So here's the coolest thing about Feist: She's met Elmo. They hung out when she appeared on "Sesame Street" in the wake of that hugely popular commercial. So when I got her on the phone recently, of course I had to ask her about that.

"Elmo is Kevin and it's pretty phenomenal to see a man be able to inhabit a small red cloth child," Feist said. "So I would have to say that Elmo's quite genuine, born of something honest. There's a documentary called 'Being Elmo' that's all about that, how he was invented. It's pretty amazing."

Feist plays in Raleigh next week. For details on that, plus some talk about her very fine new album, see the interview in Friday's paper.

If presidential candidate John McCain is having trouble keeping track of how many houses he owns, Feist is happy to help out.

(Thanks, Brian.) 

In which a song with a most charming history somehow becomes even moreso, which I wouldn't have thought possible. But here we have Feist on "Sesame Street," serenading the Muppet hordes with a modified version of her iPod-sanctioned hit "1-2-3-4" -- what could be more perfect?

This will air on the show's season premiere on Aug. 11. But you can dig it now.