Jeffrey Morgan's Media Blackout

Introducing the new turbocharged MBX for 2004! • The Who – The Who Sell Out (Decca) :: Automobile commercials. Hewlett-Packard commercials. The CSI franchise. And you thought they were just being ironic. • Wu-Tang Clan – Greatest Hits (BMG) :: Bill Cosby is right. • ODB (Roc-A-Fella) :: D.O.A. • Wolf Eyes — Burned Mind (Sub Pop) :: Vicious, you hit me with this neural nullifying slice of neurotic electronica from Ann Arbor. • AM – Francophiles & Skinny Ties (AM Mayhem) :: Not since the legendary Masked Marauders waxed “I Can’t Get No Nookie” has there been such a fun-filled send-up of the early Rolling Stones. • Amy Correia – Lakeville + Tom McRae – Just Like Blood (both Nettwerk) :: These two stunning new albums of thoughtfully intelligent pop music will renew your flagging faith in the lost art of emotive singing and insightful songwriting. • Anavana (Zip) :: Part sassy Debby Harry and part sultry Sade, funky is the word for this debut disc by chameleonic pop singer Annastasia Victory Kuporosova and her reggae-tinged band. • Stars – Set Yourself On Fire (Arts & Crafts) :: Ignore the inane title because you won’t find a more delightfully ethereal pop album to play this winter while you’re dashing through the snow. • Feverdream – Freeze (Coalition) :: “Shake hands with my johnson,” sings René van Lien of the Netherlands. “Do you know what it feels like to be that hung?” No, but if you wait here a moment, I’ll go get a rope so you can tell me. • SIZZLING PLATTER OF THE MONTH: The Gun Club – The Las Vegas Story (Sympathy For The Record Industry) :: Remastered and reissued. Discordant and disconcerting. Off-key and off-kilter. Haunting and harrowing. Sardonic and psychotronic. A grievous mistake and a genuine masterpiece. • Be seeing you!

Jeffrey Morgan is a freelance writer for Metro Times. Send comments to [email protected]