Lhasa - "Fool's Gold". The singer Lhasa de Sela died on New Year's Day, after a long illness. She was 37. I saw Lhasa perform only once, at a concert that was being shot by the filmmaker Vincent Moon. I did not know her music very well. We sat in a circle around she and the band. She moved among us like a moon, with grace and purpose. She was very serious and yet always smiling. She was wise, I think, even though I only heard her sing. She sang songs like this one, and songs much more sad, her voice always curling, always taking heart, always kind. "Fool's Gold" is about a loss, a betrayal, but even here she is without rancour. It is as if she left bitterness behind, years ago. Nothing can touch her: not words, not lies, not rain. She is free. [buy]