I remember being very pleased once to read that Brian was enjoying the latest Michael Penn album, which at the time was, I think, "Resigned".
Seriously? That is awesome, because "Resigned" still stands among my favorite albums of all time and contains some of the best songwriting of the past 20 years, in my opinion. The vocal sounds, recording-wise, are among the best I've ever heard, owing to a huge collection of vintage mics and a lot of attention being given the recording of the vocals.
I had never heard that about Brian's mentioning the album, but I am not surprised he would have enjoyed it. The album would have been "right up his alley".
I am surprised Michael Penn doesn't get name-checked more often among Brian's fans than I have seen through the years. He's among the more talented songwriters of the modern era.