(resolved, not solved...)
Welp, I solved my problem by going back to 0.9.0rc6, which I determined
was the version I had working before (never delete anything is my
motto). It worked first time after a dead-stock installation. It also
works simultaneously with linmodem HSF drivers, so it wasn't any
I had ALSA drivers installed (0.9.something, I don't recall),
and working with xmms 1.2.7-1. Recently, I had to recompile my
kernel to include PPP support I'd left out (duh), so I obtained
ALSA 0.9.5.
There seems to be a problem talking to the PCM hardware
now. There's nothing interesting in /var
