Brandon's Buzz

While the industry gears up for fall, the typical August doldrums are in full swing, as evidenced by this week’s threadbare music lineup, but take heart: with a “new” Eva Cassidy album due at the end of the month, the sophomore record from Jon McLaughlin (one of last year’s most intriguing (and gorgeous) newcomers), an official live recording of Tori Amos’ historic early-’90s appearances at the Montreaux Jazz Festival (the bootlegs of which have been long-treasured amongst Amos’ rabid faithful), and breathlessly anticipated efforts from Ray LaMontagne, Annie Lennox (via a just-announced best-of set dotted with new songs), Michelle Branch, Whitney Houston, U2, James Taylor, Lee Ann Womack, and Oasis in the pipeline, autumn 2008 promises to be astonishing. All we gotta do is get there.

Easily the funniest and most enjoyable of the largely lamentable sitcoms that occupied the plum real estate following “Seinfeld” during the latter half of the ’90s (though — full disclosure and all — the opening episodes of “Veronica’s Closet” had their share of hilarious highlights, methought), Caroline in the City: The First Season lands on DVD this fine week. Starring Lea Thompson as the titular character, a cartoonist looking for love and laughs in the Big Apple, the series featured invaluable supporting turns from Amy Pietz (as Caroline’s best friend Annie, a dancer in the chorus of Cats) and Malcolm Gets (as Caroline’s illustrator Richard, a buttoned-up bundle of natty neuroses), and though I’m not sure there was a pent-up demand for this release — the show is hardly regarded as a beloved classic, even by those of us who were fans — I’ll be buying it anyway, if only to own a crisp, clear copy of the uproarious 1996 episode in which the priceless Elizabeth Ashley (whose brilliantly fiery dialogue delivery singlehandedly makes last month’s first-season DVD set of “Evening Shade” a worthwhile purchase) shows up and wreaks havoc as Richard’s outlandish mother. If you ever saw it, you know damn well why I’ll never again think of the state of Utah without smiling.

(more…)

Another relatively light week is on tap, although if you’re feeling nostalgic, you’ll find a pair of touchstones — one from the ’80s, one from the ’90s — in the pipeline as you do your shopping this Tuesday. Behold:

After an endless wait, one of television’s smartest and most beloved situation comedies finally began making its way to DVD last year, and the latest release arrives this week. The Fourth Season of Family Ties was a watershed one for the series; having been paired with “The Cosby Show” on Thursday nights, the show was finally a ratings bonanza after several years of flying below the radar, and thanks to box office smash Back to the Future, its young star Michael J. Fox had just become a bona fide superstar. Season four also introduced to the series two of its funniest and most memorable ancillary characters, as the oldest Keaton kids both found true love: Alex, with fellow co-ed Ellen Reed (the terrific Tracy Pollan), and Mallory, with dropout sculptor Nick Moore (the hilarious Scott Valentine). The resulting complications — Alex deciding to take up ballet, or the riotous family dinner in which Mallory introduced Nick to the mortified Keaton clan, to name but two — rank among the show’s most remarkable moments.

(more…)

It’s a slow one this week out in America’s record stores, with the only major release of note being the latest album from Rick Springfield (!), should that do anything for you. My take on that situation is as follows: it’s bad enough I have to sit through a double dose of that fop everyday on “General Hospital” (yep, they’ve got him playing two characters now!); I sure as shootin’ don’t have to support his latest attempt to reignite his non-starter of a music career. I’ve already got “Jessie’s Girl” and “Love Somebody” on my iPod; that more than fulfills my duty to the crown, methinks.

So, this is a perfect week to catch up on some worthy recent releases that may have slipped past you. (You can’t all be me, after all.) Herewith, a handy pocket guide:

Following the phenomenal success of the official bootlegs from her 2005 tour in support of The Beekeeper, Tori Amos has just digitally released all 27 shows from last year’s American Doll Posse jaunt. Available right now as an iTunes exclusive (and, beginning next week, available everywhere else), the series, entitled Legs and Boots, is pretty Posse-centric, a fact which anyone who wasn’t a fan of that album (hi!) will find disheartening. However, as you scan the tracklists of each show, you’ll no doubt find some pleasant surprises (like her surprising inclusion of the classic b-side “Beulah Land” from the Dallas concert, or the radically slowed-down take on “Etienne,” one of Y Kant Tori Read’s few highlights, from the Boston set). The audio is crystal clear, and serves as a vital reminder of Amos’ masterful potency as a live performer.

(more…)

New efforts from a long-forgotten ’90s band, a teen queen with ambitions far beyond her current niche, and the hottest country act since those ridiculously goofy Dixie Chicks highlight this week’s scant release schedule. But don’t let appearances fool you: no fewer than one of these records is gonna stand among this year’s best, mark it.

(more…)

The long-awaited release of an almost twenty year old classic sitcom, plus the latest works from a pair of relative newcomers who seem poised for strong second acts, highlight the coming week. Let’s dive right in:

Two years ago, a percussive thriller called Boys and Girls in America — a wild blast that whipped hints of country, rock, blues, and straight-up punk into one frothy hell of a fucked-up fromage — punched The Hold Steady‘s ticket to the big time. Looking to build on that buzz, the group — led by the gruff Craig Finn (and don’t ask me why the stark contrast between dark voice and light lyric works this well) — is up this week with its fourth album, Stay Positive.

(more…)

A pair of deluxe re-releases — one of them absolutely deserved, and the other nothing more than a desperate attempt to boost a waning album’s relevance — highlight the latest report from the front lines. So without further ado, I give you this week’s music roster:

Said to be his strongest, most sonically satisfying effort since Odelay, the 1997 Grammy-winning classic that ensured he would be remembered as much more than a flukish one-hit wonder, Beck returns this week with Modern Guilt, a sleek, tight ten track collaboration with Danger Mouse (otherwise known as the crazy (-ier?) half of Gnarls Barkley). The advance reviews on Guilt have been downright orgasmic; only time will tell if they have any basis in reality.

(more…)

July 4th week is traditionally one in which the music bidness kills all the lights and hangs the gone fishin’ sign on the door, so imagine my surprise to find there’s actually a tiny li’l bit of life in the industry here at the top of the month. None of the following are exactly what you’d call earth-shattering releases, but if you absolutely need your shopping fix (not that I would know anything at all about that concept!), you might find one or more of these new albums worth checking out.

(more…)

• Adorning the new Sigur Rós album is a nifty sticker which thankfully offers an English translation of the disc’s title. Just in case you’re curious, Meo Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust is Icelandic for “With a Buzz in Our Ears, We Play Endlessly.” Have you any idea how much better I feel armed with this information? Now if I could translate the song titles!

 

• If you have not yet picked up the new Edwin McCain record (Nobody’s Fault But Mine, a collection of classic soul covers), be sure to grab it at Borders, whose exclusive version contains a bluesy rendition of “Love T.K.O.”
  

A Buzz-centric conversation with A a couple of nights ago led to a positively stellar idea, the fruits of which you are mere moments from enjoying.

I asked A if this blog lacked something, or if there was an additional feature he wanted to see, and he told me that, although he relishes the longer new album posts, the one thing he misses from the Tips is an overview of each week’s major music releases. (Which totally cracks me the hell up, because he doesn’t buy records!) To help rectify this issue, A suggested that I begin composing a regular bullet-points column to direct my readers’ attention toward each Tuesday’s worthy new music. (Sherry Ann has given me similar feedback.)

I found this idea to be a fabulous one, and something that seemed easy enough to construct. So, to that end, I offer you Tuesdays in the Record Store with Brandon, Vol. 1. Herewith, a handy pocket guide to the music that requires your attention this week:

(more…)