For Those About To Rock

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #30

John Mayer, Where the Light Is: John Mayer Live In Los Angeles (Sony)

A three-part show from the new millennium's pop blues rocker captures John Mayer during a December 2007 set at the Nokia Theatre in the City of Angels. The beast appears to encapsulate the many sides Mayer has shown us so far — saccharine songwriter, blues devotee and rocker.

Part one, the first five tracks, show the isolated Mayer, churning out the Grammy winning "Daughters" and covering Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'." In the middle section, Mayer teams up with Steve Jordan and Pino Palladino for eight cuts as the John Mayer Trio. The Nutmeg State product's burning blues fire is most likely to show up here as the trio cut Try! together in '05. Finally, Mayer polishes off the set with a collection of tracks with his touring crew, with hit "Waiting on the World to Change" batting leadoff and supported later by "Why Georgia" and "Gravity."

Where the Light Is is a testament to 21st century distribution. The package is available in compact disc, vinyl, digital download, DVD and Blu-ray.

If I Were Really Rich ...
— The Subways, All or Nothing (Warner Bros.) — Producer and Garbage drummer Butch Vig turns the knobs for English post-punk revivalists.

Others
— Alkaline Trio, Agony & Irony (Sony)
— C-Murder, Screamin' 4 Vengeance (Tru/Asylum)
— Johnny Cash, Original Greatest Hits (Time Life)
— Deltron 3030, Deltron 3030 [Reissue] (Traffic/Hieroglyphics)
— Neil Diamond, Thank You Australia Concert: Live 1976 [DVD] (Eagle Rock)
— Earlimart, Hymn and Her (Shout! Factory)
— G-Unit, T.O.S.: Terminate on Sight (G-Unit)
— Vanessa Hudgens, Identified (Hollywood)
— Iron Maiden, Somewhere Back in Time: The Best of 1980-1989 [Vinyl edition] (Sony)
— Kansas, Two for the Show: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition (Sony Legacy)
— Los Lonely Boys, Forgiven (Sony)
— Van Morrison, Enlightenment [Reissue, remastered] (Polydor)
— Van Morrison, The Healing Game [Reissue, remastered] (Polydor)
— Van Morrison, A Night in San Francisco [Reissue, remastered] (Polydor)
— Van Morrison, No Guru, No Method, No Teacher [Reissue, remastered] (Polydor)
— Van Morrison, Veedon Fleece [Reissue, remastered] (Polydor)
— My Chemical Romance, The Black Parade is Dead! (Reprise)
— Willie Nelson, Stardust: 30th Anniversary Legacy Edition (Sony Legacy)
— The Pogues, Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say ... Pogue Mahone (Wea International)
— Relient K, The Bird and the Bee Sides (Warner Bros.)
— Tech N9ne, Killer (Strange Music)
— Thrillseekers, Nightmusic, Vol. 3 (Water Music)
— The White Stripes, White Blood Cells [Reissue] (Warner Bros.)

99 Problems But Noel Gallagher Ain't One

So, Oasis' Noel Gallagher recently said Jay-Z wasn't fit to headline England's nearly 40-year-old Glastonbury Festival, which closed Sunday. Why? Because it's "built on a tradition of guitar music."

Well, allow Jigga to retort.

At the start of his set, Jay-Z came out with a guitar slung across his back, and he launched into a karaoke version of Oasis' "Wonderwall" before tearing into his own "99 Problems" to the beat of AC/DC's "Back in Black."

Burn. Score in the feud so far: Hov' 1, Gallagher 0. Just listen to the crowd chant "Jay-Z! Jay-Z! Jay-Z!" after the Oasis jab.

Here's the video and consider this (if you don't catch it from the enthusiastic announcer at the beginning of the clip) your customary explicit language advisory:

This isn't the first time Jigga's done it rock 'n' roll style. Check out his 2004 performance with Phish (also with naughty language):

A Phish reunion? Ph--- yeah!

I had an extremely passing interest in Phish when the group was together, but posthumously, with more exposure to its material, I've come to really have a respect and an appreciation for what they did.

That's why talk of a reunion has me pretty excited.

Former pianist/organist/keyboardist Page McConnell cautions phans not to get too excited in Thursday's post on the band's official site. "Later this year we hope to spend some time together and take a look at what possible futures we might enjoy," he writes. Let the speculations fly.

Phish was the quintessential jam band of the 1990s. Heck, they're almost singlehandedly responsible for reviving the genre when many thought it was kaput.

As an outsider, I think their shows look like a lot of fun. It is said that the best artists create their own worlds. Phish certainly did that, hosting multi-day festivals, creating a "secret language" in music, using trampolines, and having tour-long chess matches with the audience. The pinnacle of cool, though, had to be those Halloween nights when the band would fashion a "Musical Costume" and play someone else's record in its entirety. New Year's Eve shows were fun, too, including when the band played until sunrise in a marathon, seven-plus hour set to ring in 2000.

If we get to glimpse all of that again, I'd love to be on board for the ride this time.

God Put a Mantle Upon Your Head: Coldplay and the Meek Have Inherited Rock 'n' Roll

Peeking out of the roof of my mailbox was a recent issue of Rolling Stone featuring yet another oversized platitude for its cover artist.

Clad in some sort of purple matador costume with a wide-eyed stare to rival the leader of the Heaven's Gate cult, Coldplay's Chris Martin sits perched against an angelic white background with one of the most disappointing thoughts to grace the front of a magazine apt to heap unnecessary praise: Confessions of an Anxious Rock God.

Holy hyperbole, Batman. "Anxious rock god?" Anxious? Maybe. I dunno. I wasn't there. But rock god?

However, the more I thought about it, I came to two conclusions. No. 1, it's pretty hard to argue that Martin & Co. are not one of the world's biggest rock bands.

Second is that if Martin is the world's embassador for rock, how wimpy is rock 'n' roll? Rolling Stone knows it. The title of the article is "The Jesus of Uncool."

Coldplay is the pinnacle of rock's needy modern lifeblood. There's a reason for that scene in "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" where one character tells another, "Do you know how I know you're gay? You like Coldplay." The British quartet makes nice, inoffensive alt-rock, but musically, they're the embodiment of rock's trendy sniveling sissy-dom. They don't wear the pants.

For further proof, sample Death Cab for Cutie's latest platter, Narrow Stairs, which carries the relentlessly insecure "You Can Do Better Than Me." "But I can't do better than you," bemoans Death Cab's Ben Gibbard as if he needed to further affix the lack of self-confidence.

Even Weezer, a group who's made a career out of being wimps, is riding high on the Billboard charts right now because of "Pork and Beans," a track which doggedly insists it has machismo: "I'm-a do the things that I wanna do / I ain't got a thing to prove to you ... I'm finally dandy with the me inside / One look in the mirror and I'm tickled pink / I don't give a hoot about what you think." Dandy? Tickled pink? I'm not even gonna go there.

Additionally, if Cuomo has to tell us he don't care what anyone thinks, the only person he's trying to convince is himself.

I suppose this is an unfair criticism because Coldplay and their ilk aren't trying to be a bunch of long-haired, hard-rockin', drug-hoovering, bat-chewing animals. Furthermore, if there is a place to get your dysfunction out, it should be in a rock song, not beaten into some poor stranger's face.

But we shouldn't annoint a false idol with Coldplay. They're not as monumental, innovative or talented as another English group: Radiohead.

Coldplay has long been compared to Radiohead. But it's an unfair one.

Case in point: with fans frothing like rabid, Pavlovian dogs for the OK Computer follow up, Radiohead rolled up Kid A and told the music industry to cram it. Frustrating, alienating and challenging, it was as though Radiohead said, "Here. Here's the most inaccessible, difficult, guitarless batch of material we could deliver. Enjoy."

Kid A is a stereogram, one of those pictures where if you look at it long enough, you see something. (If you have some time, check out Marianne Tatom Letts' dissertation on Kid A and concept albums for the University of Texas at Austin.)

For an encore, Radiohead brandished a figurative 50-story-tall middle finger to the record industry last year when they initially issued In Rainbows without a label. That's mighty cunning.

Coldplay, by comparison, has given us lush, inoffensive music. No innovative release-schedule fortitude. No messing with audience expectation. Just charming alt-rock, albeit a little wimpy.

There's nothing wrong with appreciating them for what they are, but let's canonize a group that comfortably wears big boy rock 'n' roll pants.

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #29

A preview of new releases for June 24 through June 30:

Sigur Rós, Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (XL)

Icelandic rockers Sigur Rós (pronounced SEE-uhr ROHS; English translation: "Victory Rose") often speed walk the tightrope between pretentiousness and rock prognostication, but love 'em or hate 'em, they are one of the world's pre-eminent post-rock groups.

On Með Suð Í Eyrum Við Spilum Endalaust (English translation: With a Buzz in Our Ears, We Play Endlessly), the Icelandic quartet sings in English for the first time in its five records. (Not on every song.) It's also the second title for the group in the last 12 months — live/studio double package Hvarf-Heim came in November.

The thing about post-rock is listeners either get it or they don't. A review in England's Melody Maker once said the group sounds "like God weeping tears of gold in heaven." Less effusive reviews have espoused the notion that their wintry, atmospheric sound is dull. One former co-worker said lead singer Jón "Jonsi" Þór Birgisson, whose soaring falsetto is the group's trademark, sounds like "dolphins f------."

Whether they're the future of rock or their genre is just puffed-up, self-absorbed noise, the fact that they're doing something innovative is undeniable.

If I Were Really Rich ...
— Radiohead, In Rainbows — From the Basement — Ten-video compilation culled from performances in producer Nigel Godrich's basement is an iTunes exclusive. Replaces two Rainbows tracks ("Jigsaw Falling Into Place" and "Faust Arp") with performances of B-sides from the same sessions ("Bangers 'N Mash" and "Go Slowly").
— Various Artists, Big Blue Ball — Long-awaited Peter Gabriel project finally sees the light of day.

Others
— Pat Benatar, Ultimate Collection (Capitol)
— Be Your Own Pet! Get Damaged [EP] (XL)
— Big Brother and the Holding Company, Lost Tapes (Airline)
— Blondie, Parallel Lines (Capitol)
— Bobby Digital (aka RZA), Digi Snacks (Koch)
— Burning Brides, Anhedonia (Cobraside)
— Camper Van Beethoven, Popular Songs of Great Enduring Strength and Beauty (Cooking Vinyl)
— Mark Chesnutt, Rollin' With the Flow (Lofton Creek)
— Ry Cooder, I Flathead (Nonesuch)
— Cute is What We Aim For, Rotation (Fueled by Ramen)
— D'Angelo, The Best So Far [CD/DVD] (Virgin)
— Eric Darius, Goin' All Out (Blue Note)
— Daylight Dies, Lost to the Living (Candlelight)
— Dwele, Sketches of a Man (Koch)
— Alejando Escovedo, Real Animal (Back Porch/Manhattan)
— G. Love, Superhero Brother (Brushfire)
— Gorgoroth, True Norwegian Black Metal — Live in Grieghallen (Regain)
— Hercules and Love Affair, Hercules and Love Affair (DFA/EMI)
— Billy Idol, The Very Best of Billy Idol: Idolize Yourself (Capitol)
— Amos Lee, Last Days at the Lodge (Blue Note)
— Less Than Jake, GNV FLA (Sleep it Off)
— Love as Laughter, Holy (Epic/Red)
— Mötley Crüe, Saints of Los Angeles (Motley)
— Edwin McCain, Nobody's Fault But Mine (Saguaro Road)
— Liz Phair, Exile in Guyville [deluxe edition reissue] (ATO)
— Reckless Kelly, Bulletproof (Yep Roc)
— Shinedown, The Sound of Madness (Atlantic)
— Thalía, Lunada (EMI Latin)
— Three 6 Mafia, Last 2 Walk (Columbia/Sony/Hypnotize)
— Saul Williams, The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust (Fader)

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #28

A preview of new releases for June 17 through June 23:

Coldplay, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (Capitol)

This is one of the most-anticipated discs of 2008, if England's sales (300,000 copies in three days) are an indication.

Lead singer/pianist Chris Martin's made the rounds, telling the critics how the band tried to throw away all their tricks and start fresh. I've only heard bits of "Violet Hill" and "Viva la Vida," but so far, he tells no lies.

Brian Eno (frequent U2 collaborator/producer) joins the cast. If Eno can do for this London alt-rock quartet what he did with U2 on The Unforgettable Fire — help the band push its sound into new frontiers without alienating and ignoring the preceding work — Viva could prove to be stellar, as some early reviews suggest it may be.

If I Were Really Rich ...
— Chicago, Chicago XXXII: Stone of Sisyphus (Rhino) — Long-awaited album scrapped by poor label negotiations hits shelves 15 years after recording.
— The Offspring, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (Columbia) — A long gestation preceded the new pop-punkers platter, helmed at the controls by Bob Rock (Metallica, Mötley Crüe). Lead single "Hammerhead" is perfectly named, banging the listener over the head with the political underpinings which have always been there in the group's music. The single also eschews their tried-and-true pattern of issuing a silly, novelty track as the first single ("Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)," "Original Prankster," "Hit That").
— Dan Tyminski, Wheels (Rounder) — Guy behind the voice of George Clooney's character in O Brother, Where Art Thou? issues second solo record.

Others
— Adem, Takes (Domino)
— The Byrds, Live at Royal Albert Hall (Sundazed)
— From Autumn to Ashes, Live at Looney Tunes (Vagrant)
— Mick Hucknall, Tribute to Bobby (Rhino)
— The Notwist, The Devil, You + Me (Domino)
— Katy Perry, One of the Boys (Capitol)
— The Pogues, Just Look Them Straight in the Eye and Say ... Pogue Mahone!! [Box set] (Wea International)
— Judas Priest, Nostradamus (Sony)
— My Brightest Diamond, A Thousand Shark's Teeth (Asthmatic Kitty)
— NOMO, Ghost Rock (Ubiquity)
— Reggie and the Full Effect, Last Stop: Crappy Town (Vagrant)
— Rehab, Sittin' at a Bar (Epic)
— Rihanna, Good Girl Gone Bad: Reloaded [Deluxe edition] (Def Jam)
— Diana Ross, Everything is Everything [Remaster] (Hip-O Select)
— Silver Jews, Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea (Drag City)
— Sister Hazel, Before the Amplifiers — Live Acoustic (Rock Ridge)
— Teddy Thompson, A Piece of What You Need (Verve Forecast)
— 2 Pistols, Death Before Dishonor (Republic/Universal)
— Julieta Venegas, MTV Unplugged (Sony International)
— Dennis Wilson, Pacific Ocean Blue [Legacy edition] (Sony Legacy)
— Wolf Parade, At Mount Zoomer (Sub Pop)

A 'Highly Suspicious' Perplexity

"Highly Suspicious," the third track on the new My Morning Jacket album, is the type of song that vexes the bejesus out of me because I'm not sure how to feel about it.

On the one hand, I know exactly what this Prince-infused, falsetto-crooning dance rocker is trying to do. It's as though Jim James and company are daring you to dislike it, saying, "Oh, you thought you knew My Morning Jacket? We're those friendly alt/country rockers from Louisville, Ky., right? Take this Tennessee Fire-cracker, sucker!"

That's a commendable stance. Any artist who has the nerve to try something so seemingly uncharacteristic deserves credit for trying. You can fault U2 for Pop, Eminem for Encore or the Red Hot Chili Peppers for One Hot Minute, but at least they had the gumption to challenge themselves. Results be damned — there's a certain respectability that comes with doing what the audience isn't expecting.

This falls in line with my one major complaint about Tool. They're one of those artists which does the same thing and runs it into the ground. Admittedly, they do it well and their music is more dense than a number of other examples, but one album is mostly indistinguishable from the next. (Give 'em high marks for consistency, anyway.)

But Tool is an aberration. Most bands have a Shark Sandwich in 'em.

That's why I'm having such a hard time judging "Highly Suspicious." I don't hear MMJ coming off the rails entirely with Evil Urges — for every adventurous excursion ("Touch Me I'm Going to Scream Pt. 2"), there's a grounded counter (the title track). But when any artist choses to do something so unexpected, the first time I listen to it, I'm immediately asking "The Greil Marcus Question" — "What is this s&#!?"

But I also thinking about Roger Ebert, who basically opines that you have to judge a movie — or, in this case, a piece of music — by the choices that were made, not the ones you think the creator should've made. Asking if I expected MMJ to further the psychedlic, hard-rock fusion demonstrated on 2005's Z is like asking if Custer expected to have an entire keg set in before nightfall after battling the Sioux. "Highly Suspicious" is not exactly what I was expecting.

But it's the Ebert notion which I cling to. If we're judging MMJ by trying to do the best Prince homage it can, they certainly succeeded. (I have some guesses as to what the "peanut butter pudding surprise" referenced in the verses multiple times is, but I try to keep a mostly PG rating around here.) James' soaring falsetto is in full moon and the guitar solo laid over the driving dance beat is a vacuum cleaner that learned to funk.

So, I guess I like "Highly Suspicious," as weird a thought as that seems to me. Bravo, MMJ — your daring attempt to try something new didn't wind up being your s&#! sandwich.

In the Summer, In the City

Oh, bewitching, rising mercury — the summertime is sneaking up on us faster than a flock of cop cars chasing Amy Winehouse’s limo.

It’s not to that point where you exit a building and get mugged by an unbearable blanket of heat, but that’s not far off.

When the temperature climbs, people turn the dial on more than their air conditioners.

So, Mother Nature, you sweet thang, bring on nights at the ballpark, unfathomably hot car interiors, laps in the pool, a cold brew and a wipe of sweat from the ol’ brow.

And, of course, that staple of sweltering sun: the summer song.

The summer song is the Bigfoot of modern music, an elusive, undefiniable beast. We can be certain of its existence, but few seem to be able to agree on what breed of gnarly, snaggle-toothed behemoth we’re dealing with here.

It’s a time-honored tradition of rock ‘n’ roll. Whether it’s being in the right place at the right time or theming your jams to the season, some artists just scream fun in the sun. From Eddie Cochran to Sublime, many, many bands have embedded themselves in our hot, sticky, summertime subconscience.

I think there are three types of summer songs. So let’s turn it up to 11 as we celebrate some of the boys (and girls) of summer.

Some are a customary part of the package. If you don’t hear Alice Cooper gleefully gloat “Schoooooooool’s out ... for ... summer!” without getting giddy about the first rays of the sun, there may be no help for you.

If the Beach Boys’ “I Get Around” doesn’t make you shake it like a polaroid picture, you’re as disposable as a camera, baby.

If the Red Hot Chili Peppers — the modern masters of the summer song — conjure up anything less than the bittersweet glow of a Golden State sunset with “Californication,” you’re sleepin’ under the bridge dowtown.

These are as undeniable as summer songs as The Lovin’ Spoonful’s “Summer in the City” or Weezer’s “Island in the Sun.” Heck, even Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” is so catchy, it moves you to forgive some of his misfires.

These tracks don’t pretend they’re anything but summer songs. There was a forward-thinking label executive behind these, but it succeeded.

Some tunes just have the benefit of timing. San Francisco’s Third Eye Blind could’ve speed-sung its way through its semi-charmed kind of life during any time of year, but it happened during the summer of ’97.

What Linkin Park did last summer with “What I’ve Done” was dominate the modern rock charts, but it didn’t deserve the throne any more than The White Stripes’ sticky icky “Icky Thump,” which also had nothing to do with summertime.

Those are another other breed of summer song. They’re the ones that show up in the right place at the right time.

The last group is all about you, dear listener. It’s about when and where we appropriate certain music.

For me, I already know this summer is gonna be all about underappreciated ’80s rockers Hüsker Dü. I bought “Zen Arcade” Saturday and I’ve already spun it so many times, the CD is dizzy. Even though it’s 20-plus years old, “Never Talking to You Again” is one of the best songs I’ve heard this year.

This personal-attachment factor may be the strongest. As a diehard Dave Matthews Band fan, I don’t even see the band’s initials without thinking of amphitheaters packed with throngs of frat boys belching their drunken praise for their South African idol underneath a canopy of pot smoke between slurred chants for “Two Step.”

Oh, I chide them, but I love them. It wouldn’t be summer without the DMB concertgoing experience — bouncing beachballs, microphone stands like rows of greek columns and all of the friendly, unfamiliar strangers that come with a night at the show. When violinist Boyd Tinsley launches into his solo on “Lie in Our Graves,” it’d sends me hurling through a mental slideshow of summer nights spent with the Charlottesville, Va., group.

Those are the best summer songs. The ones that you carry around as though they’re part of your DNA.

So, Mama Nature, you wind up and bring the heat, baby. Do your worst.

I’m ready. I’ve got my SPF 15 and a cocktail with a little straw hat.

And if that fails, there’s always “In the Summertime” with Mungo Jerry.

Five summertime suggestions:
• Billy Bragg and Wilco, “Walt Whitman’s Niece” — This has everything to do with when I bought it and nothing to do with summertime. The infectious country stomp is matched with a leftover scrap of Woody Guthrie-penned lyrics about a man and his seaman buddy who give away everything and nothing in retelling the tale of a night with a niece of Walt Whitman — but not which niece.

• Creedence Clearwater Revival, “Proud Mary” — It might’ve been issued as a single in the dead of winter, but you can take this laidback, summertime groove to the bank. You already know how sweet this song is. Don’t waste your time with any pretenders.

• Gorillaz, “Clint Eastwood” — What the former mayor of Carmel has to do with this song, I have no idea. However, I do know that “sunshine in a bag” isn’t about capturing UV rays in a Zip Lock.

• Queens of the Stone Age, “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” — Put the kiddies to bed and rock out with your smock out to this psychedlic, hard-rockin’ ode to chemical substances. It’d be stupid if it weren’t so amusing and, well, addictive. Fittingly, it comes from the record “Rated R.”

• Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Don’t Forget Me” — Overlooked as a filler track on “By the Way,” the modern masters of the summer song reign supreme here. Guitarist John Frusciante shines without overplaying his hand in a latter-career Chili Peppers stunner.

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #27

My Morning Jacket, Evil Urges (ATO)

As mentioned months ago, this entry might as well be called "This Week, Nick Will Buy."

My Morning Jacket seems poised to break through with Evil Urges, the genre-bending Louisville, Ky., quintet's fifth studio album. Pre-release press has placed the group on the cover of Spin magazine and a turn as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live," as though they're straining to push into the mainstream.

But no matter how Evil Urges sounds — and early reviews span from fans on Amazon.com lambasting it as the group's worst to several print reviews praising it as the opposite — MMJ doesn't manufacture easy, accessible pop rock. In their first four albums, the band's repertoire progresses from low-fi, reverb-filled alt-country to polished, psychedlic southern rock. Play country crooner "Old Sept. Blues" and spooky vaudevillian experiment "Into the Woods" in successive order and one of the only unifying elements is lead singer Jim James' signature croaking tenor.

For some bands, such diversity is a desperate grasp at discovering its sound, but MMJ has sounded strong, creative and confident through each turn. That's what makes them so interesting and why Evil Urges is one of my most anticipated albums of 2008.

If I Were Really Rich ...
— Jakob Dylan, Seeing Things (Columbia) — While the future of The Wallflowers remains anyone's best guess as members jump ship and the band paddles on without a record deal, fans can feast on the Rick Rubin-produced debut solo effort from the group's frontman.
— Emmylou Harris, All I Intended to Be (Nonesuch) — Emmy's first new material since 2006 collaboration with Mark Knopfler.
— N.E.R.D., Seeing Sounds (Interscope)— This Pharrell vehicle is driven by neurological phenomenon synesthesia, which combines two senses, hence the title.
— Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez & Jeremy Michael Ward (Infrasonic Sound) — Experimental collaboration between The Mars Volta guitarist and its late keyboardist recorded in 2001 finally hits shelves.

Others
— Adele, 19 (XL)
— Priscilla Ahn, A Good Day (Blue Note)
— The Beach Boys, US Singles Collection Box [Limited edition box set] (Capitol)
— Walter Becker, Circus Money (5 Over 12)
— The Banner, Frailty (Ferret)
— Solomon Burke, Like a Fire (Shout Factory)
— Gene Clark, Silverado '75 — Live & Unreleased (Collector's Choice)
— DJ Tiesto, In Search of Sunrise 7: Asia (Black Hole/Songbird)
— Fates Warning, Perfect Symmetry [reissue] (Metal Blade)
— The Fratellis, Here We Stand (Cherry Tree/Interscope/Island)
— James Hunter, The Hard Way (Hear Music)
— Jethro Tull, This Was [40th anniversary, two-disc collector's edition] (Capitol)
— Joan as Policewoman, To Survive (Reveal)
— Lil Wayne, Tha Carter III (Cash Money/Universal/Young Money)
— Love, False Start [Reissue] (Collectors' Choice)
— Love, Out There [Reissue] (Big Beat)
— Victor Manuelle, Soy (Sony International)
— Montgomery Gentry, Back When I Knew it All (Sony)
— Moonspell, Night Eternal (Steamhammer/Spv)
— Alanis Morissette, Flavors of Entanglement (Maverick/Warner Bros.)
— Plies, Definition of Real (Atlantic/Big Gates/Slip-n-Slide)
— Railroad Earth, Amen Corner (Sci Fidelity)
— Rev Theory, Light it Up (Interscope)
— Sloan, Parallel Play (Yep Roc)
— Tyga, No Introduction (Young Money/Decaydance)
— Uriah Heep, Wake the Sleeper [Import] (Sanctuary UK)
— Martha Wainwright, I Know You're Married, But I've Got Feelings Too (Zoe)
— Cassandra Wilson, Loverly (Blue Note)
— Týr, Land (Napalm)
— Dan Zanes and Friends, ¡Nueva York! (Festival Five)

This Week, Nick Would Buy ... #26

Weezer, Weezer (Geffen)

What to do after turning a fantasy of rollin' like a celebrity in the hills of Beverly into platinum success and graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard? Why, go back to writing brainy rock 'n' roll, of course.

Weezer starts (continues?) a tradition of releasing a self-titled record every seven years with this offering. Let's call it "The Red Album" since the 1994 and 2001 offerings are colloquially referred to as "The Blue Album" and "The Green Album." (What is this s***? "Primary Colors?" Should we expect "The Yellow Album" in 2015?)

Greasing the wheels for Big Red is "Pork and Beans," a Jacknife Lee-produced joint which recently topped Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. (Hear the track by simply visiting the band's home page.) The story behind the tune is that Geffen asked for more songs for the record and the jingle is frontman Rivers Cuomo's kiss off to them. Surprisingly, it doesn't sound like it would've been all that out of place on Weezer's self-titled record. Uh, the blue one. So maybe everyone got what they wanted.

Much of the rest of the record is said to be produced with Rick Rubin, so "Beans" may be a sound of its own. Insert your own "musical fruit" joke here: __________.

Like 2005's Make Believe, this is said to clock in beyond the 40-minute mark. Who knows what wonders abound?

If I Were Really Rich ...
— Aimee Mann, @#%&*! Smilers (Superego) — After a Christmas album and a concept album, the former Til Tuesday bassist/vocalist is said to return to the singer/songwriter path.
— Fleet Foxes, Fleet Foxes (Sub Pop/Bella Union) — Considerable buzz precedes Seattle indie band's debut platter.
— Jewel, Perfectly Clear (The Valory Music Co.) — I loved Pieces of You too much to say I don't care about a new Jewel album.
— Gavin Rossdale, Wanderlust (Interscope) — Being second b-a-n-a-n-a to Gwen Stefani probably isn't where the former Bush lead man saw his career going. This is Rossdale's first solo effort since his Bush successor, Institute, dissolved.
— Waymon Tisdale, Rebound (Rendezvous) — Yes, Kings fans, that Waymon Tisdale. Toby Keith drops by to play a tune with the retired NBA player and jazz bassist.

Others
— Alesana, Where Myth Fades to Legend (Fearless)
— Ashanti, The Declaration (The Inc./Universal)
— Chris Brown, Exclusive: The Forever Edition (Jive/Zomba)
— Disturbed, Indestructible (Reprise)
— The Futureheads, This is Not the World (Megaforce)
— Lalah Hathaway, Self Portrait (Stax)
— John 5, Requiem (Adrenaline/60 Cycle Hum)
— Journey, Revelation [2CD/1DVD package] (Label unconfirmed)
— Kaskade, Strobelight Seduction (Ultra)
— KMFDM, Extra, Vol. 1 (Metropolis/KMFDM)
— Ladytron, Velocifero (Nettwerk)
— Man Raze, Surreal (VH1 Classics)
— Bret Michaels, Rock My World (VH1 Classics)
— Opeth, Watershed (Roadrunner)
— Radiohead, The Best of [2CD] (Capitol)
— Satyricon, My Skin is Cold [EP] (Roadrunner / Indieings)
— Shearwater, Rook (Ocrd) (Matador)
— Subtle, Exiting Arm (Lex)
— The Ting Tings, We Started Nothing (Columbia/Red Ink)
— Various Artists, Now That's What I Call Classic Rock (Capitol)
— Various Artists, Now That's What I Call Music! 28 (Capitol)