Five Chinese Brothers - Alternately witty, melodic, smart and poignant without ever coming off as too smart for the room. I mean how many bands write songs about Paul Cezzanne or use the word Physiognomy. My list of favorites include Baltimore, My Dad’s Face, She’s a Waitress, Williamsburg Bridge…well, let’s face it… they’re basically all favorites. One of my favorite albums of all time. 4.5

North Mississippi All Stars - Great vibe for the entire album. Not much to say other than they are very good at what they do and while they break no new ground, this is solid throughout. 3.5

Alkaline Trio - At times it sounds like Green Day lite, but there seems to be power in the songs and they write decent hooks at times. Still, there’s something missing from bands like this that wasn’t missing from the same types of bands in 1978. I guess it was all new then and everything sounded fresh. There are very few punk pop bands that have really impressed me since 1980 (the Briefs, Rancid and a few Lookout Records bands like the Queers come to mind), but this band is not on the list. 3.0

Motorhead - Now this is the way to write, perform and sing rock and roll. Is it my imagination or are they getting better with age? This is perhaps the best record I’ve ever heard from them. There’s plenty of nostalgia for works like Ace of Spades, but that is clearly more speed metal than rock and is really enjoyable in small doses only. This is flat out great rock and roll and his voice has mellowed to something resembling good by this point. A pleasant surprise – 4.0

Smiths – I know he’s a genius and all, but most of this just bores me. Maybe because it’s so well done, I miss the nuance and the ease with which he pens melodies, but it just never catches fire for me. I’ll give it a 2.5 because it doesn’t suck, I just don’t get it

3 Chord Rock - Not quite sure what three chord rock is compared to two-chord rock or four chord rock, I just know that anytime a reviewer call something three chord rock, I generally like it. And this stuff is no exception. As I type this, I’m thinking there wasn’t a Ramones Tune and the single I most associate with three chord rock (probably because none other than Greg Shaw called it the greatest two sided three chord rock single EVER) – Heart of the City b/w So it Goes by Nick Lowe – wasn’t represented, but that’s minor quibbling. This was a fun collection.

Topic - 80% of my listening is done in the car, which means I really don’t give everything a fair shake. First listen is important and I try to listen all the way through the first time, but let’s be honest, I can pick shite out from the get go. And sometimes I’m just not in the mood for what I’ve chosen. I think that happened with the Smiths this month. Anything I listen to twice will probably get at least a 2.5