IN THE (FAUX) NEWS...

Check out the full story from The Onion here.

FINALLY GOT AROUND TO...Stankonia

As the fourth highest scoring album all-time on the "Rotten-Tomatoes-but-for-everything" website Metacritic (dating back to 2000), and second only to Loretta Lynn's Van Lear Rose in terms of new material, Stankonia represents a quintessential listening experience for the new millenium.

As an introductory note, it's difficult to live up to such lofty expectations. I've listened to Brian Wilson's Smile, portions of Van Lear Rose, and Bob Dylan's Love and Theft, and cautiously hoped for brilliance. It never quite works out that way.

The four things that Stankonia has going for it are: 1) ambition (at 24 tracks, Outkast have crafted a hip hop opus of sorts, with every good idea they could muster stirred up into one giant pot); 2) talent (the pairing of Andre 3000's spacey horniness with Big Boi's earnest street credence still feels improbable and ordained); 3) a keen sense for the bizarre (this monster is straight up weird); 4) some amazing singles ("Ms. Jackson" kicks "Hey Ya" to the curb, "So Fresh, So Clean" and "Spaghetti Junction" impressively combine both style and substance, and "B.O.B." is manically epic).

This eclecticism is, however, both strength and weakness. Few learned from the greatest rap album of all time, Nas's Illmatic, a ten track-no skit gem. Stankonia's seven skits are mostly short and harmless, but generally unnecessary. Also, for every two winners ("We Love Deez Hoes" and "Humble Mumble," there's something skipable ("I'll Call B4 I Cum"). Then there's the incomprehensible, something like "Toilet Tisha," which is both refreshingly odd and decidedly inessential at the same time.

Thus, no verdict on my favorite Outkast album yet. Next up: Aquemini.

Stankonia - OutKast

IN THE NEWS...Clubbin' with Grandma

If you're visiting Paris anytime soon, see if you can catch a glimpse of this rockin' old lady, Mamy Rock.

WORTH A LISTEN: Arctic Monkeys - Secret Door

The best track from Humbug is also the closest they come to capturing their old sound.

THE BREAKDOWN: Monsters of Folk

If nothing else, Monsters of Folk has clarified, or at least temporally rearranged, my perceptions about three quite talented vocalists. In the same way that The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1 opened the door for direct comparisons between icons Tom Petty, Bob Dylan and George Harrison (Roy Orbison comes away as the undisputed champ), this indie folk conglomeration inevitably becomes as much about competition as collaboration. They seem to be having a good time, but it's impossible not to think about whose songs work the best.

First and foremost, Monsters of Folk further cements M.Ward's status as an integral part of the 21st century songwriting landscape. "Whole Lotta Losin'" and its bouncy keyboard-fuzzy guitar combo are easily the most first single-worthy endeavor, "Goodway" is a slightly-off-the-wall, mid-tempo joy, while a gorgeous acoustic melody backs the haunting "The Sandman, the Brakeman and Me" ("Guess I'll lay my head against my elbow in the window/Let my wheels go, let my wheels go").

Conor Oberst, the occasionally poignant, occasionally grating lyricist of Bright Eyes (here also collaborating with producer Mike Mogis), definitely makes his case for relevance throughout Monsters of Folk. The Oberst-heavy "Temezcal" is not only the best song on the album, it also has the best line: "Love we made at gunpoint wasn't love at all." "Ahead of the Curve" is another beautifully constructed sketch, which never treads into the sad sap territory that sometimes drags down his constructions.

Coming off the mediocre My Morning Jacket album Evil Urges, Jim James should have been set to impress. However, surrounded by so much talent, he appears relatively second-rate. Every eye-roller belongs to him, including: "How many licks does it take to get/Taste and see/How many licks does it take to get to the center where there's something sweet" and "If you like what you say/When you open your face/Then you got the right feeling/You're in the right place" Etc. Etc. I mean, c'mon buddy. Where's your A-game?

So, if you're keeping score: M. Ward up, Conor Oberst up, Jim James down. What does this mean for the album as a whole? Quite simply, it works when James stays off center stage (with the exception of opener "Dear God"); I'm thinking a Ward-Oberst He & Him duo would be an endlessly compelling possibility. The entire album, which is light on intra-song interactions beyond backing vocals, ends up as merely a hit-and-miss affair. Too bad, because this could have been one for the ages.

Monsters Of Folk - Monsters of...

IN THE NEWS...Ticketmaster(bation)

As per the Ticketmaster-Live Nation merger, from the Wall Street Journal:

The merger creates a juggernaut in the music industry, combining under one roof a company able to manage artists, book them at venues that it owns and sell tickets to their concerts. The new company, called Live Nation Entertainment Inc., also will be able to sell merchandise and in some cases control the sale of recorded music.

I don't know about you, but I'm not really comfortable with words like juggernaut in the business realm. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to discover every band I like before they're famous. Damn.

SONG OF THE MOMENT: Brother Ali - House Keys

A new direction for the big albino (storytellin') is an unmitigated success. Patient, minute, and ambigious = stellar.