They've always been a guilty pleasure for me, but the quality of some of their songs is sometimes revealed by new and fresh approaches. I loved this from Sharon Clark:
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http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2010/06/the-carpenters-revisited/186126/
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http://www.theatlantic.com/daily-dish/archive/2010/06/the-carpenters-revisited/186126/
