Jack White has the amazing ability of making a new song sound like an old song. The songs on Icky Thump sound like a lost album from (insert 60s/70s era classic rock giant here). But his music still sounds fresh, new and exciting. I have owned a burned copy of Icky Thump for about a year now and I finally gave it a listen and I haven’t stopped for a week. I truly enjoyed everything the White Stripes did before, but Icky Thump goes to a whole new level. Prepare to hear trumpets and bagpipes, but not without Jack White’s squealing guitar. The White Stripes are probably the best thing going in rock and roll right now. They embody the past, present and future of rock music. That was not an overstatement. I have to go give it another spin right now.

The novelty of Richard Cheese does not wear off easily. You’d think listening to rap rock and jock jams done up lounge style would get old fast. But you’d be wrong. Richard Cheese takes hits from Lincoln Park and Puddle of Mudd and strips the useless lyrics naked. What’s left is irony. He adds new dimensions to rap songs like “Baby Got Back” and “Insane in The Brain.” Baby Got Back has a nice shuffle while “Insane in The Brain” straight up swings! As if is great sense of humor weren’t thrown into every song, he has a clip of him doing a bit live at the Mercury Lounge. Listening to his persona tell a story makes me want to see him perform. He’s a stellar singer paired with top notch musicians and uproarious comedy. Thumbs up!

When I first heard Hot Hot Heat in ‘02, I thought they were one of the most novel bands I had heard to date. Glorious bubblegum pop songs performed with snarling vocals, gritty guitars, groovey bass, 80s beats and synth came together in something that sounded NEW! Years later, with every band doing similar things, Hot Hot Heat is doing more of the same. And that’s a GOOD thing, except, on Elevator, they got REALLY polished.

To me, polished is not always a good thing. By polished, I mean they took their gritty, snarling bubble gum pop songs and, through the wonders of high production value, edited out the grit and snarl.

Hot Hot Heat writes wonderful songs, but it doesn’t sound fresh to me now like it did seven (!) years ago. Can’t say it’s worth it. Check out Make up the Breakdown. Now I’m sounding like that guy who says “I just liked their old stuff better, man!” Oh well. I do. Sue me.

A good album is one where you set out to do something and you accomplish it. What were the Scissor Sisters setting out to do with “Ta-Dah”? I have no idea. I think the idea of indie disco sounds great in theory. The Scissor Sisters takes dance music from the 70s and 80s (think Queen, ABBA and Elton John) and plays it in a totally unironic, white boy sings the blues kinda way. It’s campy and corny, but grandiose, arrogant and far too over-the-top. Are they joking? Or do they think this is cool? If they are joking, then why not let the listener know with sillier words and dumbed down arrangements. I think they’re serious and it’s seriously bad.

Modest Mouse lays out a few more sleepy indie rock songs on “Everywhere.” To me, Modest Mouse is the kind of band with hundreds of songs and a dozens FANTASTIC ones, but the rest are just okay. “Night on the Sun” and “I Came As a Rat” fall into Column A. The rest, Column B.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Modest Mouse lately. Almost too much. This is a weird band who writes weird songs. Weird is good, in my book. What I’d like from Modest Mouse is more rock, and most of their albums bring it. This one is on the slower side. This is perfect music to take a nap, wash the dishes or do the dirty to, but not the stuff of dance parties.

“Never Ending Math Equation” and “All Night Diner” are deeply wonderful songs, however, that I can never get out of my head. When they are on, they are spot on and these two tracks demonstrate that well.

Civil War is a smart comic book with a different take on what it means to be a superhero. It’s about a group of superheros who accidentally wipe out a neighborhood in Connecticut while battling villains for a reality television show. This accident causes a public outcry and splits the superhero community down the middle. The plot is obviously inspired by the events following 9/11, which is why I feel like it would have been more fun to read years ago, when it first came out. My one criticism was that it seemed as if the writers wanted to pose each set of characters on opposite sides of a philosophical debate with no right or wrong answer, but you can kind of tell which side they favor. Moral ambiguity is what made Watchmen and the Dark Knight Returns such great comic books and Civil War flirts with this idea without taking it all the way. I also understand there’s more to the story beyond this collection and I would love to get my hands on it. The concept is brilliant but, unfortunately, the graphic novel was too short to delve deep enough into it.

Years after its release, I gave this album a listen and wow. Lauryn Hill provides a top notch R&B/hip-hop fusion that sounds like a soundtrack to growing up in the rough neighborhood. The songs are mostly love songs, but the running theme is the classroom. The question of whether or not this makes sense didn’t need answering after a few tracks in, when the songs take on a life of their own. What makes Miseducation so timeless is the retro vibe she invokes the whole time. Lauryn Hill has one of those voices that can really make you feel joy or sadness depending on the inflection of each note. And then she’ll start rapping, which she does sparsely across the record, and you’ll feel like the hot, tough chick on the street is just having a conversation with you about the way things really are. Miseducation is one of those albums that makes you want to really know the artist. It’s a star-driven hip-hop disc in the vein of Tupac, only Lauryn Hill doesn’t bother with the posturing. She’s simply telling a series of stories and sharing ideas.

It’s hard to list individual tracks, but the entire mid-section of the album, tracks four through eleven, really hit me hard.

This movie was surprisingly hilarious. I was hooked right from the build up. These guys sell caffeinated energy drinks to children at school. From there, the wacky hijinks continues. From cursing children to adults who play dress up, this brings the laughs in some creative ways. Top notch comedy.

I love Wolverine. He is my favorite X-Men character and, because the X-Men are my favorite comic book superteam, Wolverine is my favorite superhero. What this movie attempted to do was reveal the mystery behind Wolverine.

From the credit sequence, this movies plot fell apart like a house of cards. I am not even sure where to start. There were too many characters. The action sequences seemed too unfathomable, even for a comic book movie. The plot was complicated and had too many holes in it.

In the end, this movie gives Wolverine’s entire back story. Any attempt to reveal a mysterious characters history is doomed to failure, but this was ridiculous.