i's on the Prize

Jolly misanthrope Stephin Merritt has a new album out today called i. Don't stop to collect your misery. Buy it now.

Mr. Magnetic Fields was once a reviewer for Time Out NY, and his work there can still be found with search engines. Beyond his legendary reviews of Christmas albums (1998, 1999, 2000), he also reviewed NYC-area putt-putts and the music of someone else's century. God bless us everyone!

For those with a Salon subscription or the willingness to suffer the indignity of a day pass, here is a bonus article/interview, which inspired several letters to the editor along these lines:

I can't believe you think this smug, pompous bastard has enough merit [Ed. - pun unintended?] even to be considered for your front-page story. Sure, the fact that he's a pedantic, condescending curmudgeon isn't reason enough to ignore him, but the fact that the critical acclaim he's received has been nothing more than the knee-jerk, kiss-ass response of an insular music-writing industry is.