One thing I've learned is that I ignore Kris' music recommendations at my own peril (not so much Bert, though; Randy Newman wtf?! :). So I will swallow my preconceptions and try the White Stripes, et al.
On the note of sometimes the idiotic hipsters are right: Arcade Fire. Yes, they probably are pretty good, and deserve a listen.
I also picked up Drive-By Truckers old album Southern Rock Opera. It's me dipping a single toe into the Country (or Alt-Country.... or Prog-Country, I guess) pool. The fact that it's a concept album helps a lot. For some reason, I find Patterson Hood's spoken-word songs mesmerizing.
