Not Too Late

For some people, the popularity of a musical artist is grounds for disdain. A consummate musician like Diana Krall, for instance, gains disrespect from die-hard jazz buffs simply because her fan base is so big. Similarly, the extraordinary commercial success of Norah Jones has brought her a heaping measure of disregard from music aficionados who pride themselves on their own rarefied tastes. She’s been getting dissed of late, referred to as “Snorah” Jones because some snotty critics find her music sleep-inducing. However, there are lots of people who know something good when they hear it. What Jones does on Not Too Late is write her own songs; and those songs have something to say. In “My Dear Country,” she laments the sad state of our nation under George W. Bush. There’s nothing too profound in the song, but it catches the mood of things, as does “Sinkin’ Soon,” a metaphor-riddled song with the refrain “everybody hold your breath cuz we’re gonna be sinkin’ soon.” If sink we must, these songs make for good accompaniment.