(Self-released; 2013)  By Brent Ables | 25 September 2013  The
Sirens first appear in Book XII of Homer’s Odyssey. After being
warned ahead of time of these nefarious beauties who lure unwary
sailors onto rocks that will wreck their ships, the fast-talking
protagonist of the tale commands his shipmates to stuff their
ears with beeswax and tie him to the mast. If Odysseus doesn’t
get to hear the Siren’s song, then the reader will never have
been introduced to them either. The song is like the apple in
the Garden of Eden: a pleasure too tempting to be resisted. As
Odysseus sails by the Sirens, safely bound, they sing their own
praises: “Draw near, and bring your ship to rest, and listen to
our voices. No man rows past this isle in his dark ship without
hearing the honeysweet sound from our lips. He delights in it
and goes his way a wiser man…We know everything that comes to
pass on this fertile earth.” What is this music that is at once
edifying and delightful? Who in our time has the voice and the
depth to car