All right, I just have to plug one of my favorite artists---I think it's a shame that this guy is so under the radar, as I consider him one of the pre-eminent American songwriters. I saw him the other night, and he's got a great new album out, really refining his mix of folk, country, new wave, jazz, spaghetti westerns and film noir. Very fun act to see live.

<object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/VjhuNZ9cRFU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/VjhuNZ9cRFU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

I forgot he has some new material. I will definitely be checking this out. Stan is the man.

Awesome!

I saw him in Northampton- I'd won the tickets and actually never heard of him before! But he was amazing and I'm going to have to get some of his albums soon. Great and funny guy.

I went to the Somerville show. Yep, he's a good guy---I've seen him twice and both times he and his wife (keyboard player) come out after the show and sign stuff and chat with fans. Very down to earth and funny. If you're looking for recommendations, you might start with his Songs That Made This Country Great greatest hits CD, also Black Diamond is a great album, and I'm really impressed with the new one, Neon Mirage.

Based on the description, I should hate everything about this, but the song in that clip is quite compelling.