Brandon's Buzz

“She wrote ‘tax cuts’ on her hand!  A Republican so stupid, she has to be reminded of the one thing — tax cuts?!  This is like if you saw the Coyote’s paw and it said, ‘Road Runner.’”

— the ever-irreverent Bill Maher, on his latest HBO special …But I’m Not Wrong, discussing former Alaska governor Sarah Palin, who, while giving a speech last month, was caught on-camera referring to a brief list of bullet points written on the palm of her hand.

The Buzz was down all last week, preventing me from penning a record store report. Fortunately, you didn’t miss much, as last week was a wasteland with regard to new music. And with only one major release of note this coming Tuesday, it looks like more of the same as February draws to a close. Dig in:

Three years ago, a knockout smash called “Stop Me” — a collaboration with Mark Ronson, who was the hot producer du jour, having just shepherded that hot mess Amy Winehouse to global glory — instantly hurled a striking young British lad name of Daniel Merriweather onto the map, and we’ve spent that entire time waiting patiently for him to deliver unto us a full-length project so that we could enjoy his huskily off-center voice over the course of several songs. The wait is finally over, as Daniel’s major-label debut album Love and War finally arrives stateside. Welcome back, Danny; can’t wait to get to know you, sir.

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My wayfaring webmaster wasn’t answering emails, and even though my behind-the-scenes skill set has increased exponentially over the course of this website’s existence, I’m still stunned by how little I know how to do whenever something goes violently wrong around here. Hence, the Buzz was sadly down for most of the last week, but I’m thrilled to announce that we’re back in bidness and better than ever. Glad to be back, all.

My ten-month-old nephew Jack, heading to
his very first Super Bowl party last weekend.

A pair of hotly anticipated comeback efforts, and another suffocating attack of acute Taylor-Swift-itis, punctuate this week’s new releases. Jump with care:

An out and proud lesbian with a gorgeously husky voice that is deeper than most men’s makes for the least likely pop star in modern music history. And yet that Canadian spitfire k.d. lang has defied all the odds, having put together a career replete with both critical and commercial success, and this week, to mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of her recording debut, lang stops to reflect with the new double-disc set Recollection. Pretty much everything that needs to be here is — the radio hits “Constant Craving” and “Miss Chatelaine”; her smashing duets with Roy Orbison (“Crying”) and Tony Bennett (“Moonglow”); and her triumphant covers of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Joni Mitchell’s “Help Me,” and Chris Isaak’s “Western Stars” — and for the truly devoted, there’s also a deluxe four-disc set which contains a bonus CD of live performances and DVD with music videos.

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Last week’s new release slate was an absolute barn-burner. This week’s: yeah, not so much. Dig in:

• Previously released tunes from Joshua Radin and The Swell Season,
  as well as a new duet from Rachael Yamagata and Semisonic’s Dan Wilson, highlight the soundtrack for the new weepie Dear John.

 

• Mega-selling rapper Lil Wayne takes a stab at hard rock with his long-awaited latest, Rebirth.

 

• ’90s sensation Michael Bolton is back this week with a
  Target exclusive, a collection of hits and favorites recorded
  Live at the Royal Albert Hall.

 

• While his brothers take a brief break from the biz, Nick Jonas and his new band The Administration are up with a side project, Who I Am.

 

• Finally, Sherry Ann insisted that I not fail to mention (as if I would!)
  Almost Everything I Wish I’d Said the Last Time I Saw You, the new album from “One Tree Hill” regular Mike Grubbs and his band Wakey!Wakey!