I will admit, if I hadn't grown up with Springsteen and was given his music now and at your age I would probably not be a big fan either. There's a lot of small town america, working man's hero in there that resonates with me. My grandfather owns a manufacturing plant and a lot of the characters/towns he sings about seem to come from my childhood. That said, I'm very glad to read that you took some enjoyment from the other bands/artists listed.

To answer the big question, which Belle & Sebastian album to go with. There's the old school approach of starting at square one, but I don't think I'll take that route. If I were you, I would start with The Boy With The Arab Strap -check out the songs It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career and Sleep the Clock Around -total ear candy. This was the first album I heard from them when it came out in 1998. I also really like to point people towards Dear Catastrophe Waitress -I think it's a really strong album.

Stump the Band: Full honesty....First time it was amusing, subsequent times it was a bit awkward. I like Hodgman, he's a funny guy but they sort of beat that horse to death and no, it wasn't believable. That said, even awkwardness can be enjoyable and I had a blast during that set. The awkwardness made it real and brought me even more in to the experience, if that makes sense. -We were all collectively awkward :)

Drunk lady was a riot and Jeff handled that all really well. For me a highlight was seeing my all time favorite band cover one of my all time favorite songs Waterloo Sunset. -Damn. Also, seeing them cover Who Loves The Sun prior to losing Lou Reed was pretty great. All in all, that was one of the most fun sets I've seen. I had a blast and it felt (and at times sounded) really loose, which was great. I'm hoping to be able to return to a Solid Sound festival. Will there be one this year? My wife is about to give birth within the next 30-40 days, we will see if I'm able to attend this year, but if so we will most definitely have to meet up (if you guys are there).

What was the explanation on why they played And Your Bird Can Sing twice? Not complaining, one of my all time favorite Beatles tunes. -What a great riff.

Let me know what you think of the Belle & Sebastian album(s) and Happy New Year!