Music GroupsFour-Word Reviews: Special Singles Edition
• The Strokes: "Juicebox" Nice Peter Gunn riff. B+
• Depeche Mode: "Precious" (Michael Mayer Balearic Mix) A deep, unhurried translation. B
• Don Omar: "Reggaeton Latino" Raucous, thudding, proud Reggaeton. B
• Trey Anastasio: "Shine" Un-Phish pop song. B
• Mylo featuring Miami Sound Machine: "Doctor Pressure" Estefan samples sorta work. B-
• Alanis Morissette: "Crazy" (James Michaels Mix) A tepid Seal cover. C+
• Imogen Heap: "Hide and Seek" Drop the effin' vocoder. C-
• Poddy: "The Download Freak" A waste of bytes. D-
• Iron & Wine/Calexico: 
• DJ Cappel & Smitty: 
• Gary Higgins: 
• The Double: 
• Daniel Lanois: 
• Ry Cooder: 
• Teenage Fanclub: 
• White Stripes: 
• Various: 
• Spoon: 
• Dr. Dog: 
• Garbage: 
• Carla Bruni: 
• Various: 
• The Flaming Stars: 
Let us for a moment contemplate the essential goodness of the concept that I have come to think of as the "Musical Hamburger." To truly understand the Musical Hamburger, however, one must first understand it's diametric opposite, "Musical Foie Gras." Once one has developed a taste for Musical Foie Gras, it can be all-consuming. One goes through phases in which one desires only Musical Foie Gras. One helplessly compares the subtle nuances of each Musical Foie Gras experience to the next. One can barely contain the disdain felt for those whose tastes aren't so refined as to enjoy Musical Foie Gras. The potential pleasure of Musical Foie Gras is high indeed, but with all of that cataloging and attendant snobbery, it can be exhausting as well.
A few years ago, French pop band 
The new album from the indie darlings 
The second Nonesuch album from former Christian contemporary singer 
The new EP from New Orleans based 
• Nirvana: 
Featuring pounding beats, industrial dance tracks and shrill vocals, the new 
World beat can be a two-edged sword. Exploring exotic textures and combining cultures can make for fantastic listening, but there runs a high risk of little of substance behind the facade. Artists and producers get so caught up in whatever that month's trendy sound happens to be, or the entire production is carried away in a river of reverb and studio trickery, that the roots of the experience--the actual songwriting and the cultural context--is, sadly, sometimes an afterthought.
When paying tribute to one's music predecessors, it's important to note that there's a difference between respectful homage and, well, shamelessly throwing oneself prostrate at the altar of whatever influence whose schtick you've decided to hijack and call your own. I've just listened to You've Been Spiked, and apparently Chris Joss didn't get that memo. 
Art pop bands have a tough gig. People either get on their case for being too poppy or too arty. They can't make an album without selling out in someone's eyes, and they always have to have kick-ass album art. 
The new album from 
So, how about that Bright Eyes? Fresh off a the 
Somehow, I generally think that music that is loud, fast and long tends to be better live. The new Turing Machine album, Zwei, proves this point. Full of pounding drums and riff after riff, the album is made up of only seven songs, ranging in length from 1:01 to 13:00. Though certainly math rock and stoner metal-ish all at the same time, I can't imagine any situation in which this would actually be a good album to actually sit down and listen to. 
In a time when it's just so easy to get tired of guitar rock and samples, samples, samples, it's refreshing to occasionally hear some more off the wall instruments. 
Ooh, on the Midwest tip again! Dayton, Ohio band 
I'll come right out and say that I tend to be partial to several things this CD stands for - Soul, Funk, and the Midwest. That being said, 
- A Perfect Circle: 
Okay, let me get this straight--Jason Lytle from Grandaddy puts together a mix tape of non-single tracks from various other artists and then gets it released as an album? Fair enough. Fortunately, it turns out Lytle likes a lot of music that other people might too. Most of these songs have Grandaddy elements--soaring instrumentals, keyboard scales, plodding quirky vocals, post-modernist themes--but, of course, they're all from different bands. 
There's a lot to be said about one person and a guitar, especially when they have a wobbly voice and mention "shaking your clavicle." The new-ish Devendra Banhart album, 
- Jimmy Edgar: 
- Akufen: 
- The Prodigy: 
Streamed on Rhapsody and overheard in other ways.
