2003 was just another year. I could go on about all the accomplishments and disappointments I encountered over that span of time, but it's silly to reduce everything to an arbitrary set of dates. That doesn't mean I'll stop making my own best music and film of the year lists, or not take pleasure in reading other people's lists, but the last thing I want to do right now is dwell in the past.

All week, I've been listening to Quiet Is The New Loud by Kings of Convenience, a folkish duo from Norway. The record came out in 2001, and I first heard it a year ago, whilst at someone's apartment on a first date. I fell in love with the Simon and Garfunkel harmonies and Stuart Murdoch-influenced delicate melancholia right away, and over the next few weeks I also thought I was falling for the guy who played it for me. I was wrong about the guy, but hearing the music again after all this time, I'm not sure what kept me from acquiring this album right away (apart from the usual stinginess, and having too many CDs to listen to anyway.)