With Dustin out of the picture, the task of having a big, indie music boner for Ben Folds falls squarely on me, so imagine my delight when this popped up: Ben Folds is collaborating with author Nick Hornby for his next album, and they're working on an ode to redneck jock turned gay rag pinup Levi Johnston.

...the two men decided to "immortalize Levi Johnston in song," offering up an imagining of the moment that Levi first realized that he had knocked up his girlfriend and would soon be marched off to the Republican National Convention, to be one of the two uncomfortable teens in a Shotgun Marriage For America, presided over by John McCain. (Source)

And for the sake of good reportin', here's a snippet of some of the lyrics:

Woke up this morning, what do I see?
Three thousand cameras, pointing at me,
Dude says, You Levi?, I'm like, Yes, that's me sir,
Well, you've knocked up the VP nominee's daughter

Well, consider me cautiously optimistic. Considering that his last album, Way To Normal, was a bit of a letdown, I'm keeping Folds on a short leash here. But since I adored Rockin' The Suburbs, and he has Nick Hornby on board, I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Okay, consider my shameless musical orgasm finished. You can all go back to reading about Gosselins now.

Here's Levi looking ridiculously out of place: