In a very worrying development, I now find myself alternating between, say, Autechre and the cheesy Contemporary Christian music station on the way to and from work. This is shocking even to me, a nonrepentant music snob, and former hardcore Sartre-toting atheist. I've gone soft. I've sold out. There! I've admitted it! I'm a Christian! And I'm happy it's almost Christmas and I want to remind myself, after all these years, that there is a force of benevolence at the center of everything.

In my defense, I do admit switching over to The Orb or Richard H. Kirk when the cheese gets too thick. I may be a Christian, but I'm not an idiot.