Not bad, but I don’t think it works as a whole. (But then, I tend to be a bit suspicious of those “lifetime screw-up has to redeem himself for the good of his family” kind of stories, as they often veer way too far into “overly sentimental, predictable pablum” territory.) I very much enjoyed Michael Caine’s performance. And there are some great shots of Lake Michigan in winter.

Very likely U2’s best album ever. (The only possible competition is Achtung Baby.) I used to only listen to the first three songs - the three big hits from this album - because I’d hit “Bullet the Blue Sky,” get annoyed by it, and shut the album off. It wasn’t until later that I gave the whole album a chance and discovered just how fantastic the rest of it was.

Best tracks from this DC-based duo: “Richest Man in Babylon” and “State of the Union”

Good stuff, in the vein of Franz Ferdinand and The Strokes. My favorite track: “Vertigo.”

This album wasn’t really my cup of tea, but if you get a chance, check out the deeply weird “In Love,” featuring a spoken-word performance by William Shatner.

The live versions of “Army” and “Not the Same” are reasons alone to buy this CD. If you haven’t been to any of Folds’s shows, he gets the audience to sing multi-part harmonies in place of instrumental sections in parts of these songs, and it works out surprisingly well. Also good: a performance of “Fred Jones Part 2,” featuring back-up vocals from John McCrea, lead singer of Cake.

I saw Ben Lee open for Aimee Mann several months ago. I’d never heard him play before, but I liked him and his music almost immediately. (Best song of the set and best song on this CD: the unfortunately named “Catch My Disease.”) After the set, I met him in the shop, and he signed my newly-purchased copy of this CD. Really nice guy.

If you can, check out the version of the greatest hits that includes a bonus “Acoustic Hits” CD … some interesting takes on their classic songs.

One of my favorite movies. So haunting and bittersweet; it makes me cry every time I see it.

Eternal Sunshine is one of my favorite movies, and the instrumental tracks on this soundtrack match up with it brilliantly. “Peer Pressure,” “Row” and “Elephant Parade” are especially haunting, the tunes fading out just before the last note, as if they, too, were memories just erased.