Arcade Fire. The National. Rock groups you 40 and 50 somethings might know nothing about. I'm not quite sure how I stumbled upon them. And I'm not so sure how I stumbled upon Lou Reed in the 70s. Talking Heads and Dire Straits in the 80s. Cowboy Junkies in the 90s. And the Be Good Tanyas and Yo La Tenga post 9/11.

What connects us to the music? What hits that responsive chord? Who knows?

The National's latest CD is Boxer. I like it. A lot.

The New aYork Times today reviewed it.

" The National's songs embrace a frame of mind that may be more familiar from movies than from daily life: a bleary urban predawn in which a deadpan antihero drifts among alienation and yearning, cynicism and vulnerability... "

The Times review, written by Jon Pareles, goes on...

" Ominous ambiguity fills The National's fifth album... In ' Brainy ' Mr. Berninger sings: ' Think I'd better follow you around/ you might need me more than you think you will. "

I have no idea what that means, but I like the lyric. The music hits a chord. And if I weren't as shy and self conscious as I was and still am. I might even be dancing.