A couple of weeks ago, I spent about an hour on line at Columbia House trying to decide which CDs I wanted as my freebies for joining. I finally opened another window to Rolling Stone and read their reviews as I pondered. I was also using my list compiled from wfmu.org and 3wk.org. After much himing and hawing, I placed my order. Surprisingly, the first shipment arrived last week, (Surprisingly - for being so quick.)

(PAUSE) I decided to check my order, and I see that I got a complete order - all 11 CD's. My notes mentioned three other selections, but the 11 count is based on the actual number of CD's, so a double CD counts as two. I'm sure I knew that.

The two outstanding items have been Tori Amos' "To Venus and Back" and Sarah McLachlan's "Surfacing." They are both incredible. What awesome talent. I'm only in the beginning stages of the listening process, so I feel there are many nuances to be discovered in the two.

I also had ordered the Scottish group Belle & Sebastian's "Boy With the Arab Strap." But I'm confused as to why. The wfmu.org list included it, I thought, because of the title tune. But I may have listed it because of "Space Boy Dream," which is not a song as such but spoken word over music. In a Scottish accent, of course. The story of a boy dreaming about going to Mars. An oddity and yet very compelling.

I spent more time on an earlier Sundance offering, "Lock, Stock and ..." (The last part of the name excapes me.) Very funny. And very difficult to understand. This time the accent was Cockney. And thick!