West coast, east coast, blended into one

Sorry for the lack of posts lately, Robot readers. We've all had a lot going on lately, most notably CMJ. I didn't go to New York, but I've been busy recording a new CD. Hearing so much new music everyday is a great thing, but now that I'm working on my own record, it's hard not to wonder how different bands do what they do: was this song written by one person? Who arranged it? How did they decide to put a glockenspiel there?

Whenever I hear a track like this one, I have almost the opposite reaction: how is so much contained in so little? This song has an acoustic guitar, two voices, and a smattering of strings, but it fills up the space in a way no 8-piece indie collective could.

Wooden Dinosaur - Record Player.

Wooden Dinosaur is the name for Mike Roberts, a guy who I rubbed elbows with while at Bates College. I didn't know him, but we traveled in the same musical circles. He's got this Rufus Wainwright-esque voice, sparsely beautiful songs, and a knack for subtle guitar playing. I don't know how he does it.

I know this isn't a great get-your-weekend-started song, so forgive me for that. I for one am happy, though, to start two days off with the calmest voice imaginable.

Mike says he's all out of copies of his record Analune, so keep checking out his MySpace page for updates.

Oh, and go Sox.