Music: Recent iTunes downloads

• Quick takes on recent impulse purchases at the iTunes store.

Current song count: 1,866 (5.5 days)

The Rising • Bruce Springsteen // I like my 9/11 songs to do more than just wave the flag and ask, "Have you forgotten?" Not surprisingly, Springsteen delivers with an urgent anthem that is hopeful and yearning while grounded in world-weariness. The recurring references to Mary in certain songs are a nice touch.

I Touch Myself • The Divinyls // Radio these days is lacking for this kind of clever, fun and melodic pop rockers (among many other things radio is lacking). I forever associate this one hit wonder with my high school senior year (1991) and the twilight of my favorite era of pop music. You have to believe vocalist Christina Amphlett when, just before the fade, she sneaks in, "I honestly do."

Hey Mr. Jones • Jane Child // I had the "cassingle" of her second single, "Welcome to the Real World," and this was the b-side. I thought her big hit, "Don't Wanna Fall in Love," was generic and, based on the songs I've heard, unrepresentative of Child's ouvre. She's a bit like a more demented Pink, with a big, synthy pop sound, but quite dark ("nobody knows me like the monkey on my back"). It's almost scary, really, if you look at that chain dangling from her nose.

Steal My Sunshine • Len // It's all about that sort of Pong-y popping sound, isn't it? Despite the sunny female pop vocals, there's an odd tone to the lyrics and spoken bits that makes one wonder just what's afoot in all this talk of butter tarts and "tribal lunar speak."

Yours to Keep • Teddybears (featuring Neneh Cherry) // What ever happened to the chick who gave us the great "Buffalo Stance"? Here she is guesting on a new and pleasant slice of pop that has some interesting percussive things going on.

Tunnel of Love • Bruce Springsteen // This is one of those songs I ignored at the time (1987), but it's a meticulously layered production with a nice groove and the synthy stamp of its era. I love the carnival sounds buried in the mix as Springsteen works the Americana vibe to perfection.

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