Michael McDonald vs. Grizzly Bear

Practically before Ray LaMontagne or John Mayer were born, Michael McDonald was belting out white-boy soul with the Doobie Brothers. Actually, this was probably before the guys in Grizzly Bear were born also. The guy's older than dirt. In fact, if you had told me he was under the dirt, I would have believed you.

So it came as quite a surprise when I heard this rockin', soulful track and thought to myself, "Is that Michael McDonald? I didn't even know he was still alive." When I heard it was a duet with Grizzly Bear I was not as surprised. The guy has a history of duets and covers. He also has one of those signature voices. Whether you ever liked the Doobies or his cheesy 80s stuff, the man can sing.

The song starts with a guitar chord that sounds like a warning. It's edgy. Then McDonald's silky smooth voice rolls in on rails. As the music patiently builds behind him, the track sounds almost like a Jimi Hendrix track that's been plied with sedatives. During the first chorus, Grizzly Bear members play the roll of doo-wop girls, adding another layer of crooning vocals. The dynamics on this track are amazing. After building up, there's an extended a cappella jam that builds it back up to a wild crazy crescendo as McDonald's belts out, "And what was left!!!" again and again.

Check it out.

Listen to Scarlett Johannson?

Scarlett Johannson is widely regarded as a bombshell. Some also regard her as lacking the skills to act her way out of a bag. I'm more in the former group and less able to care about the latter.

She put out an album a little while back of Tom Waits covers. That mad scientist's abortion, I am definitely not recommending.

I am recommending that you check out two of the songs she does on an album she recorded with Pete Yorn in 2006, but that was released this year : Relator and Blackie's Dead.

They're getting tons of radio play on KCRW. Also, they were on live today, so you can probably hear/see that performance on KCRW's site in the Morning Becomes Eclectic archives.

The tracks are fun, poppy, alt-country-ish and sing-a-long-able. They'll stick in your head. As for your opinion of ScarJo, I'm not sure what this will do one way or the other.