No right to take my joy, I want it back.

I understand that when I discover something and all excited about it, I'm prone to hyperbolic enthusiasm. I know. But. People. This morning, I was listening to Bettye LaVette's new album, The Scene of the Crime, and it is so good, and making me so happy, so I get greedy and start looking for more, and I came across her last album of covers, "I've Got My Own Hell To Raise". People. Good people. Ok, first of all, this is Bettye, if you don't know [Warning: there is audio, of music and of her talking, don't be startled, but LOOK at her belt buckle. For her press shot!]

Secondly, here's the tracklist:

1. "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" by (Sinéad O'Connor) – 2:11
2. "Joy" (Lucinda Williams) – 3:55
3. "Down to Zero" (Joan Armatrading) – 3:10
4. "The High Road" (Sharon Robinson) – 4:29
5. "On the Surface" (Roseanne Cash) – 3:26
6. "Just Say So" (Cathy Majeski/John Scott Sherill) – 4:29
7. "Little Sparrow" (Dolly Parton) – 4:41
8. "How Am I Different" (Aimee Mann) – 4:28
9. "Only Time Will Tell" (Toni Brown) – 4:33
10. "Sleep to Dream" by (Fiona Apple) – 3:46

To paraphrase Aimee Mann, it is saving my day.

This has been a week of intense grief, but in an ultimately positive way, I think, and listening to lots of blues and soul music is a good way to transform myself on this Friday. I'm about to take a bath and make a phone call. Also, ComEd has this new commercial campaign for changing your bulbs to efficient commpact ones, and it is all about light bulb jokes, and they amuse me to no end (and I think of cocolola too) and this morning I saw a new one.

Q: How many blues singers does it take to change a light bulb?
A: It doesn't matter, because nothing is the same now that the old one is gone.