SchneiderWeb

I'm not sure whether I "hear the hidden rhythms of everyday life," but I often find myself keeping the beat to any number of ambient sounds, from the seat belt alarm in my car (which rings exactly 50 times) to the second hand of a wall clock: The Brain of a Drummer . Even now, while proofreading this entry, I found myself tapping my finger against my thumb to an inaudible rhythm in my brain.

People sometimes ask me what music I'm listening to these days. My music funds are somewhat more--restricted--than they were when I had a full-time job. I don't remember the last time I bought a CD or even made a purchase from iTunes. Yet occasionally an album does force its way into my awareness, and often it is through that cheapskate's guide to music known as YouTube. I recently came across PJ Harvey's latest record, Let England Shake , which was released in February. Anyone much younger or much older than I probably has no idea who PJ Harvey is. She was the iconoclastic banshee of 90s Alternative rock--a sexually charged, guitar-playing front woman for her eponymous blues band. The PJ Harvey of Let England Shake bears little resemblance to that woman. Let England Shake is a concept album about World War I as experienced by the English--not exactly the subject matter of a platinum seller. But while Harvey's lyrics refer to a particular time and place (e.g., t...