Maybe I just can't handle the crash from last week's musical high, but this week is a bust, plain and simple. Yes, Jack Johnson will lullaby himself all the way to the bank with his new album. Yes, Clay Aiken fans will rejoice at his retelling of American standards. But I'm not buying it. I'll stick with angry old British mod Paul Weller. "Paul who?," you may ask. Skip ahead and skip the rest to find out. Then play a couple of others included in this week's roundup that are worth a listen.
SKIP: Jack Johnson, "To the Sea"
See Jack play. See Jack surf. See Jack get mellow. See Jack play songs about surfing and being mellow. See Jack's other five albums and see if you can tell the difference. Oh yeah, he grew a beard for this one.
SKIP: Clay Aiken, "Tried and True"
The "American Idol" Season 9 corpse is barely cold, but here comes Season 2 runner-up Clay Aiken gearing up the Idol Alumni Association for the summer break. "Tried and True" -- a live album recorded in his hometown of Raleigh -- is presumably the official start of Aiken's Vegas career. He makes his way through the songbooks of such latter-day lounge singer heroes as Fat Elvis ("Suspicious Minds"), Bobby Darin ("Mack the Knife"), and Sammy Davis, Jr. ("What Kind of Fool Am I?"). Aiken is no Elvis, no Bobby Darin, and definitely no Sammy. Still, I'm sure we'll see him in Vegas for years to come. And what happens in Vegas...
PLAY: Tift Merritt, "See You on the Moon"
Another Raleigh native, Tift Merritt lives on the soulful side of town. In a more just musical society, she'd be a household name and Sheryl Crow would be her roadie. "See You on the Moon" is filled with clever tunes, real people playing real instruments, and melodies that keep you hooked without hurting your brain. Tift Merritt was probably the smart girl in class who could also hang with the stoners. At least that's the story I make up while I'm listening to her most excellent songs.
PLAY: Paul Weller, "Wake Up the Nation"
If you grew up in late '70s/early '80s England, you know the Jam was the closet thing to musical deities since the Beatles. If you grew up anywhere else, you've probably moved on to the next album. For those of you still reading, former Jam leader Paul Weller has a new album. He's as soulful and angry as ever. Listen to this (and get any of his other nine excellent solo albums), and you'll understand the missing link between the Who and Oasis -- bands that inspired and ripped off Weller's sound.
PLAY: The Melvins, "The Bride Screamed Murder"
The Godfathers of Grunge label gets thrown around a lot -- mainly about people who have never lived anywhere near Seattle. However, the Melvins are the one band that really deserve the title. Their singular fusion of metal, punk, and weirdness has been the sonic road map for such bands as Nirvana (Kurt Cobain unsuccessfully auditioned as their bassist early in his career), Soundgarden, and every other Pacific Northwest thrift store musician. Their 19th studio album is avant-garde strangeness at its most Melvins-ness. It's the sound of the college dropouts crashing the frat party. This "Play" recommendation is given with a freak caveat: musical prudes might want to skip.