Hola, Cherubs,

I know, I know, it's been a long, long time since I've graced you with my wisdom. It's been too long, and it's my fault, and I apologize… Sometimes you just get caught up in other things, and the past year's been a crazy one for me. I don't want to get into details, but let me just say that suppressing a sex tape in these days of YouTube is not an easy endeavor.

But as I spent my year in exile, I kept thinking that I should quit neglecting my loyal readership. I'd even sit down and start jotting down notes, but then I'd get a call from the Olson Twins' lawyers and I'd get all distracted. That shit went on all year. But then, last month, a couple of platters crossed my desk that made me sit up straight and realize that, god dammit, it was time I started talking music again.

So, having listened to the new efforts by the Flaming Lips (At War with the Mystics) and Loose Fur (Born Again in the USA), I have to ask: did I just not get the memo about it being 1976 again?

I mean, have you listened to these discs? They're pretty different, but they both sound awfully Steely, to coin a phrase. Long songs, noodly, layered guitar parts piled on top of each other, a generally mellow mid-tempo easy-stone beat. Parts of both albums make my brain immediately kick over to this psychedelic cartoon of quick-moving brown-and-red lines that do all sort of crazy shit. It might be from tv, I'm not sure. But it's stone cold 70s, and both discs have it in spades.

This isn't to complain. I loved the 70s; had a great time, even if the long-term effects on my health were a little south of good. And I love the music of the 70s, too. As I've said before, the key to putting up with a certain dress-staining former President's company is to load up a bong with BC's finest and kick back to the strains of Pretzel Logic. A big part of me thinks it's great that we're tapping back into the richest vein of mello-glaze music our culture has ever produced.

I just feel a little weirded out that this big aesthetic movement seems to have popped up out of nowhere, without any warning. Like, I didn't know we were doing the 70s again. A couple of months ago, I threw out a bunch of funky old bag-shaped hats, and I would've kept 'em if I'd known we were turning back the clock.

I just like to be kept in the loop is all, you know?

OK, back to those discs, real quick: At War with the Mystics is pretty good. The third song, "The Sound of Failure" is especially Steely, but there are lots of other highlights (actually, I think my fave track is "Pompeii am Götterdämmerung," which sounds like the theme song for a Dr. Who movie or something). Even the song that sounds sort of silly and embarrassing at first—"Free Radicals"—is really catchy and eventually gets stuck in your head.

As for Born Again in the USA, I can describe it in one word: shitty. Imagine a man who has his penis surgically removed and a Fender Stratocaster grafted on in its place. If he sat down and jerked off for 40 minutes, the result would be Born Again.

All right, kiddies, that's all I've got for now. Keep your powder dry, and I'll be back in a few.