I’m not much of a Decemberist fan. They’re good, and I find their music enjoyable enough. But nothing I've bought or heard keeps me coming back for more.

You Ain't No Picasso has dozens of great cover songs from The Decemberists and Colin MeloyBut I do like the sense of adventure from the band and leader Colin Meloy, which shines in a collection of more than 50 Mp3s of live cover songs captured on a site called You Ain’t No Picasso. ((())

There’s a core group of songs from three performers: Morrissey/Smiths, Shirley Collins and Sam Cooke (?!?!). But there also are nuggets from Big Star (“Ballad of El Goodo”), Robyn Hitchcock, Soft Boys, Bad Company, Scud Mountain Boys, Brian Eno, Echo and the Bunnymen, Velvet Underground, Squeeze, ELO, Cheap Trick, Heart and The Outfield. Plus many more.

Song are OK, some good, some are great, some are muddy, some are crisp. But when you’re constantly pushing the edges, it’s all good in my book.