This week, Lady Gaga goes to "The Fame Monster" well one more time, Squeeze milks their '80s catalog, Buckcherry wants more cowbell, Los Lobos makes the case for Mexican-American musical unity, and Arcade Fire leaves me speechless. Skip ahead to see what to play.
SKIP: Lady Gaga, "The Remix"
Dude, how long can you milk an album? Lady Gaga's second release, "The Fame Monster," is less than 12 months old but seems like it wore out its welcome ten years ago. While fans wait for a follow-up, Gaga is keeping them happy with this remix album. The house beats get pumped up, and Marilyn Manson gets to audition for his new career as a dance diva (hear him as a creepy weird rapper on "LoveGame"). It all probably makes sense on the dance floor with a pound of Ecstasy running through your veins. Still, I'm gonna sit this one out and wait for some new music.
PLAY: Arcade Fire, "The Suburbs"
What can I say about "The Suburbs" that won't make me sound like the jealous son-of-a-bitch I am? All musicians should wish to make just one album like this one in their lifetimes. Arcade Fire made their third. I'm not gonna waste your time with my music critic psychobabble. You have some listening to do. "The Suburbs" is an inspired, urgent, fresh, instantly classic work from start to finish. Anyone with ears and a heart will hear it. You don't need me getting in the way.
SKIP: Squeeze, "Spot the Difference"
For a generation of forty-somethings, Squeeze's Glenn Tilbrook and Chris Difford were the '80s Lennon/McCartney who saved the decade from being completely overrun by synthesizers and shoulder pads. Squeeze fell just short of a mainstream breakthrough, but their songbook has become de rigueur for any pop music lover who wants playlist cred. "Tempted," "Black Coffee in Bed," and "Pulling Mussels (From the Shell)" have been radio staples for more than two decades. So who needs to hear Squeeze faithfully rerecord these tracks and 11 others? No one. But you can't blame a band that's long on critical acclaim and short on rock star cash flow for wanting to own their recordings. All you music supervisors out there looking for a song for your Lexus ad, use these versions. You'll never know the difference, and the money will go into Squeeze's pocket instead of paying for some big label exec's expense account. All the rest of you? If you've got your copies of "Sweets from a Stranger," "Argybargy," and "East Side Story," there's no need to give them up.
SKIP: Buckcherry, "All Night Long"
When an album opens with a cowbell riff, you know you're in trouble. Buckcherry is the new, tattooed Grand Funk Railroad. Watch this, and you'll understand. Haven't I left this frat party before?
PLAY: Los Lobos, "Tin Can Trust"
Some bands make more sense as time goes on. Los Lobos fused Chicano East L.A. with Middle American rock long before such artists as Los Lonely Boys, Ozomatli, Ricky Martin, and Shakira opened up the radio border. Nearly 35 years after their debut single (a charity release for the United Farm Workers of America), Los Lobos have made an album that recalls the genre-bending of the '92 classic "Kiko." The five-piece vets bounce effortlessly from blues to Grateful Dead-esque stretches to mariachi romps. "Tin Can Trust" is an album that could only be made in America. It's also the story of America, full of sounds that come from juke joints, barrios, street corners, and after-hours jams where the food, language, and stories all get mashed up into one brilliant stew. Viva Los Lobos.