Then again, it's funny what people will and won't believe. Yesterday, I saw Boston street music veteran Mary Lou Lord out in Harvard Square for the first time in ages, breaking in new material and selling CDs "on a $5 to $500 sliding scale". Though she never really struck it big, she has a reputation and a following, having attracted praise from Richard Thompson, and the lasting enmity of Courtney Love, both signs of a life well lived.

Regarding Thompson, though, she seems to be unaware. I asked in an off moment whether she'd heard an NPR interview in which Thompson had declared himself a Mary Lou Lord fan, and she didn't really seem to believe it. Well, since her web sites have no direct contact information, and on the off chance she'll ever read this: Mary Lou, the interview is here, and he says you're "great" about 28 minutes in...