Pitchfork

Even if his band won't change your life, it looks like the Shins' James Mercer might change the course of a few undergrads' college careers. Mercer, along with Fiona Apple and Common, will be part of a committee assembled by mtvU that gives input as to which college students should receive the 2007-2008 Fulbright-mtvU Fellowships.

The Fulbright is a Department of State-sponsored program in which college students can travel abroad to do research for one year on a project of their own design. These first mtvU Fulbrights will go to up to four students who wish to "study how music can serve as a global force for mutual understanding" and who can outline "an outreach plan describing how they intend to share their activities with their peers during their Fulbright year." That last phrase comes straight from the Fulbright-mtvU website, where interested applicants can find more information to prepare for the March 23 application deadline.

Now we get that Fiona, James, and Common won't have the entire say over who gets to go be a hippie abroad (the decision is ultimately made by the Fulbright Program and mtvU), but what possible resume bullet could they all share which makes them qualified for this?

Let's see... Common knows Kanye who knows Jon Brion who knows Fiona, but we're stumped as to the Mercer connection. And since when do degrees of separation from Late Registration make for academic qualifications?