I don’t listen to one particular item often enough to have a “What I’m Listening To” sidebar here. But I just bought Hem’s new album, “Funnel Cloud,” on iTunes*, and I’m listening to it right this very minute, so I thought I’d say something about it.

I first heard Hem when they opened for Beth Orton at The Pageant in St. Louis 2002. I’m not generally all that impressed by opening acts, but Hem was so … I don’t know … nostalgic, almost, and sweet. The lead singer, Sally Ellyson, seemed a little nervous and shy when they first took the stage. It was kind of sweet. And then she started singing, and she just had the lovliest voice. It was a great evening all around, what with discovering a new band and having our first encounter with Beatle Bob**.

But after the show, I forgot about Hem for awhile. And time passed and so on and so forth, and one day we were at the store (but I can’t say which store), and there was a copy of “Rabbit Songs,” and so I bought it. Or maybe I downloaded it from iTunes. I really couldn’t say. Regardless, I finally did get a copy of it, and I’ve been enjoying it ever since. Especially “Half Acre,” which I was both pleased and dismayed to hear on a Liberty Mutual ad yesterday. But that’s another story all together. (Not really. My mixed feelings about selling out aren’t all that interesting. Just mixed.)

I feel like this post is going nowhere. I’m sure you do, too. Sorry.

Anyway, then I never bought “Eveningland,” even though Phoebe said it was good, and I didn’t even know about “No Word From Tom” (I just saw it on their Web site, so I still don’t know about it, really. is it any good? hello?). And then today I got my $15 iTunes card and almost bought the new Justin Timberlake (don’t judge me), but then I thought, “Oh, I could buy ‘Eveningland,’ and then I saw that “Funnel Cloud” just came out, so I bought it instead.

And it’s good. There’s still a great sweetness to the music and that little sadness, too, that makes me feel nostalgic for I’m not sure what, exactly, and Sally’s voice is still so pleasant. I highly recommend it.

The end.

. . . . .

*With a $15 gift card I got free with a Target purchase! Hooray for bargains!

**We saw him again in 2003 at the Austin City Limits Festival. Which I would love to go to this weekend, if someone out there would like to send me two tickets. Thank you. I love you.