3 Minutes, 49 Seconds

Raise your hand if you've seen Time Life's 30 minute infomercial for their Classic Soft Rock collection, hosted by the guys who were in Air Supply. I was mesmerized when I saw it one night, mostly because of great songs by the likes of Hall & Oates, Todd Rundgren, Little River Band, England Dan & John Ford Cooley, Player and, of course, America. I started to think about how it has become cool to like what it wasn't cool to like at the time. Take America's new album, Here & Now , as an example. The record was produced by two guys with plenty of hipster cred: James Iha (he of Smashing Pumpkins fame, with a soft rock solo album to his name) and Adam Schlesinger (he of Fountains Of Wayne fame, a band unafraid to pilfer the '70s). What's odd is how they haven't updated Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell's songwriting or sound at all, and yet the album still sounds so very modern. What's up with that? Well, believe it or not, soft rock is stil...

There are 30 songs on Sloan's new album, so here are 30 reasons you should give a listen: 1. Canada. They can use our love and support. 2. The album's title is the second line of the song. 3. The artificially-colored band portrait on the cover; every one of their 8 albums has featured some sort of depiction of the band. 4. The pink background on the cover. Who says it's for girls? 5. The non-stop programming, a la side 2 of Abbey Road . 6. Every time you use a urinal made by the Sloan company, you'll have songs to hum. 7. All four band members write songs (though they are all credited to the band), switching vocal and instrumental duties. If you listen enough, the individual composing styles begin to emerge. 8. The harmonies in Listen To The Radio and Right Or Wrong . 9. For those of you who believe cheapness is indeed a sense, the album is a great bargain at 76 minutes of quality at the price you might pay for an album half that long. 10. The Dylan sneer in Who Ta...

For several years now I've been producing one panel comic strips for my own amusement. Today, as a new year dawns, they enter the digital age. Check it out: Brain Clouds

In country, artists who compose their own material are the exception rather than the rule. And yet here we have Vince Gill, who has not only released 4 albums simultaneously (a feat not even matched by Prince), but also had a hand in writing all 43 songs. As many admirers as Gill has (myself included), none would have considered him an artistic force. Maybe it's time to change that. As with any sprawling project, there are some duds, but there are also plenty of gems. Here's the scoop on the four discs, by the numbers: Disc One: Workin ' On A Big Chill (The Rockin ' Record) Happy Love Songs: 5 Sad Heartbreak Songs: 2 Church Songs: 0 Murder Ballads: 0 Wanderin ' Man Songs: 3 Guest Artists: Gretchen Wilson, Rodney Crowell , Bekka Bramlett , Michael McDonald Lowlights : Cowboy Up (bravado-laced hick song more suited to Toby Keith) Workin ' On A Big Chill (a beach bum tune more suited to Jimmy Buffett ) Rhythm Of The Pourin ' Rain (uncomfortably horny an...

Talk about contrast. Robbie Williams' previous effort, 2005's Intensive Care , was the most focused of his career. Now we have Rudebox , which is easily the most all-over-the-map album he's made. I should be in no way surprised. Williams has proven himself an adept musical chameleon over the years. There was the Eltonesque balladry of Angels , the faux-hip-hop of Kids , the 50s crooning of Swing When You're Winning , the cock rock of Cursed , the Bowie posing of Radio , the ska experiment of Tripping , and so on. The difference with Rudebox is that all of those styles and more are compressed into a single album. The record features 5 unexpected covers, along with 11 original collaborations with various electro-pop producers/composers. On the surface it seems like a completely overindulgent project, but if you take each song individually, it's clear that Williams' gift for pop magic is fully intact. More than anything, this is a dance record. It starts wi...

It's once again that magical time when we summarize a year's worth of music consumption into a couple of handy lists. Check out my pal Richard Nelson's picks on Highway 290 Revisited . Soul Asylum – The Silver Lining read the review A Twin Cities supergroup featuring an ex-Prince drummer, an uber-producer, an ex-Replacement, a member of Golden Smog and a guy who dated Winona Ryder make the best album of a 20-year career. Dixie Chicks - Taking The Long Way read the review After the gentle, easy-going Home , it’s nice to hear the Chicks get fired up and passionate. I guess Bush is good for something. Ronnie Milsap – My Life read the review I actually hate 2 of these 11 songs. But I love the other 9. In fact, they stand with any other of the other fine tunes Milsap has recorded in his long career. The Roots - Game Theory read the review One of the rare rap albums that manages to give an instant thrill but also deepens with every listen. ...

# 11: Regina Spektor – Begin To Hope Some years it’s very easy to make that cut at 10, but when you have an eccentric, varied, mysterious album like Begin To Hope , it’s almost painful! Witness the demented nostalgia of That Time , the heart-broken beauty of Samson and the irresistible bounce of Fidelity . If Bjork and Fiona Apple recorded an album together, this is how it’d turn out. Biggest Disappointment: Glen Phillips – Mr. Lemons Last year’s number one artist took a frightening tumble with an all-too-appropriately-titled effort. Biggest Surprise: Gnarls Barkley – St. Elsewhere Every year seems to produce at least one left-field success story. Who would've thought it’d be Cee-Lo and Danger Mouse teaming up for an exceedingly weird vanity project that could have just as easily slipped into obscurity? If you’d told me that at the beginning of the year, I’d have called you, well, crazy. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.) Guiltiest Pleasure: Corinne Bailey Rae – Corinne Bailey Rae Wh...