by SHANE SINNOTT

Ugh. I awoke from the vagaries of the Christmas and New Years haze to find that Vic Chesnutt, who I knew almost nothing about—I assumed he was good because of the artists he was connected to—died this past Christmas Day. In the aftermath, a telling statement came from Jeff Mangum on the Brooklyn Vegan blog (bit.ly/7UVoGl): “In 1991 I moved to Athens Georgia in search of God, but what I discovered instead was Vic Chesnutt. Hearing his music completely transformed the way I thought about writing songs, and I will forever be in his debt.” That’s made me listen, and realize I’m late to a party that’s already over. Go here to download a free six-song sampler: bit.ly/69KXgJ.

A few odds and ends I missed over the holidays—first, a new video for the Islands song “No You Don’t,” which you can watch at bit.ly/5HJUGP. It’s notable mainly because some jerk from TV Carnage (tvcarnage.com) directed it, and it features Michael Cera as a guy having an (often bad) acid trip. Second, the Root Strata blog has followed up the posting of Slowdive’s seminal Souvlaki demos & outtakes with a set of the same from the follow-up album, Pygmalion. Download ’em at bit.ly/7AqpUG, and remember the time when Shoegaze peaked in popularity.

To be honest, though, I’ve been spending most of my time lately listening to jazz on vinyl, and struggling with how good it is vs. how pretentious it makes you seem to other people. I’d like to put some links here to a few recommended (courtesy an old friend) albums to get you started, which I suggest you do—and ignore anyone who calls you an ass. John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme is at bit.ly/62r49l, Miles Davis’s Miles Smiles at bit.ly/58rwUc and Coltrane’s Crescent at bit.ly/5NodZu.

It’s silly for me to even try and sum up what’s in these three records. If you listen, they will keep you busy for a long, long time. And if you like them, I implore you to go out and buy the real thing. Not for the usual reasons, but because—let’s be honest—most mp3s don’t sound that good.