Music Blogs

This week's carousel of new releases features artists from the '70s, '80s and '90s--all coming round again and reaching for the brass ring of success!

Is there still a market for these onetime superstars?

Will expected big-sellers be disappointing sales duds, while old-timers once thought to be all washed up reap startling sales results--causing the entire music industry to rethink its very reason for being?

And will man one day walk on the very moon?

Heck, it could happen!

Weezer: Weezer (The Red Album) (Geffen) The long-awaited return of a band that shaped an entire generation would be nice, but here's the new Weezer album instead! It's pretty good--especially the song that mentions '70s country charmer Eddie Rabbitt--and all told, you can tell that there's a real personality involved in the making of it! I can't figure out if that personality belongs to Rivers Cuomo or River Cuomo--since it's spelled both ways on the album sleeve and these guys never do anything by accident!--but I will say that this album is unquestionably red, as its parenthetical title implies, so it sounds great! I plan to buy every Weezer album in the color spectrum!

Ashanti: The Declaration (The Inc.) Is it my imagination or does Ashanti look rather attractive on her new album sleeve? What's up with that? I'd prefer a big sticker telling me that guest producers include Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Dr. Dre and the Neptunes! Not only that, but I understand Nelly is involved! Why aren't they advertising that? I mean, it is about the music, isn't it? I'd tell that to her label, but you try tracking down a company called "The Inc."!  And get this: Word has it that the Wal-Mart version of this album features a track called "Can't Let Go" instead of "Body On Me" from the normal version! Why can't everyone just trust each other?

Disturbed: Indestructible (Reprise) Like most air breathers, I've been waiting for the new Disturbed album for eons! And boy, does it sound great! According to charismatic lead singer David Draiman--and our good friends at Billboard--the new album was inspired by "a f*cked -up couple of years" he'd just had, which included a motorcycle accident and a garage fire! When it came time to make the new album, says Draiman, he asked his fellow band-dudes to write "the nastiest, darkest, most brutal sh*t" they could come up with--and they did! So is it just me, or do most of these songs sound like the themes from Gumby and Thomas The Tank Engine? Oh, wait a minute, I pressed the "video/aux" button on my receiver by mistake! Maybe I should join Disturbed!

Jewel: Perfectly Clear (Big Machine) The word on the street is that Jewel has "gone Country"--and I say it's about time! Is it really that far a leap from her earliest days as a singer/songwriter--when she earnestly asked, guitar in hand, who would save our soul--to writing books of poetry, to dabbling in dance pop in 2003, to hanging around with her former rodeo cowboy boyfriend Ty Murray? Not in the least! That being said, I do wish her luck--as the notion of attractive blonde females making a living singing country music these days is pretty far out, given these conservative times! Like, even the title is Nixonian!

Gavin Rossdale: WANDERlust (Interscope) Unlike many of my contemporaries--you know, teenagers and extremely wealthy socialites--I've never really had anything against Gavin Rossdale or his former band Bush, and in fact, I'd be inclined to say I liked them more than I didn't! This goes against all rules! So I'm here to tell you that I think this record is just fine and dandy, actually, and could potentially sell many copies were it only to be heard by the right people! Unfortunately most of them are at the mall lining up to see Sex And The City and trying to figure out how an iPod works!

Fleet Foxes: Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop) Hey now--here's the hottest new record of the week, by a great Seattle band I heartily recommend! The follow-up to their groovy Sun Giant EP, this disc is intelligent, melodic, hook-filled, easy to hum along to, intricate, artful, has a cover by the same famous painter guy that Pearls Before Swine used to like, and acknowledges some of the hippest artists I've ever seen on its credit sleeve! If you don't buy at least 10 copies of this and give it to all your friends and tell them to do the same, you'll be solely responsible for Usher being at the top of the charts next week! Not that there's anything wrong with that or anything, but come on! We can change the world!

Sam Phillips: Don't Do Anything (Nonesuch) A superb, gloriously artful album by a woman who's been making wonderful records for years, Don't Do Anything is atmospheric, moody, and the mark of a woman clearly in pursuit of art rather than flat-out commercial gain! I'd tell you right here and now to go out and buy it... if only that crazy title wasn't imploring me not to! I'll follow you anywhere, Sam, but a woman has to eat! You crazy!

Journey: Revelation (CD/DVD) (Nomota) Talk about an accurate title! Everyone's favorite band ever is back, with an impressive 2-CD/DVD package that features one disc of new stuff, one disc of old stuff, and a DVD featuring the band live in concert! Will new lead singer Arnel Pineda make hearts throb in the same manner that the legendary Steve Perry did when he covers "Don't Stop Believin'," "Wheel In The Sky" and "Who's Crying Now"? Might be tough! I hope snarky rock critic types don't suggest that this new label's name "Nomota" is short for "No More Taste," as that would be impolite!

Radiohead: The Best Of (Capitol) In many ways the Journey of the 21st Century, Radiohead too challenges the music industry's preconceived notions of what can and can't be done! This fine 2-CD collection of all the band's memorable hits, such as "Creep" and all the other arty ones, is a great listen by any standard! I don't know about you, but I feel much more comfortable knowing that this collection comes with an actual list price--$24.98--instead of that weird "name your own price" thing that made it too easy to cheat the guys out of their well-deserved profits! They could well be the next Coldplay!

Bret Michaels: Rock My World (VH1 Classics) The star of VH1's hugely successful Rock Of Love, rocker Michaels "has charmed many a fair maiden," according to this album's product description! It also mentions he's a member of Poison! But did he ever win a Nobel Peace Prize? Discover a cure for cancer? Be lauded as a musical genius for his collaborations with Yo-Yo Ma and Pavarotti?  Who knows? The shoddy product description forgot to mention that stuff!