Current Music Blog

I was on cnn.com again today, ranting about some great music and trying not say anything too strange due to the meth lab exploding in my soul after mixing a large coffee and a 240 mg pseudoephedrine time-release capsule that was dissolving way too rapidly.

Here are a few of the points I didn’t get to make on air:

“Acquired Taste” Delbert McClinton

Delbert McClinton’s been making music professionally since before you were a misguided glimmer in your dad’s bloodshot eyes. He’s an old pro, and he knows exactly what he’s doing. He’s spent the past 50 years playing with all the greats, released 13 of his own albums, and won three Grammys. On top of that there’s a rumor goin’ round that he taught John Lennon how to play harmonica.

Now he’s teamed up again with super producer Don Was (Bob Dylan, the Rolling Stones, BB King, Al Green, Waylon Jennings, the Black Crowes, Brian Wilson… need more convincing? Okay: Roy Orbison, Elton John, Lyle Lovett, Iggy Pop, the B-52s. Surely you’re convinced by now… really, more? Okay: George Clinton, Carly Simon, Paul Westerberg, George Michael, Joe Cocker, Jackson Brown, Amos Lee, Willie Nelson, the Stone Temple Pilots, and tons more). And this album is exactly as good as you would expect it to be when the two team up.

Delbert named the album “Acquired Taste” and when you open up the liner notes it says, “Most people don’t like me at first.” In the past, that’s been somewhat of a true statement. McClinton’s always been a musician’s musician, and hardcore music junkies love him, but on the unskilled ear, some of his brilliance can be lost. However, ironically, I think “Acquired Taste” is the album that breaks that trend. I fucking dare you not to dance to “Mama’s Baby.”

“Until Then” starts off like a simple Randy Newman number, then hits some crazy jazz chords that oddly enough have an ’80s vibe, before Delbert falls into a Dr. John groove and Neil Young style “Southern Man” guitar licks flood your ears. Yeah, it’s pretty crazy. “When She Cries” is a song the Replacements would have recorded if they had stayed together another 30 years and practiced every day and still maintained their excitement.

My point is: go get this album, and if you don’t like it, it’s your fault.

“Watch Me Fall” Jay Reatard

Jay Reatard is a lo-fi garage punk anti-hero from Memphis. The Memphis part is important. Most of the best music in America has come out of Memphis, granted in the past it’s been more about blues and soul, but the genre isn’t the point. The point is that Memphis is a shitty city and their music has always been about rising above circumstances and conquering adversity.

Memphis isn’t as bad as it was 40 years ago (fortunately, you can only kill MLK once) but it’s still a rundown puddle of douche water for the most part. And that is what makes Memphis so beautiful. The best art often comes out of affliction and misfortune. I’d like to repeat that Memphis is in no way as bad as it was 40 years ago, but Jay still grew up in a tough town and was exposed to the type of shit you’d rather your kid not be exposed to.

He dropped out of school in the 8th grade. I’d imagine it was because his teachers were dicks who were too stupid to understand his brilliance. Basically, since then Jay’s been playing in thrash punk bands around Memphis. He earned a bit of a reputation for being a badass troublemaker, but how else was a 15-year-old kid in a punk band supposed to act?

Jay’s grown out of punching people in the back of the head and channeled that energy and passion into his music even more, and the results show. Whereas much of his previous recordings were straightforward, throbbing garage punk, on this one Jay’s worked in a lot of poppish melodies (even counter melodies) and hooks. It’s fucking awesome. I’d say this is the future of rock ‘n’ roll, but that’s probably giving the listening public too much credit.

However, I do think Jay has the potential to be the next Jack White… but without the wardrobe department. Tonight, you should go home a say a prayer to whatever superhero you worship, and ask him/her/it to have Jay and Jack work together on an album. If you put the two of them in a studio together, one of two things would happen: either they would lay down the best tracks ever made, or there would be a two-hour fistfight, and then they would record the greatest song ever.

Buy this now.

“Welcome Joy” the Cave Singers

At the Cut

I hate the word “folk.” I’ve said it a million times, and I’ll say it again, given the chance, I would kick Peter, Paul, and Mary in the balls. Peter Yarrow knows what he did. BUT the term “indie-folk” seems to be sticking, and thus, we’re stuck with it, so this album is classic Pacific Northwest indie-folk.

The Cave Singers are three guys from Seattle who used to play in bands like Pretty Girls Make Graves and Cobra High. Basically, the music these guys used to play had a lot going on in it and a good bit of noise. However, now, they’re putting just as much energy into minimalist, lower key music. The results are pretty cool. You can still feel just as much energy, but it’s all concentrated on fewer notes, chords and beats, which only intensifies them.

Most songs build as they progress by adding more instruments: keyboards enter midway through then horns towards the end or something like that. But the Cave Singers’ songs manage to build in intensity and emotion, but without cluttering their sonic space. It’s raw and organic and fairly unique in this day and age. Get it here.

I was on cnn.com again today, spreading the Gospel of Willie and apparently cussin’ in British slang. These things happen.

Here is the music you must buy today:

Willie Nelson, “Lost Highway”

Willie Nelson is a god. Not just a musical god, but a full-on deity. Someday, 2,000 years in the future, when the aliens visit our charred, post-apocalyptic planet and start poking around the artifacts, there’s a good chance they’ll get Willie and Jesus mixed up. The two have a lot in common, except that nobody ever got hurt in Willie’s name, and instead of bringing the wine to parties, Willie’s got the weed.

For a lot of people in our generation, it’s easy to take Willie for granted: he’s always been around and your parents have had his albums since long before you were born. But believe me, Willie Nelson is more of a rebel and rock star than the entirety of 40 years of commercial rock ‘n’ roll that have followed his departure from Nashville.

Back in the ’60s, Willie was one of the most respected songwriters in Nashville, penning hits like “Crazy” for Patsy Cline and the “Nightlife” for Ray Price, among many others. Back then he still had a nice, tidy haircut, clean-shaven face, and played the game to make it as a writer, with hopes of bringing his own special sound to the masses someday. However, the problem with mainstream, mass produced, Nashville country music is: it sucks. They didn’t get Willie. He’s got a unique voice, he writes like a poet, and he plays blues infused solos on a classical guitar in country songs with jazz changes. Add it all up, and it’s too many “wait, what just happened?” moments for commercial country.

Round about 1970, Willie’s house in Nashville burnt down, both literally and figuratively. Willie packed up and headed back to the hill country of Texas, where he noticed something amazing: the hippies, freaks, and fun kids started showing up to country shows, creating a completely new, unheard of country counter-culture. For the first time, Willie could make music the way he wanted to, and it absolutely caught fire.

And it wasn’t just the hippies and freaks that were diggin’ it. Willie’s music resonated with everyone from the unwashed “Woodstock ended?” crowd to the real-deal cowboys. Still today, if you go to a Willie show (and you must) the crowd is made up of hippies, rednecks, yuppies, kids, the elderly, and about anyone else you can think of. Fuck you, the Man. It worked.

This album is a compilation of some of Willie’s best moments while on the Lost Highway label. (If you’re into classic, outlaw country and wondering where the good new stuff is, get into Lost Highway.) There’s some classic Willie on here, some recent stuff you might have missed, some duets, and some unreleased rarities. Some of the duets are amazing, including “Crazy” with Elvis Costello and Diana Krall and “Overtime” with Lucinda Williams. The only dark spot is Shania Twain’s appearance on “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain.” Sure, she looks good in animal prints and cowboy hats, but she ain’t country. Granted, if she asked to sing on my album, I’d let her too, but she still ain’t country.

Also, if you buy this in store, it comes with a free scratch ‘n’ sniff poster, which I’m guessing you probably don’t want to have in your car on a hot day if you get pulled over by Johnny Law.

Get the album here.

Frank Turner, “Love Ire & Song”

Holy shit, I love Frank Turner. What? Is a critic not supposed to say that? Fuck you. The video for the Road above does a better job showing what an authentic, DIY, 200 shows-a-year beast he is than I ever could by blabbering on using excessive adjectives and less than subtle dirty puns.

Technically, Frank falls under the label of folk-punk, but pretty much everybody who makes this music or is into it will tell you that’s not an ideal label for it, plus it’s somewhat of an oxymoron, but let’s not get distracted from how amazing Frank’s music is. His album “Poetry of the Deed” comes out September 8^th, so you need to go get his previous record “Love Ire & Song” right now. RIGHT NOW, I said. Okay, you back from downloading it? Good, let’s proceed.

Frank has a passion for music and life that is pretty much unrivaled these days and is certainly lacking from your playlist—don’t give my any attitude, it’s true. If you find yourself in the post Gen-X haze that can be summed up by his lyrics “I won’t sit down and I won’t shut up, and most of all, I will not grow up” you know what he means when he says “I’m gonna live fast and I’m gonna die old” or “we can never sell out, cause we never bought in.” Frank has upgraded the traditional “fuck the establishment, fuck the world” attitude of punk rock to a more appropriate and feasible, “Fuck the establishment. I live in my own world, with my friends, and we love our life.” Plus the song To Take You Home is an absolute pant dropper. Guaranteed.

I’d say he’s the voice of a generation, but, quite frankly, there are too many worthless cogs and whiners in our generation that don’t deserve to be associated with Frank and his music.

Go get “Love Ire & Song” now, then get “The First 3 Years” to prep for the September 8^th release of “Poetry of the Deed.” You’ll be glad you did. If ever you took a chance and merely trusted my word, let this be that one time—or simply listen to his stuff, realize I’m right and then buy it.

Frank’s on tour with the Gaslight Anthem now.

Today on Current Music:

+ Here is a pretty dark, compelling music video for Julian Plenti’s new single: “Games For Days.” Plenti, aka Interpol’s Paul Banks, released the single on his new album “Julian Plenti… Skyscraper.”

+ Uh oh, thanks to Steven Tyler’s unfortunate stumble off the stage at Sturgis Wednesday, Aerosmith might cancel their current tour.  Oh and btw, our Peter Grumbine has thrown in his two cents and wants your captions for a Steven Tyler motorcycle pic.

+ Ryan Gosling and Zach Shields have released the album art and tracklisting for their band Dead Man’s Bones‘ debut album, which they claim sounds like “Disney haunted mansion meets doo wop and 60s girl groups.” Check out this ridiculous but intriguing combo by listening to the two live songs up on their MySpace.

+ In an interview with Hip Hop Official, Kid Cudi tries to explain why he was a wimpy, kiddie, baby whiner and almost retired from music before his debut album even dropped. Reason: the bloggers were mean to him. Luckily, he’s found a ladder since then, and seems to have gotten over himself, although his heated statements about it show that his ego is still a little bruised.

+ Akron, Ohio’s Square Records celebrates its sixth anniversary and continued existence as an independent record store still making money by getting Akron indie bands to play a show that features fun acts like Drummer, a band that includes the Black Keys‚ Pat Carney.

Got more great music stories for Current? Submit them here and be sure to tag with the artist name for consideration to be featured!

—Josh Middleton & Chanelle Johnson

I was on cnn.com this morning, sharing the joys of the Fruit Bats and debating the merits and relevance of Madonna. Part way through my review of The Ruminant Band, my audio froze and my video pixilated as if I was reporting from the front lines of the first Gulf War, so I just kept yammering and next thing I knew we were talking about Madonna.

Here are my liner notes to the segment, because I’m not sure which parts actually made it through the control room.

Fruit Bats “The Ruminant Band”

I’m calling this the happiest album of the year—hands down. It’s not annoyingly happy in the “rainbows, unicorns, and ice cream cones!” kind of way, but the music is bright and the lyrics don’t shy away from embracing joy and the good parts of life. Trust me, I love the dark, brooding, functioning alcoholic who writes about the world’s problems from a barstool as much as anybody, but enough already. You don’t have to wear a black t-shirt everyday to be cool. I get it—you’re dark, mysterious, and non-conformist, just like the 500 guys in line behind you.

Simply put, I love this album. For one thing, it’s an album, not merely a CD. The driving force behind the Fruit Bats is Eric D. Johnson (he’s also a recent addition to the Shins), but clearly a lot of credit on this one also has to go to drummer Graeme Gibson, who produced it. If you’ve ever wondered what people mean when they talk about the art of producing and engineering an album and how it all peaked in the ’70s, check this one out. It’s masterfully done.

I can’t remember coming across an album in the past decade that is so conscious of its sonic soundscape, but doesn’t rely on distorted noise and effects to fill it. Instead, an acoustic guitar falls right into place over your left ear, a Wurlitzer slowly boils up from below you, or the pedal steal has you chasing the bridge around the room. It’s amazing. The vocal harmonies are beautifully and placed with restraint. Most producers who have elements like these would just go nuts and over use them, but these guys got it right.

The music is seeped in late ’60s/early ’70s heritage and awareness, but it never over-treads on a single influence and thus remains completely original and new. If you don’t want to buy into the mainstream, but are getting sick of all the morose, dark, grumbling poet-singers who only find fault in the world, this is for you. And it’s also for your mom. Really. Anyone can enjoy this one.

Stream it here, then go buy it, and a get new stereo to listen to it on.

Madonna “Celebration”

The question here isn’t, “has Madonna ever done anything good?” Clearly she has. I liked “A League of their Own” a lot. Penny Marshall is awesome. But the question here is, “is Madonna’s upcoming, 7th greatest hits album ‘Celebration’ the most self-serving, unoriginal piece of shit that uses her fans as pawns?” And the answer is a resounding “yes.”

The inaptly named “Celebration” comes out September 29^th. Don’t mark your calendars. It’s just a repackaging of the same old crap that’s available on 14 other Madonna CDs. Plus Madge phoned in vocals for two new tracks that represent Paul Oakenfold’s greatest attempt at assassination since he worked with U2 in the Zooropa years. This is what we call an obligatory album. Madonna’s contract with Warner required her to release one more album before she could leave and start her even more lucrative, 360 deal with Live Nation.

I’m sure somewhere in an attorney’s office at Warner Brothers there is a legal definition for what constitutes a new album, and this refurbished turd bucket meets the absolute bare minimum requirements, and thus, it exists.

I do realize that if you are in the cult of Madonna, two new songs from her are a total Mitzvah, no matter how much worse they are than her entire, well-worn, over-sexed body of work. And to be fair, if you’ve ever blasted a line of ecstasy with one nostril while hovering a rail of meth with the other at the same time in a dance club bathroom stall, you may well like these two songs.

If you’re into classic Madonna, you deserve better than this clubby test run of Autotune. If after this you’re still looking for something new, go buy everything released by Janelle Monae and Lykke Li.

I was on cnn.com/live again this morning talking about new releases and trying not to mispronounce any British slang. (Mispronouncing American words is a given). The segment was around the same length as usual, but my coffee was much larger, and I felt like there was a lot I didn’t get to say, so here are the extended liner notes:

“Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood Live from Madison Square Garden,” Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood

This is one of the quintessential Rock ‘n’ Roll recordings of this millennium. I would almost call it the epitome of Rock ‘n’ Roll in its truest form: two extremely talented, absurdly skilled, and well-seasoned pale, white dudes playing old black music. The combo of Clapton’s blues guitar and Winwood’s R&B background is rock in its purest, most simple and deconstructed form. (Plus or minus some Anglo and Scotch-Irish influences).

Clapton and Winwood were old friends all the way back to when they were teenagers in London. The two were always in a bunch of separate bands including Cream and Traffic. When those two acts dissolved, Winwood and Clapton got together to form Blind Faith. That didn’t last long and they went their separate ways shortly afterwards.

Winwood reformed Traffic, and Clapton joined an ass load of different bands and sang a song called “Cocaine.” A lot. Like every night. Then in the mornings and at lunch too. God, he loved that song… so much!!! “Let’s sing it again!!! Right NOW!!! Cut that track up or you’re fired bitch!!!” he’d shout. Then Clapton started singing songs about fucking George Harrison’s wife. (He was kind of a dick.) Flash forward 30 some-odd years and the two reunited on stage for a charity show in 2007, as Clapton was no longer being a dick, and the groundwork was laid for this tour and live album.

Now, everyone knows that Clapton is one of the greats (he’s not God but he is one of the greats); however, Winwood’s the real gem on this record, and he clearly elevates Clapton’s playing, as Clapton does his. Before these shows, Winwood basically called bullshit on Clapton for having other guitarists playing identical Strats right behind him at every show and said it’s just going to be you, me, drums, bass, and some additional keyboards. Not sure how Winwood got to bring backup, but either way, this combo rocks hard and is full of soul. There’s no hiding behind a chorus of studio lifers and background vocalists.

The last time Winwood and Clapton played in Madison Square Garden together, it was 1969, a riot broke out ON STAGE, drummer Ginger Baker got knocked out by a cop’s billy club, and Winwood’s piano was smashed. Five weeks later Blind Faith broke up after only one album and a six-week tour. That’s rock-n-fuckin-roll.

There are a lot of standout tracks on this recording. Traffic’s “Glad” with Clapton shredding in place of the tenor sax solo is as badass as it sounds. So is Winwood joining Clapton for dual guitars on “Dear Mr. Fantasy.” The two of them even manage to do justice to Hendrix’s “Little Wing” and kill a 17-minute “Voodoo Chile.”

My favorite track is probably “Them Changes” by Buddy Miles. Without even knowing he was ill, ClapWood recorded this just days before Miles died. Apparently, a friend at one of the shows held up a phone for Buddy to hear their cover, and he loved it. More or less the same thing happened right after Clapton and Duane Allman laid down “Little Wing” as Derek and the Dominoes, just days before Hendrix died. Thanks Eric. It’s a wonder JJ Cale is still alive today… well, for lots of reasons.

You probably know all the great stuff Clapton has done with Cream, Blind Faith, Derek and the Dominoes, Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, and as a solo artist, but if you’re not familiar with all the bands that Steve Winwood played in that shaped the landscape of modern music, here are a few choice clips.

“A Beginners Guide to Blur,” Blur

If you’re not very familiar with Blur’s catalogue, it’s only partially your fault. British music that sounds British has never been big on American radio or MTV or whatever other commercial crap takes up most of our bandwidth these days.

Blur are essentially the godfathers of Britpop. Granted, it’s impossible to ever give one band credit for an entire subgenre, but if you had to pick one group, it would be Blur. After their first album, Blur toured the US, to mixed results, and by the time they got back to England, the Seattle grunge scene was exploding like the back of Kurt Cobain’s head all over the UK. Damon Albarn was sick of hearing foreign music dominate the British airways, so he set out to create something distinctly British, and more or less, that’s when Britpop entered the scene in the ’90s.

Blur and Oasis had a pretty big feud. Granted pretty much everyone had a feud with Oasis, hell — they even feuded with themselves. But Blur and Oasis were always competing for the #1 slot in the UK, often with Blur winning. However, Oasis was doing more of a Lo-Fi, American alternative sounding thing, and that caught on much bigger over here. But remnants of the rivalry still exist. If you ever see a drunk British guy in his mid 30s, which is fairly common, run up to him and shout “BLUR OR OASIS!?!” and then vehemently disagree with everything he says after that. It’s a blast.

Get caught up on Blur here.

“It Was This or Football” (first half), Kid British

How can you not like that song? Maybe if you’re the soulless, joy-crushing, hearing-impaired bastard child of Nazis and slave owners, you might not like it, but pretty much everyone else should love that song.

Kid British pull off a pretty slick combination of most every genre of music using some sweet harmonies, live instruments and well-placed samples. Don’t be angry just because they’re better at it than Americans.

To old school rockers who shit on sampling all together: sampling is nothing new. It’s been around forever, and the greatest sampler of all time is probably Jimmy Page. Don’t act like you don’t know what I’m talking about, and if you actually don’t know, look it up. Sampling’s not just unique to music either. No one called Jasper Johns a hack for lifting from Betsy Ross.

Kid British are getting bigger across the pond, but for some reason no ones is really pushing them over here, which is retarded because these guys are a goldmine. If I had the cash, I’d invest in an American PR campaign, and then retire from the royalties of their next album. Whoever decided not to get behind them here is a fucking moron. Do yourself a favor and get in on what they’re doing now, so you won’t have to buy “A Beginners Guide to Kid British” in 18 years.

You can buy the first half of their album here, watch some videos here, follow them on twitter here, and do a little bit of everything here.

So I was on CNN.com/live again today talking about music and looking like an ass for forgetting John Brim’s name. Here’s the crib sheet:

Bob Dylan Radio Radio Vol. 2, Various Artists

First off, these aren’t Bob Dylan songs; it’s music he played on his radio show. The stuff ranges from old fashioned to old timey. It’s got everything from blues to ragtime and a touch of mountain music too, but I still can’t believe what a douche I am for forgetting John Brim’s name while I was on camera.

This collection of songs supports my theory that the biggest myth in music is that Rock ‘n’ Roll was invented in the 60’s or late 50’s. First off, you can’t invent music—it just exists; secondly, raucous songs about getting drunk and doin’ it have been around forever. It’s just that the kids in the lily-white suburbs didn’t get hep to it until the ’60s. Goddamned baby boomers think they invented everything.

Under the Covers, Vol 2, Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs

I hate most cover collections, but I love this one. I could explain that it’s a combo of their voices, smart instrumentation with respectfully yet cleverly re-visited arrangements, and brilliant song choice, but honestly, just go download this, rock out, and realize it for yourself. Susanna Hoffs has one of the sexiest voices ever. I’m pretty sure all the bullshit fixes and filters they put on Britney and all the other whorelets is called “the Hoffs package.”

I’m going to see these two at the Grammy Museum tonight, and I’m considering winking at Susanna. I realize that when I man winks, it’s one of the creepiest things in the world, unless, of course, you’re Santa Claus or a French diplomat, which can still be creepy depending on the location and time of year, but if I do wink at her, there’s a chance that maybe, even by accident, she’ll wink back. And I don’t need to tell you how hot that would be. Damn those eyes!

If you want to hear it before you buy it (and you will buy it), you can stream it on Spinner for the rest of the week.

Change is Gonna Come Sessions, Bettye LaVette

Bettye LaVette is, hands down, the most soulful singer alive and kickin’ today. Suck it, Aretha—there’s been a coup, and you ain’t the queen anymore. Bettye’s life story is an allegory for the age old battle with simple-minded, money driven, visionless music execs and her struggles mirror those of the Civil Rights movement… which of course makes the record execs even bigger assholes. If you want the melodic version of her life story check out the song “Before the Money Came (the Battle of Bettye LaVette)” and listen to the lyrics. It’s a part of American history that shouldn’t be glossed over.

This recording of jazz and R&B classics is more of a red wine drinking, hanging out and acting like adults record, while her other recent releases like Scene of the Crime and I’ve Got my Own Hell to Raise let you hear the soulful fire in her belly, and man, is it soulful. If you can get your hands on a clean copy of “Child of the Seventies” consider yourself very lucky. It was shelved and never released, but is undoubtedly one of the best soul records ever. It’s worth the effort to find it.

PS: I’ll stab Jon Bon Jovi with a dull spoon for walking out on that stage, but honestly, I bet if you ask him, he knows he had no business being there.

I did the cnn.com/live thing again today and put every ounce of energy I have into not saying any of my favorite words while discussing that damn new Hannah Montana album. It was exhausting. However, here’s the stuff you should go buy right now:

“Those Darlins” Those Darlins

A coonskin cap, blu-blockers and an anchor tattoo on the shoulder? And that’s just one of Those Darlins. Welcome to the even newer South. After watching that clip, if you still need me to explain why Those Darlins are badass, you should connect your shitty iPod to a wall socket, shove it up your boohoo, and jump in a bathtub.

Someday, I plan to take a time machine back to Utah and marry all three of Those Darlins, so stop lookin’ at my wives like that. And by “time machine” I mean a 1984 Buick Mini-wagon.

Buy the album here. Now. I said NOW!

“Live from Austin” Drive-by Truckers

I’ll go on record, once again, as saying the Drive-by Truckers are the best active rock ‘n’ roll band today. Live from Austin comes with both a CD and DVD. (Yeah, I know, it’s about f@cking time someone did that). This clip isn’t from the DVD. The DVD was beautifully shot in HD at Austin City Limits, and it probably makes me happier than any other object I’ve ever owned.

I could go on for paragraphs about how great these guys are and why, but the above The Righteous Path from the new DVD says more than I could after 18 drafts. Buy it here and start preparing for your life to get better.

Get more of my picks for new releases here.

After debating Michael Jackson’s value versus his cost to this world, watching his kids cry on worldwide TV as Usher fakes tears, and sitting through that AEG dude pimping his “Michael Jackson Faces of Death Concert DVD” at the memorial, I’m about to vomit bile out of my eyeballs. It’s like being the only sober person at an Irish wake—even if you don’t know the deceased or the family in mourning, the whole damn situation is so painfully tragic that you feel like you’ve lost more for being there than the people who have actually lost a loved one.

So who can make everything all right on a day like this? How about the America’s #1 Yacht Rock Band? Yup, it’s the Knights of Monte Carlo. Quite frankly, a sincerely nostalgic/borderline ironic medley of soft rock is about the only thing that can save today.

Enjoy the live clips below, and remember: there probably is a God.

Rock Me Gently

Escape (the Pina Colada Song)

What a Fool Believes

How Long?

Feel better now? Good, because there’s going to be a whole lot more of that oops-I-walked-into-the-wrong-support-group feeling tomorrow.

There’s no better tribute to a person than to play their music, with that in mind Shana, Chanelle, Amy, and I gathered some of our favorite covers of Michael Jackson songs. That’s right, today we’re covering for Michael, and it’s about time someone did…

“Billie Jean” Chris Cornell

I’m not sure this song was ever meant to be played something reminiscent of a 1996 grunge-alt rock ballad.  But after thinking about what the song is really about—Jackson proving to a crazed fan that he is not her baby’s daddy—it kind of makes sense that Chris Cornell turned this dance-pop rhythm and blues into more of a somber tale of a mother and her father-less child. —Amy Williams

“Beat It” Fall Out Boy

Fall Out Boy is both audacious enough to open an album with a song called “Thriller” (not a cover) and to cover such a monstrous hit as “Beat It,” which they released in 2008 with John Mayer subbing in for Eddie Van Halen. But it was never about upstaging the master: they’re just reverent fan boys who suddenly found themselves with rock star-sized budgets. The video for “Beat It” is essentially one of the most expensive fanvids ever made, an homage to essentially every scene that ever rocked MTV. Keep an eye out for Tony Hale (Buster from Arrested Development) teaching dance moves to karate-clad dancers, plus (among other cameos) Donald Faison and Hal Sparks. And of course there’s the band, at their most make-up’d ever, who play both over-the-top rockers and wide-eyed, wandering children making their way through a dream-nightmare of King of Pop proportions. —Shana Naomi Krochmal

“I Want You Back” KT Tunstall

Hands down, this is my favorite song Michael has ever sung, and it takes some serious balls to play this song without a bass, much less without James Jamerson or one of the other Motown bassists that ripped off his sound, but KT pulls it off. I also love that the French fans screwed up her rythm with their clapping. F*cking French people. —Peter Grumbine

“Human Nature” Miles Davis

Miles Davis can’t really mess anything up.  Give me a funked up jazz version of Michael Jackson any day and I’ll jam out.  Perfect for a country drive on a summer day.  R.I.P. Miles and Michael. —AW

“Smooth Criminal” Alien Ant Farm

Alien Ant Farm haven’t been on the charts in a while, but during the early part of the decade, they were pretty hard to miss. Their cover of MJ’s “Smooth Criminal” was released in 2001, which, appropriately, was also the year that Michael performed with NSYNC at the MTV Video Music Awards and was gearing up to drop his last studio album, Invincible. Here, AAF lead singer Dryden Mitchell does his best impression of MJ’s vocals during the ad-libs, while he and the rest of the band reference several other famous Michael Jackson music videos. And who can forget that random preteen kid popping and locking in the medical face mask? I mean, I know I like it when my music videos include hip dancing but also remain conscious of possible airborne germs. —Chanelle Johnson

“Rock with You” Triceratops

This post just wouldn’t be complete without a Japanese band rocking out some MJ. Usually whenever I hear someone bust out funk chords on an acoustic guitar, I want to smash it over their dreadlocked head, but I’m lettin’ this one slide. It’s a pretty tight cover, but it is nice to know there’s still on thing Japan can’t take from America and improve upon. —PG

“Thriller” Chris Brown

Chris Brown doesn’t cut it for me here.  It’s all fun and exciting when you watch from a distance—but once you start to dive in a little deeper you discover he does no justice to the classic American pop song. The singing is off and there is not nearly enough dancing.  Ehh… I want the 14 minute music video, please. —AW

“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” Umphreys McGee

We’ve posted this cover before in our Friday series, but it’s probably the best version of this song, short of Michael’s. If you want proof just how much Michael moved a generation, just listen to the crowd’s reaction when they realize what song Umphreys is playing. These are people that have probably made more Michael Jackson jokes than me, but all they can do is dance when they hear the music.

PS: Chris Brown, this is how one sings out of their range. You, suck. —PG

Get more Michael Jackson videos, songs and news at Current.com.

So my cnn.com/live spot Tuesday got pushed until today. Apparently, some guy named Obama or something needed the air time. I missed his appearance, but I’m kind of curious what albums he talked about. Maybe I’ll Google it.

Anyway, here are the albums that I talked about:

“Music for Men” Gossip

God bless Beth Ditto and the boys behind her. If you don’t know Gossip (formerly the Gossip), watch this. Your life will not be the same. If that video doesn’t make you think Beth is one of the most amazing people in the world, I don’t even want to talk to you.

Guitarist Brace and drummer Hannah are about as tight as they come, and they make some really tough stuff look easy, creating a perfect platform for Beth to just go nuts in her control top spanx.

Also, this album, was produced by Rick Rubin, in case that means anything to you (it should). Buy it here.

“Murdering Oscar” Patterson Hood

Before you read any further, click this link and buy the album.

This is easily my favorite album of the year. Patterson (solo and with the Drive-By Truckers) will knock you on your ass with crashing guitar riffs, but truth be told, I really get off on his writing. Put simply, Patterson Hood is one of the best writers alive today. The entirety of the New York Times Bestseller list could learn a thing or two from even Patterson’s worst song.

The best way to describe Hood’s writing style would be Southern Gothic, but I mean that in the literary sense—not a pale, skinny redneck with eyeliner. A lot of people get their comeuppance and get killed, divorced, arrested, beat up, and foreclosed upon.

Patterson wrote half of this album in the early 90’s when he first moved to Athens, GA, and the other half while he was awaiting the birth of his first daughter a couple of years ago. You can feel the polarities between the night Kurt Cobain died, and the day he realized that he’ll not just be a parent, but probably a grandparent someday too. For some people, that might be a bit of a psychological fuck you to listen to, but for a smart listener like you, it gives this record a beautiful balance.

Buy this album now, and also pick up this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, this one, and this one. This DVD, and this DVD, and what the hell, how about a T-shirt and concert poster too. And maybe an official DBT flask. No, I don’t get commission.

“Born on Flag Day” Deer Tick

Deer Tick is technically about as indie as you can get without making obnoxious music. Their first album “War Elephant” appeared on lots of respectable Top Albums of 2007 lists, and then months later, it was out of print, and you could only get a copy if frontman John McCauley had time to burn some copies before a show. That’s more indie than 8 pairs of tight jeans.

Deer Tick don’t really fit into a genre, that is unless you consider rollicking-rockabilly-Americana-indie-folk-regional-roots-rock a genre in itself. And it turns out, the band’s fans are as eclectic as their music, as one of their biggest fans is actually Brian Williams from NBC News. Brian featured them on his music video-blog Bri-tunes (yes, he actually named it that). It’s fun to watch Brian interview them with the same reverence he would give the Dali Lama, all while the band tries their damnedest not to look stoned. Good stuff.

You can stream the album here, buy it here, and look at an awesome picture here.