I hate being broke. It entails missing out on a whole lot of stuff. No nights out at the bars, no new clothes, no music shows and, especially, no new music. I am no longer hailed with aplomb at the local music store. Instead, I am stared at blankly by the new salesperson as she rings me up for... a birthday card.

*sigh*

It doesn't help this past summer was blessed with wonderful new offerings for a smashing summer soundtrack, each one a rub of salt into the wound known as "wanting." CSS released something new? Damn it. Brazilian Girls, too? Aw, hell. And who is this Yelle I keep hearing about? And Jaguar Love? Was the new Mates of State really that good?

Phooey.

So, in lieu of money, I have been using something else in order to get my hands on new music. No, no, not THAT. I've been using my library card. Thankfully for me, the local library carries a good number of these releases I've been missing out on, allowing me to check them out in three-week periods (with two renewals!) for free. It's a sweet set-up that I am grateful for, because it allows me to listen to these albums and preview them before I shell out money to buy them. Which, with some, I would eventually like to do, if I only had some money.

Granted, there's always file-sharing, but it's illegal to download music you're not paying for. I would NEVER do that! Nope, not ever.

(:::proceeds to cover up her music listings on her computer's library:::)

So, let's take a look at some albums I've checked out from my friendly neighbourhood library that I've been too broke to buy.

Earlier this year, Seattle-based record label Sub Pop released a preview sampler CD, containing songs of artists with expected releases for 2008. Through this album, I was introduced to Fleet Foxes through their song, "White Winter Hymnal." The sweet harmony of the song, folksy and fun with a slight tinge of the bittersweet, was an enticing preview. Later in the year, I had heard of their release and pined with my little heart for it, but alas, so far, the money for it hasn't transpired.

Having checked out their album from the library (where I was much excited to find out it was part of the collection), I was able to listen to the entirety of Fleet Foxes' lush choral tunes, exemplified in the aforementioned "White Winter Hymnal" and also in "Ragged Wood" and "Heard Them Stirring," and the lonely, indie-folk earnestness of "Tiger Mountain Peasent Song" and "Meadowlarks." It's hard to pick a favourite track, because each incredible song has a slightly different mood, but if I were to introduce someone to Fleet Foxes, I would have them listen to "Blue Ridge Mountains" or "Your Protector" first, being two of the more powerful songs in this collection. This self-titled album is a sparkling offering for those fans of Iron & Wine, perfect for Indian Summers and the autumnal days and snow-lined nights that come after. Should I be lucky enough to find a twenty-dollar bill lying on the ground, I would immediately scamper to the store to buy this release.

An album I currently have checked out from the library is Partie Traumatic by Florida-grown band Black Kids. Containing newly recorded tracks from last year's EP, Wizard of Ahhhs, Partie Traumatic showcases more party-pop along the likes of MGMT (whose album I also checked out from the library earlier this year), mixing fun and irreverence with youthful energy coupled with vocals that are at times smooth and debonair, and at others urgent and fierce, but at all times utterly danceable. "I'm Making Eyes at You" is a prime of all these qualities rolled-up into a song made for throwing down on the floor; play it at your next party before it shows up on a VW commercial.

Those of you familiar with Ahhhs tracks like "Hurricane Jane" and "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How To Dance With You" will welcome the new songs on Partie. "Listen to Your Body Tonight" with its hand-claps, synthscapes and sassy delivery is an affirmation that, yes, Black Kids are from Planet Awesome, and they're on a mission to get that ass to shake.

So can I tell you how pouty I was when I didn't have enough money for the $12 ticket to go see this band live? Okay, it wasn't really a $12 ticket, more like $12, plus $8-10 for beer or Baby Cham, perhaps another $12 to get someone to go with me (all my friends are also in various stages of brokedom)... so yeah, I couldn't afford to see them live when they performed at The Social recently. Being Florida folks, I can only hope that Black Kids don't forget their peoples when they become super-big-mega-stars (if they aren't already), and come back to this sweaty state to rock with us once in a while. And can I mention they get points with me for mentioning grits, that classic southern/soul food breakfast dish, in their song "Partie Traumatic"? Seriously, grits are the bomb.

Another pick from Sub Pop, a label apparently determined to bankrupt audiophiles this year, Flight of the Conchords was a surprise to see at the library. Since there is no "clean" version of the album, I was able to listen to their eponymous album as intended, allowing me to enjoy the vast spectrum of hilarity presented in music tracks heavily-dosed with their inimitable humour and, yes, skilled musicianship. It's a perfect antidote to our respective bleak realities, whether your girlfriend left you, you lost your job, you're all out of cereal, or you're broke and living with an idiot president you didn't elect (holla!).

In Flight of the Conchords, some of their songs from 2007's The Distant Future EP are familiar features on this album, including the uber-popular R&B-drenched "Business Time" and the ballad "The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)," "in the whole wide room." Further comic delights are found in "Inner City Pressure," which sounds like something discarded from a Pet Shop Boys album, and "Bowie," done in an imitation of the icon with the discoloured lens of smirking humour provided by Flight of the Conchords. Needless to say, it's brilliant and spot-on.

With upcoming releases from TV on the Radio, Antony and the Johnsons and Deerhoof, I hope to have more money in my pockets for those releases when they drop. However, in all likelihood, I may have to keep a look-out for these releases at the library so I can indulge 2008's bounty of music for three weeks or so until the due date. I've got to return these CDs promptly--the last thing I need are overdue fines.