shivakd:

> Open Question to other listmembers: What other non-Merritt music are
> you listening to? Most of the online recommendation systems don't
> target "wordy, literate, bizarre pop songs" very well.

I've just discovered the Mountain Goats, and I'm very into them at the
moment - similar to Merritt in the 'I can't believe he said that' lyrics
that manage to be funny and sad at the same time - The 'Tallahasse' album is
great. Any file-sharing users out there, go look for 'No Children' by the
Mountain Goats and you'll see what I mean.

I'm also a major fan of Hefner, who most of the Americans on this list
probably won't have heard of (I'm from UK, and so are they). Again, a
brilliant band lyrically, and I find them increadibly moving - so much so
that I often can't sing along because I'm too choked. The only other music
that can do that to me is Stephin Merrit's stuff. But yeah, they're 'wordy,
literate, bizarre pop' for sure - they wrote a song called 'I stole a bride'
which is full of subtle references to the Illiad, for example.

Oh, and the Mendoza Line are good too.