Sick unto death of so-called security moms and their effect on the upcoming election? Are women the new white men? The latest solo CD by Mekons singer Sally Timms seems spookily relevant, even though its timing is probably coincidental; In the World of Him has been in the works for several years, predating the release of her last full-length, 1999's Cowboy Sally's Twilight Laments. The new album's concept is simple: a woman singing from a man's perspective about male preoccupations. As Timms explained in a recent interview with No Depression , "They're all [songs] about men, but they're really about the way the world works, too, since men control that for the most part." [Click here for the full review.]

# # # #

Nelly is all things to all people -- there are no multiplatinum weirdoes -- and therein lies his charm. Beloved by all races, the photogenic St. Louis rapper is blasted from suburban softball fields and ghetto stoops alike. Strippers grind to him; preteens load him on their iPods; politicians praise him for his philanthropy. Viva the cuddlethug, Stepford wife to the world. [Click here for the full review.]

# # # #

Pity the young Republican who aspires to hipness. The nation might be evenly polarized, but the rock community, particularly the indie faction, is pretty much unanimously disgusted with W. The Bush twins claim to love Modest Mouse, the Strokes, and the Postal Service, but the likelihood that any of those guys will return the favor and vote for GWB in November, much less campaign for him now, is slim indeed. Better dust off your Brooks & Dunn CDs, girls, because that traitor Ben Gibbard (half of the Postal Service) also fronts Death Cab for Cutie, one of 19 acts that appears on the new collection Future Soundtrack for America, a benefit CD in support of Bush-bashing groups such as MoveOn.org and the League of Pissed Off Voters. [Click here for the full review.]

# # # #

Thirty years after Brian Eno released his second solo album, Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) , multi-instrumentalist Doug Hilsinger and vocalist Caroleen Beatty, both of the San Francisco indie-rock outfit Waycross, pay it a peculiar homage, performing all of the Maoist opera's 10 tracks in the original order, with more or less identical arrangements. [Click here for the full review.]

####

If anyone deserves a tribute album, it's the criminally underappreciated Escovedo, whose idiosyncratic songwriting -- a deeply personal amalgam of ragged roots-rock, haunted chamber-folk, righteous Tejano, corrosive country-punk, and countless other genres that haven't been identified yet -- is in a class of its own.

A portion of the proceeds from sales of Por Vida goes to the Alejandro Escovedo Medical and Living Expense Fund.

Watch this space for a very special announcement about an Alejandro Escovedo benefit concert in St. Louis. [Click here for the full review.]

HOME | PLAYLISTS | RECORD REVIEWS | YOU ARE HERE

WORDS TO READ | PERFORMERS TO SEE | SUPPORT