The worst part of writing music reviews

So I haven't been around for a while, yes. But I just emptied at least seven gallons of fun from my bladder, so everything feels amazing and I'm immensely glad to see you.

Immediately after writing my review of The New Pornographers's (I don't know the convention for names of singular entities that happen to end with a pluralized word so I'm going with the singular entity rule even though it makes me cringe a little) album Challengers I wished I could take it back. Not because the review was wrong, but because it was poorly wrought--hastily done in most places, excessively belabored elsewhere.

Then, several days later I regretted the review for the additional reason that I changed my mind. As it turned out, the fifteen or so listens I gave were just a little less than the threshold to break through and start enjoying the album. In light of that I'd take back much of what I wrote previously and revise the star rating upward to 3.75/5. Songs like Mutiny, I Promise You have maintained the glory that made me amicable towards them at the beginning, while songs like Failsafe grew into something much more than a couple of catchy lines and Challengers became worthy to share the album's title.

But there is something that I have to say in response to Eric's heresy. Myriad Harbour sucked after the first listen, it sucked after the fifteenth, and I'm on about the fortieth now, and it still sucks. I can dig Entering White Cecilia well enough, but the other two bits by Dan Bejar on this album are my least favorite songs by The New Pornographers. I think that if someone (like The New Pornographers working for a couple of days without Bejar) made covers of those songs I might actually appreciate them, but the vocals just sound bad.

Many thanks for showing up, my dear commenters. You inflate my ego like none other.

(By the way, someone got here by searching "listerine for warts" again. I should really cross-link with these wart sites.)