I 've never met Rachael Yamagata, nor spoken to her or even e-mailed her before. Yet here I am, on a long-distance phone call, asking her about her love life.

It's a phenomenon she accepts as her own fault.

In the lyrics to songs from her new album, "Elephants . . . Teeth Sinking Into Heart," as well as interviews surrounding its release and her official artist biography, Yamagata is brutally open about a heartbreak that served as the album's primary influence. However, it wouldn't be polite to ask about specifics. And anyway, she surely gets sick of strangers like me prying into her personal life . . .