On Monday I ventured forth to Upland, Indiana to speak at Taylor University. “Upland” conjures images of mountain streams and coniferous firs in my mind, but reality was something different. Reality was a few cornfields that had been plowed under to make way for the university, and an ice cream shop called Ivanhoe’s, which appeared to be the only commercial establishment in “town.” Parents looking for an environment that provides few distractions from the academic life could hardly do better than Taylor University.

I enjoyed my time in the heartland. Aside from some initial confusion about where I was supposed to speak, the evening came off without a hitch. I didn’t stumble over my words too badly, the audience of 25 or so students and faculty members appeared to be awake throughout the proceedings, and we all got to listen to and talk about good music. I was asked some of my favorite questions (new finds: Son Lux and Jacob Golden; five desert island discs: take your pick from The Beatles, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, U2, Bruce Springsteen, Steve Earle, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Lucinda Williams, Bruce Cockburn, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Al Green, Fountains of Wayne, Little Richard, Sandy Denny, Van Morrison, The Clash, Sarah Vaughan, Bill Evans, Marvin Gaye, Henryk Gorecki, Vigilantes of Love, Joe Henry, Neutral Milk Hotel, The Pogues, Graham Parker, Uncle Tupelo, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, Mark Heard, Muddy Waters, Radiohead, Squeeze, Bill Monroe, Godspeed You Black Emperor, Steeleye Span, Ralph and Carter Stanley, Johnny Cash, The Jayhawks, Sufjan Stevens, Richard and Linda Thompson, Chuck Berry, Brad Mehldau, The Pixies, Aretha Franklin, The Beach Boys, Sigur Ros, Charlie Parker, Tom Waits, Arvo Part, Buddy and Julie Miller, Merle Haggard, Billie Holiday, T Bone Burnett, Whiskeytown, Buddy Holly, Tonio K., Howlin’ Wolf, The New Ponographers, The Hold Steady, Emmylou Harris,The Byrds – okay, that’s 97, but who’s counting? Oh yeah, The Old 97’s should probably be a part of that list, too.).

In any case, I’m glad I get to do these things periodically. And I’m always amazed and grateful that people show up to hear me. I also had a great roadtrip with my pastor Jeff, and a nice time with my BIL/SIL Bill and Jan, who put us up for the night in nearby Muncie. Many thanks.

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People from New York are called New Yorkers. People from Glasgow, Scotland are called Glaswegians. I don’t why this is, but it’s one of those etymological truths that makes life so unpredictable and delightful.

The Glaswegian trio Frightened Rabbit have made my favorite new album for this week. It’s called Midnight Organ Fight (we won’t speculate too much on what that might mean) and it’s due out April 15th. In spite of the unfortunate band name, Frightened Rabbit do not sound like their trembling twee countrymen Belle and Sebastian. They sound like a poppier version of The Frames, or a more soulful version of another Glasgow band, The Twilight Sad. In any event, lead singer Scott Hutchinson has the soulful brogue going that Glen Hansard[1] employed so masterfully on the Once soundtrack, and he writes quirky and frequently violent songs that are belied by their sunny pop melodies. You A&Fwegians should seek it out once it becomes available.

[1] Yes, Mr. Geography, I do realize that Ireland and Scotland are not the same country. But for the purposes of this discussion, their soulful brogues sound similar to one another.

Will Do. A great deal of my favorite music comes from Scotland (Belle & Sebastian, Camera Obscura, the Delgados, Mogwai, and the Twilight Sad for starters). I've given the country a free pass and am willing to listen anything coming from that country.

Yep, the whole country, and everything about it, is pretty wonderful. Except for haggis. But then there's Bad Haggis, which, although redundant, is a wonderful band name for a wonderful band. But Bad Haggis, who are from Los Angeles and not Scotland, still features a wonderful piper named Eric Rigler who mixes highland tunes with Santana percussion and does Stevie Wonder covers (really). You haven't lived until you've heard Stevie Wonder played on the bagpipes. All that to say that I love Scotland. And Stevie Wonder, who is not a Scot. It's all wonderful

This sounds right up my alley, Andy. And don't forget to add the Fannies to the "great Glasgowian group" list.

Pitchfork is hosting a neat little video for "Head Rolls Off" by Frightened Rabbitt. Not only is it a delicious little ditty, the juxtaposition of the band playing a song about death and "when my head rolls off" in a children's classroom in front of a bunch of dancing kids is pretty sweet.

Thanks for the pointer. That's a wonderful video.

I really, really like this album. I've had a hard time pulling it out of the CD player, even though I have other albums I need to listen to. But The Midnight Organ Party is the one I really want to listen to. That song ("Head Rolls Off") is fairly typical of the album -- anthemic U2/Arcade Fire passion delivered in a Scottish brogue. That's fairly close to musical heaven. There are thirteen other songs that are just as good. Just a word of warning: the F-bomb ratio on this album is higher than any album I've heard since John K. Samson's (The Weakerthans) old band Propagandhi. It doesn't #$%@in' bother me, but it might some people. One song contains thirty or so F-bombs (I really don't count these things; it just seemed that way to me). And you know what? It's a truly great song about how mindless F-bombing doesn't really address the hole in your soul.

Frightened Rabbit's new album is out today.

Ever since hearing "Head Rolls Off" I've been looking forward to this one. However, I'm pretty busy with new discs by Son Lux, Erykah Badu, and Sun Kil Moon to get this one quite yet. But give me a week and I'm all over this.

I don't know if Frightened Rabbit's The Midnight Organ Fight is the best album of the year. But iTunes tells me that I've played it more frequently than any other album this year. And it's most certainly the album I most want to sing along with, loudly. The problem is all those F bombs. There's something a little incongruous about belting out the F bomb in the car on the way to church. But it's such a great album. I hope God understands.

April fools I guess. It turns out emusic had their dates mixed up and released it a bit too earlier. It is now scheduled to come out tomorrow (April 15th).

I empathize with you Andy. I only had a couple of downloads left over at emusic and used them to get "The Modern Leper", "I Feel Better", and "Head Rolls Off" and I cannot stop listening. You're right, it probably isn't the "best" album of the year (ignoring the fact that I've only heard three songs) but wholly smokes its addicting.

On a side note, perhaps "best" might closer aligned with play counts. I think there is much to be said about the quality of an album when you keep coming back to it time and time again. Sure, an album may be lacking on "objective" standards but the testament of multiple listens has to count for something.

And as far as the F-bombs go...isn't that what confession is for? The glory of God and the power of his redemption is enhanced by my singing along to a song about how Jesus is nothing more than a mexican name. Who's with me here?

I got Midnight Organ Fight on eMusic last night, and MAN do I love it. I've only listened to it once, though, and have to give it a few more spins.

This band of Scotsmen could give The Frames a run for their money with their flare for drama and their love for the grandiose; in fact, the ruckus they create reaches such a feverish catharsis that they come pretty close to belonging on the same level as Arcade Fire. Comparisons and the wretched band name aside, Frightened Rabbit has made the heart-on-sleeve indie rock record to beat in 2008. They have in singer Scott Hutchinson a singer more soulful than most in indie rock, with a thick Scottish brogue and songwriting that mixes disarming vulnerability with startling moments of violence. As for the band, they’ve mastered the soaring euphoria of U2-style anthems, but they also prove adept as folksy ballads; such is their intensity and the edge of Hutchinson’s songwriting that their quieter, acoustic moments seem to bristle with about as much energy and emotion as their rockers. They stir up such a soul-shaking, barn-burning noise that it’s hard to believe they’re just a trio.

Frightened Rabbit will release a live album, Liver! Lung! FR!, on FatCat Records on October 21st.

Frightened Rabbit are also the band featured on Daytrotter today, with some different takes on songs from their past two albums. Check it out.

Don't drive on the sidewalk. It's a commonly understood traffic rule that can get you arrested if you violate it. My father found it out the hard way less than a year ago when he tried to pick up a prostitute. Do your propositioning from the street. And it's a hard truth that Frightened Rabbit frontman Scott Hutchison seemingly understands all too well. Like the great John Updike short story "Transaction," a clinical and dispassionate account of a loveless sexual encounter, Hutchison's songs plumb the depths of love as the mere exchange of bodily fluids. And unlike John Updike, he can really sing.

Frightened Rabbit have a brand new live album called Liver! Lung! FR!. It's apparently a Scots thing. I find the album name as inscrutable and as mildly irritating as the name of the band itself. It's essentially The Midnight Organ Fight album minus the electric guitars and a couple of the short song interludes. And that's both good news and bad news. Minus the anthemic, arena-shaking crescendos (quite possibly the best I've heard since the first few U2 albums), these songs are forced to stand on Hutchison's mournful brogue and acoustic folk bluster. And they stand just fine because they are great songs, and because The Midnight Organ Fight is easily one of the best albums released this year. Stripped to their basic components, Hutchison's songs come alive in new and surprising ways. Jesus is just a Spanish boy's name/How come one man got so much fame? sounds not so much like irreverent smartass protest as the cry of a lonely man who wouldn't mind finding something more substantial upon which to stake a life.

There's disease and dis-ease, self-loathing and hollowness and sham promise everywhere in these songs. "The Modern Leper" finds Hutchison comparing himself to an untouchable, not because of physical symptoms, but because of his grotesque heart:

A cripple walks among you all, you tired human beings
He's got all the things a cripple has not, working arms and legs

"Keep Yourself Warm," a song that drops the F bomb no less than twenty times, ought to be required listening in church marital counseling sessions:

I'm drunk, I'm drunk, and you're probably on pills
When we both have the same diseases it's irrelevant, girl
Do you really think you'll find love in a hole?
It takes more than fucking someone to keep yourself warm

Most revelatory of all is "The Twist," not the classic Chubby Checker tune, which ratchets up the self-loathing and desperation to near unbearable levels:

Twist and whisper the wrong name
I don't care and nor do my ears
Twist yourself around me
I need company, I need human heat
Let's pretend I'm attractive and then you won't mind
We can twist for a while
It's the night, I can be who you like
And I'll quietly leave before it gets light

Okay, maybe the Sunday School class might not appreciate it. But there's profound truth there, and an ache that is palpable. Songwriters are rarely so vulnerable, or so transparently disarming. The Midnight Organ Fight is an album about fighting for hope and human connection in the midst of a world obsessed with hollow image. Stripped to its bare essentials, Liver! Lung! FR! explores those same themes with even more stark results, and shows that Frightened Rabbit can transfer the studio magic to the stage. They display every evidence of being a terrific live band. I'll let you know. I'm seeing them in Columbus tonight.

Have fun at the show Andy. Even before the reviews of the live disc started circulating, I've heard that live they are outstanding. Based off the samples of the live disc, I believe it. Turns out Scot Hutchinson does have some live vocal chops.

So, at the end of the day is the live disc worth owning? Does it offer enough to warrent repeated listens at the expense of the studio LP? The litte of it that I heard makes me believe: A) it is fine, quality effort but probably wouldn't take many spins away from the studio versions.

EDIT: Not meant to be a emotiocon, but point "B"

I come here for solace and get this!!!!!! I already talk like a sailor!!!! My mom is still threatening to wash my mouth out with soap.

I seem to be having a small bit of difficulty....my two favorite songs this week are Walking Backwards and some ditty called Talk Show Host by some radioheads.............good thing god loves a trip to the pub and a pint and understands that social lubricants often entail a slip into the gutter( please note the sarcasm......this is merely my projection.......) .

Just canonize the whole city.

Glasvegas, who are Glaswegians, have released a very, very fine self-titled debut album. NME has dubbed them "the best new band in Britain," which is usually a sure sign of the Hype Machine in Overdrive. But this time they could be right. This is a surprisingly bracing combination of Jesus and Mary Chain guitar buzz, Proclaimers vocal bluster (complete with sometimes almost impenetrable Scots brogue), and, incredibly, impossibly, romantic '50s doo-wop. I like it a lot. The subject matter -- aimless violence, ennui, football yobs, endless pints, chasing skirts -- might be the best rock 'n roll portrait of disaffected youth since those early Clash albums. Best of all is the unnerving "Stabbed," in which lead singer James Alan matter-of-factly proclaims, "I'm gonna get stabbed/The Baltic fleeto are up my arse/No cavalry could ever save me" to the accompaniment of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Stunning.

I'm listening to some of Glasvegas' stuff right now, courtesy of their MySpace page, and I'm digging it. Especially their cover of Nirvana's "Come As You Are".

You can also listen to the album, in its entirety, via Last.fm.