NPR's website offers a feature today entitled "Five Contemporary Popular Recordings for Classical Fans" (lets see you make that list, Blender!). The selections, compiled by New Yorker music critic Alex Ross, are excellent, if a bit predictable--Bjork, Joanna Newsom, Radiohead, Dylan. However, number four is "I Ain't No Joke" by Eric B. & Rakim. While this reeks a bit of NYTimes-esque "We're Cool Aren't We?" pandering, it rounds out the list nicely, finalizing what could perhaps serve as a blueprint for a CDR gift for Grandma this Christmas.
