My wife surprised me with a copy of the new Flaming Lips CD. I like them, but wasn't a fanatic or anything and haven't listened to them in years. But it's one of their best, and one of the best start-to-finish CDs I've heard in a while. Got me digging up their old stuff.
Wasn't as impressed with the last two CDs she bought for me, from artists I otherwise enjoy -- PJ Harvey (who is a god among mortals -- I wanted to name our daughter Polly Jean) and the Heartless Bastards (who are a little derivative, but still good.)
FWIW, the best two
live performances I've seen in the past year were A Place to Bury Strangers and Neutral Milk Hotel (my first time seeing the latter live -- long overdue!) I've been told that poetry is a performance art, meant to be heard not read. I'm increasingly of the opinion that music is meant to be witnessed live, not on a recording. That's just a relatively modern convenience anyway.