(Grown-Up) Record of the Year

We bought disappointingly few non-kids' CDs this year, for a variety of reasons. But we got some good ones -- leaping to mind are Flaming Lips, Gourds, School for the Dead, Replacements (best-of), Arcade Fire, Spoon, Prince, Asobi Seksu, The Go! Team, Neko Case, Mates of State, Beck, etc. All good or great.

But yesterday, in anticipation of seeing them play this Friday, I finally got The Hold Steady's Boys and Girls in America.

Record of the year.

So very much not for your kids, and so very much not like almost anything we play on the show.

But oh, my, it's just about perfect.

(Also, how cool is it that they played in a high school?)