and bewildered. Wisky may have more talent, but they're not playing like it. Also, they are changing out their QBs. Hawkeyes know the fits and starts that produces.
I'm starting to like our chances, if our D plays tough and frustrates the QB into throwing vs running. A couple early IA TDs could make Wisky say, oh boy, here we go again.

Speaking of being right, all my reading and studying of Steele culminated in a big Week 8 in the pick 'em games. I correctly called 13 of 18 games against the spread, widening my lead in the small game...

...and moving up a few notches in the national competition.

In the game where I pick winners outright and assign confidence points to each game, I've moved up to 7th out of 50 or so. (By the way, the name "Much Better Than Last Year" refers to the performance of Iowa, Notre Dame and me in the pick 'em game.)

Pick Six: TM's lose-lose situation resulted in a loss ... for Mizzou, which means the Texas team we share stays at No. 1 while her Tigers drop. Their border wars foes in Kansas (Quigley) also lost to a Top 5 conference rival in Oklahoma. Wake (TMMPF) Feared the Turtle to the tune of 26-0. Cal (MPF) lost to Arizona and says goodbye to their second brief stay in the Top 25. Idle Ball State jumps up to 20 based on losses by teams above them. Clemson (Kitty) falls further into oblivion by losing to Georgia Tech.

Unless Florida and Mizzou absolutely face-plant, and/or Auburn and Cal find their way back to the rankings, I think TM's got this one wrapped up.

Interesting stat of the day, courtesy The World Wide Leader: Maryland is 3-0 vs. ranked teams and 2-2 vs. everyone else.

Interesting stat #2: Penn State (23) represents 50% of Quigley's total points (46).

Lessee...anything else happen last week?


Oh yeah. Heh-heh. Oh well fellas. At least you kept it within 30.

Week 9 Preview: The Home Stretch Begins

The University of Notre Dame plays (sigh) the University of Washington, which is coached by (sigh) Tyrone Willingham. Willingham used to coach a bunch of places, like Stanford and (sigh) here. ND fired Willingham with two years left on his contract because they are a bunch of intolerant racists. Meanwhile, Willingham has proven Notre Dame's folly by leading Washington to unparalleled success. Let's all move on now shall we yes good.

Pick 6: The huge intra-family battle is Ohio State (TMMPF) vs. Penn State (cat). Auburn (MPF) has a chance to earn some points by facing a less-than-2007 W. Va team, but it's a long climb back. And Big 12 games to watch include Mizzou (TM) against Colorado and Texas vs. Oklahoma State (who would have ever thought the Cowboys would be ranked higher than Mizzou??).

Iowa has a bye. (So do the Chicago Bears. It'll be a quiet weekend.) Ohio participates in Interactive Tuesday!! vs. Temple. It's more than a mid-week football game, it's Interactive!!

The other big battle, of course, is a Notre Dame night game vs. Gary Louris at the Old Town School. Who keeps scheduling great Americana artists during college football season?!? I last wrote about Louris here.

He does crossword puzzles too, which is cool.

Nebraska: Oh you thought I'd forgotten you.

Herbie's back, thanks to your 35-7 crushing of Iowa State. (Although let the record show we beat Wisconsin, a good team, by more than you beat ISU, a bad team.) I think you should have no problem with Baylor this week. A win puts the Huskers right where the Hawks are heading into the bye: 5-3 overall, 2-2 in conference.

Week 3 Review

Note to our Nebraska fan readers: You can skip this whole thing and read about just the Huskers by clicking here.

Week 3 Review

Notre Dame vs. Michigan. What I was expecting was this ...



... with the fans in the role of the third kitten. And what we got instead (in addition to drenched by the thunderstorm) was this:



I'm not sure what I can add to what's already been said about this game. Yes Michigan sucked. That does not diminish ND's accomplishment of getting up 21-0 in the first quarter and not letting them within two scores all game. A sucky team (like last year's) would have sucked to the suckiness of their foe. Instead, the Irish defense harrassed Michigan into committing turnovers, then converted those turnovers into touchdowns. We're not perfect, but it was exactly what this young, talented, tentative team needed: proof they can win.

No excuses will be accepted, Mr. Steve Brown:

"We don't have our heads down because we know who the better team was," defensive back Steve Brown said, referring to Michigan. "They beat us today. It happens, but in our hearts we know we're the better team."

To you, sir, I say: scoreboard, bitches.

Pick Six update:

Quigley really took it on his furry chin last week, with road losses by Ohio State and Kansas. Those two alone cost him 14 points. Clemson got back into the rankings at No. 23 off a beating of NC State and voters forgetting about the Alabama game. I took a hit with Ohio State and California, who inexplicably got thumped by a Maryland team that lost to a I-AA school. (TM may have something to say about this game in the comments.) Jahvid Best summarizes his team's performance thusly*:



Meanwhile, TM ticked up due to great performances including Texas (postponed), Florida (bye) and Wake Forest (bye). Remind me, why do I play this game?!?

The scores:

Nationally, here's who impressed me:

Penn State. Maybe Anthony Morelli really was that bad. Maybe the opponents are so weak, these victories don't mean anything. But so far Penn State looks insanely good on offense. They'll be 4-0 and rolling when they host Illinois in Week 5.

Kansas. I thought they were a one-year fluke, a basketball school. Although they lost to my Pick Six'er South Florida, Reesing and the offense looked like they could hang with anyone. Unfortunately for the Not Those Jayhawks, this year "anyone" is on the schedule twice in the form of Mizzou and Boomer Sooner.

Southern California. Damn. As in, "day-um" type damn.

Who did not impress me:

Rutgers. Maybe Fresno State and North Carolina really are good, but a combined 19-68 score in two games? Without Ray Rice and Brian Leonard, they appear to be One Hit Oh-Nee-ders.

The Beanie-less Buckeyes. C'mon guys. That was pathetic. Plus you cost me eight Pick Six points.

The SEC. Thaaat's right, Southerners. Take a look at that Auburn-Mississippi State score: 3-2. ONE field goal and ONE safety. This just proves the Big 10 is TWICE as good as the Southeastern.

And now, your Nebraska content. Nebraska defeated New Mexico State 38-7, their third straight anonymous opponent. It wasn't on TV here, possibly anywhere. They rest up this week for Virginia Tech, who used to be good but is having quarterback (and special teams) problems this year.

Week 4 Preview coming up soon.

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* Yes I know there are two puking videos. Trust me, it's a coincidence, not a pattern.

Lions, Tigers & Bearcats Oh(io) My!

It has been a crazy few weeks here at TMMPF.

First, we attempted to introduce a new kitty into our home (Quigley wanted to blog about the experience but I advised against it... I'm not sure you want to hear from him when he's angry). Second, we had back-to-back visitors to keep us busy. Third, the Cubs started losing which sent everyone in Chicago into a general panic (even though we know better) and caused massive upheaval in the time space continuum.

Quigley is master of the house.

Oh, and football started.

Speaking of football, Quigley is finally ready to reveal his pick six teams.

Ohio State: Oh boy was kitty worried last weekend. He thought OSU was the one pick that he could count on. Good thing his Buckeyes squeaked past the pesky Ohio Bobcats by a whisker. Quigley's pick of the Bucks came on a recommendation from his cousin Cosworth in Ohio.

Does this look like a cat you can trust? Quigley thought so.

Clemson: Well, Quigley admits this was not his smartest pick. His first inclination was to pick Missouri (they do, after all, have a quarterback named Chase). In the end, however, he went with Clemson just to be different. Unfortunately he picked the wrong Tigers. If he had a mil kring for every time that happened...

Kansas: An intriguing pick by kitty... and quite honestly, a classic case of mistaken identity. As you may recall, Quigley first took a stab at picking college sports during the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament. A major lesson from that experience was that bird teams are bad (if you are a cat, that is).

So why did Quigley pick the Jayhawks in the pick six? Well, apparently when he heard that the Jayhawks were getting back together and figured that nothing can beat this team... of course he failed to realize that the Kansas Jayhawks and the Minnesota Jayhawks are two different things. (Geography was never kitty's strong point.)

Quigley is a big fan of the sun... and of this band..

As it turns out, Quigley's choice of a bird school isn't all that bad. The Kansas Jayhawks Runningback? Angus Quigley.

Penn State: Lions. 'Nuf said.

Illinois: Because he is only 4 years old, Quigley cannot vote in November's election. He is, however, an staunch supporter of Obama and therefore considers his pick of the Fighting Illini as a shout out the Jr. Senator from Illinois.

Cincinnati: When Quigley took a look at his picks he noticed that he had Lions and Tigers but no Bears. He briefly considered the Cal Golden Bears but decided that if we going to pick someone golden it would be Golden Tate.

Only time will tell if Quigley's picks can keep up with TM and MPF.

Barack and Roll

Ladies and gentlemen: the 44th president of the United States is Barack Hussein Obama. You know how I know? Because the Boss has spoken.

But it got me wondering: who would my favorite bands endorse?




The Hold Steady: The Steady likes to drink beer and rock out. They've been called America's greatest bar band and was the subject of the first really long essay on this blog. A guy like Craig Finn who understands the impact of using the right words and the power of dreaming for a better tomorrow would support Obama. Now, if it ever were determined that Barack got drunk once under some railroad tracks in Minneapolis, that would totally seal the deal.

Wilco: Obama. Hometown pick.



Patty Griffin: Hillary. Not just because of the gender, but because Hillary represents toughness and feminity at the same time. She can legislate with the boys by day and have a pajama party with the girls at night*. It's the same complexity that permeates PG's songs and characters.


R.E.M.: I am sure that they believe in the hope of the Obama campaign.



Dylan: wouldn't vote. He did enough world-changing 40 years ago, and no matter who the next president is, Dylan will still be Dylan.



Old 97's: I'll let TM take a swing at this one. You got four guys from Texas. They believe in rock and roll, Merle Haggard covers, marrying supermodels, writing killer ballads, God and microwaving chicken ravioli. So who the 97's got?


Kelly Willis: Kelly is a mom (unfortunately, now a stay-at-home mom) in Texas, a bastion of Republicanism. I think she'd see Hillary and Obama as too slick, too big-city for her taste. She'd probably appreciate the "guns" candidate, which is McCain. (I have no idea if Kelly is pro-gun, anti-gun or gun-indifferent. She's from Texas, people. I'm going on stereotypes here.)

Kathleen Edwards: Canadian. Can't vote.

Gary Louris: Gar, being from the upper Midwest, probably trusts the Midwestern guy over the slick New Yorker. (Yeah, I'm aware she grew up in Park Ridge. Does she seem like a trustworthy Midwesterner, or a cutthroat Manhattanite? Yeah, you know I'm right.)

A. Scott Miller: Scott Miller is a Southerner. He likes a shot and a beer--and not the photo op kind. I think he'd go Obama, if only for "whut the hell man, this country's in the shitter anyway. Let's give this guy a chance. Areyawithme, America??"

Zep: Zep, as Carolyn pointed out, is fabulously wealthy and would probably support the Republican no matter who he is. However, Zep is British. Can't vote.


Josh Rouse: He lives in Spain now, so I think he's probably better attuned than anyone on this list to how America's global standing has plummeted under the Bush administration. The world hates us because our dumbass president started a preemptive war on bullshit evidence. (Do I have that right, Parnell?) So Josh Rouse is going to vote for whoever is not George Bush, whoever will restore America's image as the beacon of hope for the world. That man is Barack Obama.

Dolly Varden: I kinda sorta know Steve and Diane through my friend Sarah, who knows them very well. A few years ago, (early November 2004 to be exact) TM and I went to a photo exhibit of Sarah's (she's very talented, check out the photo credit) at the Old Town School of Folk Music. At one point, when I was standing nearby, someone walked into the room and asked Diane how she was doing. "Oh you know, we're upset..." she said, and then added, almost unnecessarily, "about the election." So I'm damn sure they ain't voting for Bush, anyone who looks like Bush, thinks like Bush, or has an "R" after their name like Bush. Because I kinda sorta know Steve and Diane and do not wish to make jokes about their preference**, let's just say they would split their vote, with Steve picking Obama and Diane picking Hillary.

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* This is a real story I read, showing her "softer side" and how she can giggle with her girlfriends like a regular adult woman. I couldn't find the link, but that was a deliberate reference.

** If Steve or Diane or Sarah stumbles across this, please leave your thoughts in the comments box, and I promise to update accordingly.