Legal Commentary

Last spring I taught a week-long seminar at my alma mater, the University of Illinois College of Law.  At the end of the week, on my drive back to Chicago, I listened to a great episode of Sound Opinions.  The entire show was dedicated to the Elephant 6 music collective--the collective of musicians responsible for such wonderful bands as Olivia Tremor Control, Neutral Milk Hotel, Of Montreal, and Apples in Stereo.

Of those groups, Neutral Milk Hotel has always held a special place in my heart.  NMH's album In the Aeroplane over the Sea is never far from cd player.  But lately I've been listening to a bit more of Apples in Stereo, especially their newest record, New Magnetic Wonder--you can (and should) listen to it here.  New Magnetic Wonder reminds me a lot of one of my all-time favorite records, the Flaming Lips' The Soft Bulletin, but with more of a straightforward pop sensibility.

And while I'm on the subject of Apples in Stereo, do you remember the episode of the Colbert Report with the Stephen Colbert vs. the Decemberists guitar solo challenge?  Apples in Stereo frontman Robert Schneider was the opening act, performing his song "Stephen Stephen".  Here's a link to the performance.

Enjoy!