I believe he's totally awesome

Well holy fucking crap. The Fader Blog reports that pop mastermind Jon Brion might be working on Kanye West's new album. This, in additional to getting an adorable, seven-week-old kitten this morning, has made my day. I love both these guys, and while Kanye certainly doesn't need any help producing anything, it'll be awesome to see what comes out of this. I've written about Brion in this space many times, and I apologize to regular readers to posting yet again from his album Meaningless, but this rumor has put me in the mood to post again for our newer readers. Brion is probably best known as a producer and film scorer, helming albums by Aimee Mann, Fiona Apple (including her currently unreleased but leaked Extraodinary Machine) and scoring films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Punch-Drunk Love and Magnolia. He's an amazing songwriter, too:
I Believe She's Lying - Jon Brion
This song was co-written by Aimee Mann, and while it has the lyrical wit of Mann, it also has the ridiculous percussive energy of Brion. I highly recommend Meaningless, one of my favorite albums of all time. You can normally get it through CD Baby, who apparently don't have any copies at the moment. My advice? Put your name on that mailing list and await pop music greatness.