Being introduced by a puppet seems perfectly appropriate for this band. This group is sort of a hipster-friendly substitute for a real band, in the way that Ferguson uses puppets as a joke substitute for himself. Once again the focus is on how nervous the cute actress is or isn't, what the bloggers will say, if her skirt is up to its nominal levels of swooshiness. Not on, you know, the music. Which isn't especially interesting.

You know what? You're right. I am angry. I'm angry when the vanity music project of a cute young actress sucks up oxygen that could sustain the existence of 10 bands that actually produce worthwhile music. The music business has gotten exponentially tougher in the last decade, and we're already starting to see great artists consider retirement because they can't make a living (see Ted Leo). So when the music press turns into drooling sycophants every time a cute actress puts on an adorable dress and pretends to be a singer a few times a year... yeah, it pisses me off. They should know better.

Is She and Him a better vanity project than, say, those bewildering Scarlett Johansson records? Yeah, I guess. Not a particularly high bar, but I'll give them credit for stumbling over it. And yes, M. Ward, *an actual musician* is part of She & Him, just as those Johansson albums featured contributions from Pete Yorn and someone from TV on the Radio. But again, I think whatever coverage this band receives is mostly due to a cute actress wearing cute clothes. Stick a fat girl with a great voice in a pair of overalls, put her on stage with M. Ward, and I don't think we've having this conversation. This is nothing new, I suppose. But we live in an age when people become spectacularly famous for doing practically nothing, and then are relentlessly re-injected back into the popular culture as singers, authors, actors, etc. Neither Zooey D, nor She & Him, are the worst examples of this... obviously. But I think it's reasonable to be suspicious when someone leverages fame as an actress into easy success in the music industry.

I don't think she's at the level of Cat Power or Neko Case, but I think Zoey is pretty good. If anything people seem to hate on her because she's a successful actress. Greg I'm curious as to who you think are some better current women singer songwriters than Zoey. I think she's a very credible singer.

I think this is a good song.