The Legendary Jim Ruiz Group - "My Bloody Yugo". Well isn't this a funny thing. The best tagline I can come up with is "No Depression ska". Yes - it's a song with backbeat, trumpet, and a Yugo fixation. Jim Ruiz sings with a sort of wry Elvis Costello swing, and Stephanie Winter-Ruiz gives the chorus a wistful glaze. The clarinet accompaniment strips all pep from the horns, and ultimately the tune's bouncy beat - and "la la la" bits - are a comfortable incongruity: I don't I understand why such macabre lyrics would be played by a sedated Sublime, but I really don't mind. It's as if an indie country band wandered into studio, found a bunch of weird genre accoutrements (and session musicians!), and adapted their grim tune accordingly. And added a wispy chorus! And angels singing in the finale! The album has the unfortunate title of Oh Brother Where Art Thou? (and the Amazon reviews are full of folks who got the album by clueless soundtrack-seeking relatives). It comes to me via the fine Annette. [buy]

The Delgados - "Everybody Come Down". It's been a couple days, and I no longer think Universal Audio is one of the year's very very best. (The new Idaho took UA's spot on the list.) It's still good, however - a lateral move from Hate, full of unexpected melodies and big noisy choruses. "Everybody Come Down" opens with jangle guitar and everyman drums, a stroll from residential streets onto a bustling carcrash causeway. The Delgados' do chamber-pop differently than everyone else: their earliest records were pretty punk, and now - even when the production is huge, a swirl of synth and guitar and voices, - it never feels like the gloves are on. It may be good-natured and melodious, but there's always the danger of a bassline collapsing onto your head, the drum fuzz setting your speakers on fire. As the band tumbles smiling into the end of this tune, part of me can imagine them destroying their instruments, crushing them to smithereens amid a pile of petal-plucked flowers. "Everybody come down!" Emma Pollock sings, gathering an Oliver! army or grimy, earnest kids. [pre-order]

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my mean magpie has an absolutely wonderful Mountain Goats mp3, called "Korean Bird Paintings". It's sweet, lovestruck, and it has a banjo. (via the essential catbirdseat)

Red Lotus Radio is new to me, and might be to you; it's a great blog with an international, folky scope. Last week was Garmarna, one of my fave nordic groups; this week, "Persian classical music." I slather with anticipation. :)

My sincerest Canadian-Scottish thanks to Adrian for the help he gave me today installing MT-Trickle. You'll all be thanking him next week (wait and see!).