A few current spins, open for debate

I've got a number of newish things in regular rotation that deserve a mention.  Not that anything has blown me away.  Quite the contrary when it comes to the new Arcade Fire album.  I've been a big fan and I've seldom waited as anxiously for a new album.  And while it's good, the cumulative effect is far from great.  My rating - a mildly-disappointed, bored B-minus.  There are some strong turns and I expect the live shows that come from this new material will also be beefy given Arcade Fire's awesome performance chops.  But I'm about as fired up giving them an obligatory review as I am about the backlog of this summer's "Top Chef" on our DVR.

I also feel the need to lump together some new albums that I've fallen in and out of heavy petting like with recently.  Menomena's most recent album ("Mines") is where I come in contact with their creative arc.  Portland-based indie rock.  Works best loud.  Surprisingly resilient.  I have to give it a durn good review.  Solid B rating.  But, then again, after listening a bunch of times....well, I'm not convinced I know enough of their package to give a complete assessment.  I am intrigued enough to have subsequently tracked down their first album ("I Am the Fun Blame Monster!").  That's probably the way to initiate a fresh flirtation with a band that ain't new.  Don't hate me for an early poke in their collective grill.

Otherwise, I can't get fired up about Wavves latest ("King of the Beach") - rating a C-plus that probably would benefit from a road trip.  Or The Roots ("How I Got Over") - rating a re-tread feeling C-plus. Oddly, the thing that I've liked the most recently is a compilation release from the long since defunct Seattle band Carissa's Wierd.  It's folk rock, although that characterization makes me throw up in my mouth a wee bit.  Newbies might hear some faint echoes of what made The XX such a surprising breakthrough act last year.  I give "They'll Only Miss You When You Leave" a sentimental B-plus rating.

Hope your own listening doesn't get in the way of all the books you've got on the proverbial nightstand there days.  Rock on.

"I don't know 'bout you, Pooty Poot, but I'm half-expectin' Sean Connery and a thin Alec Baldwin to surface any time now..."

Today's non-headline being overcovered is that Fred "Please ignore most of the reviews" Thompson is readying a hat to toss into the GOP quicksand. Or as some prefer - the search for a slightly farther down yonder exit strategy. Take your pick. I just wonder what's his rush. He's from show bizness, fer chrissakes. Don't rush the opening. He could wait out this circular firing squad 'til September and still be a darling. Sure, he's shooting for an official announcement on the Fourth of July. As if the enemy won't know exactly when and where to attack on that date certain. Hasn't he learned anything from watching old Tom Clancy crap? I mean, c'mon Freddy - you were in some of that crap. You owned that crap. Yawn. Speaking of that holiday week - Putin and Dubya are going to meet in Maine for talks. Doesn't THAT sound like it was ripped from the pages of a lesser Clancy plot. Fred would be wise to join my bet that everything else is news scraps that entire week.

Mitt "My wife was hot!" Romney just took a good hard shot to those pearly whites with a HuffPost headline and very loose logical connection. All because the "360Million but hey who's counting" Mitt offered not to take a Presidential salary. AttaBoy, Mitt. Actually he plans to donate it to charity. To no doubt list as an itemized deduction. Still, it's not like he's buying companies to go all Gordon Gecko on them. This time. Now we'll see how his organization's hitters respond.

I spent a healthy portion of Memorial Day weekend with my brother, Jake. We met up where he is for the summer - Corvallis, OR. The 73rd most interesting place in the State (for Wisconsin, it would be Merrill). Corvallis's motto that's on bits of everything is "Enhancing Community Livability". Seriously. So we headed for Portland, which is such a funny smart city. Best of all sorts of very fun stuff - I got us some scalped tix to see Arcade Fire in a crazy cool venue. Luckiest scalp job in my personal history. My rating - solid A. The ten of them (!) throw a wall of art school rock at you, fused with all sorts of cool influences and years of music nerd training and crazy theatrics and brilliant staging to make it all somehow bigger than rock and roll. It's just fun to listen to and watch in truly rudimentary concert-loving form. The crowd was gregariously hilarious. Arcade Fire could have played longer. Who cares. If you get a chance, check them out. Especially live. You'll be impressed.

Hope your own day's staging would work as well in a football stadium as in an intimate cafe. Rock on.