Solid State

Psyched to see the Melvins are coming back to HG. This is the new, four-piece incarnation of the band, with two drummers. Sludge-tastic!

OK. Here's a really dumb thing. Remember Andrew WK? Had to think about it, dintcha? Back in my record shop days, we used to sell the everloving shit out of his debut, I Get Wet. It didn't do a damn thing for me, but then again, I hate KISS. I remember actually trying to talk people out of buying it. All I know about the follow-up, The Wolf, is that it had ridiculous, Elton John-style piano. By the time of its release, most folks had moved on.

Well, I was just sent a copy of AWK's new one, Close Calls With Brick Walls, and I gotta tell you, he's lost his fucking mind. It has to be the weirdest *mainstream* music I've heard in a while. Who is the intended audience for this stuff? It's too out-there for many rockers, yet experimental snobs will no doubt find it juvenile. Somehow, while no one was looking, the Dude in White Denim made a truly odd album that will likely sink without a trace. God bless him.

Some songs sound like Meatloaf channeling Dennis Wilson. Other tunes are are the crack-rock (not a pun) that he's known for, but with even more ridiculous ramp-ups.

I didn't ever want to champion this guy, but how can I not talk about a record this bizarre?

Don't take my word for it:

"I Came For You"

"Pushing Drugs"

And quite possibly the weirdest one:

"Close Call With Bal Harbour"

And finally, there's this, courtesy EC. Dig the non-expression on the kid's face.

I almost forgot: tomorrow I talk to Saget. Will it, too, be dumb? As Asia once sang (and apparently still do), only time will tell.

Holy shit — that's like five or six dumb things! An all-time record!