Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.

Best. News. Ever. The Cure will be releasing a three-disc remastered version of the greatest album of all time, Disintegration, in May. The package includes a remastered version of the record proper, a disc of demos and rarities, and a third disc of the album performed live in its entirety. More details via the Pitchfork link below because I'm too busy drooling to contribute any more.

The Cure's Disintegration Reissue

Quick 'N Dirty Review: Parenthood

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100-95 - Classic Show; (In best Bill O'Reilly voice) "WE'LL DO IT LIVE!!"
94-85 - Upper Echelon Show; You Should DVR This And Watch It The Same Night
84-75 - Very, Very Good; You Should Make An Effort To Watch This Within A Few Days Of Airing
74-65 - Not Bad At All; Let These Shows Pile Up On Your DVR But Watch 'Em Eventually
64-55 - Fold The Laundry While You Watch These
54-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 

Now... onto the review:

Parenthood

2010 has not been kind to NBC. The Jay Leno Show was a debacle of historic proportions and the ridiculously clumsy way that the no-talent, big-jawed Leno (thanks for the characterization, David Letterman) was reinstalled as the host of The Tonight Show left the network with a metric shitton of bad press. Due to their boneheaded decision to not only hand over 20% of their primetime slate to Leno's trainwreck but then abandon it after five months, NBC was left scrambling to fill out their schedule post-Lenogate. Enter the latest iteration of Parenthood.

Originally a 1989 Ron Howard dramedy starring Steve Martin (and very young versions of Keanu Reeves and Joaquin Phoenix), Parenthood was adapted for TV in 1990 and starred the before-they-were-famous Leonardo DiCaprio, David Arquette, and Thora Birch but the series was cancelled shortly after debuting so, combining NBC's woes with an idea that already failed on television wouldn't really be a recipe for success, would it? So, how does Parenthood Version 3.0 come off? Pretty well, actually.

Boasting an impressive cast of TV veterans including Peter Krause (Sports Night, Six Feet Under), Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls), and Craig T. Nelson (Coach) and helmed by showrunner/producer Jason Katims (Friday Night Lights), Parenthood follows the ins and outs in the lives of the Braverman clan, a Northern California family whose closeness is rivaled only by its neuroses. Imagine Brothers And Sisters were it not so soapy and histrionic. Krause and Graham play grown siblings Adam and Sarah Braverman, along with Dax Shepard (Idiocracy) as younger brother Crosby Braverman and Erika Christensen (Traffic) as youngest sister Julia Braverman-Graham, all of whom are dealing with issues with their own children. Krause's eight-year-old son has just been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, Graham and her teenage children have just moved back in with her mother (Bonnie Bedelia, Die Hard) and father (Nelson), Shepard is dealing with the five-year-old son he just found out he had, and Christensen is balancing being a working mother with spending enough time with her preschool-aged daughter.

One of the biggest things that Parenthood has in its favor thus far is its cast. Krause does solid work as a father struggling to help his son with a problem that there seem to be few answers for even if the character of Adam Braverman does seem to be drawn a little too perfectly four episodes into the series' run. It is encouraging, though, that the show is treating the Asperger's storyline as carefully as it is as Asperger's is a disease that needs more attention, but Parenthood isn't using it in a sensationalistic manner. The way that Krause and his wife (played by Monica Potter, Boston Legal) deal with their son's diagnosis cuts to the bone of any parent.

Graham was a late addition to the cast when the original portrayer of Sarah Braverman, Maura Tierney (ER) had to bow out due to her battle with breast cancer. Tierney is a more than capable actress and, while the circumstances of her exit were unfortunate, I'm a big fan of having Lauren Graham back on my TV. It would have been very easy for her to fall back into her old Lorelai Gilmore single mother beats, but it's to her credit as an actress that she embodies Sarah as a completely new kind of wounded character than Lorelai, not to mention that the mother/daughter dynamic in Parenthood could not be more different from the Gilmore Girls relationship.

On the downside, Shepard's and Christensen's storylines have been skippable and add to the grab-bag nature of the show. Half of the storylines are interesting and half of them are forgettable but, with an ensemble this talented (and a network this desperate for programming) the show is going to receive a decent amount of slack. The cast does have amazing chemistry early on which adds an intangible element to a series like this, but the producers do need to find a less contrived way to get the extended family all in one place at the same time as every episode seems to have some kind of forced family get-together. Parenthood, through its first four episodes, isn't quite what I'd hoped it would be but because of its cast, I'll keep watching at least through the end of the first season. And, really, can NBC ask for anything more at this point?

Dirty Rating: 72/100

Parenthood On Hulu

The New Shit | 3/30

CDs

THE DIRTYWHIRL'S PICK OF THE WEEK: Erykah Badu | New Amerykah Part II: Return Of The Ankh
Neo-soul is a genre that doesn't get nearly as much respect as it deserves and one of its innovators, Erykah Badu, is back with her fifth studio album, New Amerykah Part II: Return Of The Ankh. Coming on the heels of 2008's very well received New Amerykah Part I: 4th World War, Part II finds a host of guests including ?uestlove, Lil' Wayne, and Bilal and featuring production by J Dilla, ?uestlove, and Madlib (among others) on another set of tight grooves. We saw her do "Window Seat" on Fallon a few weeks ago and... well, DAMN.

Barenaked Ladies | All In Good Time
I get that not everyone's excited for a new Barenaked Ladies record. It's not 1998 anymore but, as a longtime fan, it's going to be interesting to see how BNL fares on their first record following the departure of founding member/co-lead vocalist Steven Page. Getting caught with hookers and blow in a hotel room is never a good career move -- unless you're a Dallas Cowboy in the '90s. Ed Robertson takes over lead vocals on the majority of All In Good Time's tracks, which could be a good thing as his songs were some of BNL's strongest on past records.

Method Man, Raekwon And Ghostface Killah | Wu-Massacre
As arguably the three most talented MCs in the Wu-Tang Clan (and don't give me ODB -- he's basically a jester and his flow wasn't THAT good), the trio of Meth, Rae, and Ghost putting out a record is the next best thing to a proper Wu-Tang album. And here it is.



Other Releases:
Frank Black/ Nonstoperotik
Dum Dum Girls/ I Will Be
Turin Brakes/ Outbursts
Dignan Porch/ Tendrils


DVDs

THE DIRTYWHIRL'S PICK OF THE WEEK: Sherlock Holmes
Remember when Guy Ritchie was a promising filmmaker? The one-two punch of Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels and Snatch to open his directorial career hinted at a possible British Tarantino future. Then, he married Madonna and it all went to shit. The stink bombs Swept Away and Revolver followed and it looked like Ritchie was over. Thankfully, he was able to extricate himself from Madge's clutches via divorce and released the flawed but fun RockNRolla and followed that with this week's top release, a modernized retelling of the classic Sherlock Holmes with Robert Downey, Jr. (on an incredible winning streak of his own) in the titular iconic role. Lesson to be learned? Madonna's lady parts are talented directors' kryptonite. True story.

An Education
Carey Mulligan is film's new It Girl and was nominated for an Oscar for this. Also... I've got nothin' else. It's a shitty week for DVD releases.

Alvin & The Chipmunks: The Squeakquel
I like to think that I'm fairly liberal with what I'll let my four-year-old watch. I don't think that covering kids' eyes to what goes on in the world is necessarily always the best thing to do and that, as a parent, your job is to explain things to your children in a calm and rational manner so that they understand as best as they can. That being said, Alvin & The Chimpmunks: The Squeakquel is more offensive to me than any R-rated movie could possibly be and I can't, in good conscience as a father, subject my child to this abomination. Can't and won't do it.

Quick 'N Dirty Reviews: Quick Hitters Edition

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 

Now... onto the reviews:

Local Natives | Gorilla Manor

Local Natives feel less like an organic band than they do one that was cooked up in a music lab somewhere. "I need one indie band to go please. Heavy on the Afropop." This is not to say that their debut, Gorilla Manor, feels fake in any way but there are so many reference points present, ranging from Cold War Kids to The Walkmen to the Afropop fad that's prevalent in indie music lately (think Vampire Weekend and Surfer Blood) that the band ends up feeling like a synthesis of these other acts instead of creating their own identity. It's like they're chemists mixing and matching popular indie conventions yet, strangely? Their experiments end up yielding some pretty enjoyable results. Test driven in the UK last fall after success at last year's SXSW, Gorilla Manor finds the Los Angeles-based act playing to their strengths on slow burners like "Cards And Quarters" and "Who Knows Who Cares" as the three-part combo of keyboardist Kelcey Ayer and guitarists Ryan Hahn and Taylor Rice combine to sing, "You figure it out, I can't stay/ Water's in the clouds/ Is my life about to change?/ Who knows who cares." Local Natives prove to be equally adept with bursts of raw emotion on "Shape Shifter" and lead single "Sun Hands," both of which are anthemic as they build to a final catharsis as each track fades. Gorilla Manor, while a grab bag as many debut albums are, is good professional work that suggests that Local Natives are one day going to stumble upon the perfect formula.

Dirty Rating: 79/100

Gorilla Manor - Local Natives

Midlake | The Courage Of Others
A record that seemingly melds the pastoral 70s AM sound of Fleetwood Mac with the experimental side of Fleetwood Mac should probably be more intriguing than Midlake's The Courage Of Others proves to be at the end of the day. Unfortunately, many of the tracks on this record blend together to form an amorphous blob of pleasantness but nothing approaching the exceptional sounds of either of its influences. There's a much stronger British vibe to this album than there was to Midlake's last, The Trials Of Van Occupanther, but there's nothing as strong as that record's "Roscoe" either. "Core Of Nature" and "Children Of The Grounds" are mildly successful but aren't strong enough to carry the record. The Courage Of Others ultimately is an interesting approximation of classic sounds but it's done in neither a way as to add something new to the genre, nor as a perfect enough recreation to stand confidently on its own.

Dirty Rating: 56/100

The Courage Of Others - Midlak...

New The National - "Bloodbuzz Ohio"

May is shaping up to be a packed month of new music releases with Band Of Horses, Broken Social Scene, The Hold Steady, New Pornographers, The Dead Weather, The Black Keys, and LCD Soundsystem all dropping new albums in month five of 2010, but there may not be any record we're more excited for than The National's High Violet. Their last album, Boxer, was not only one of 2008's best but in the ensuing two years it's become one of The Dirtywhirl's all-time favorite records. The band debuted the opening track, "Terrible Love," on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon a few weeks back and yesterday "Bloodbuzz Ohio" hit radio. (Side note: This is why music/technology in 2010 is great. The track plays on the radio in the morning. Someone rips it and posts it online. By the afternoon the label has released the album version as a free download. What a country). "Bloodbuzz Ohio" is quintessential National with Matt Berninger's distinctive baritone rumbling against a track that slowly builds and builds until it erupts. It's done nothing to quell our anticipation for High Violet. Check it out below via Pitchfork.


"Bloodbuzz Ohio" from The National's High Violet

Quick 'N Dirty Review: Charlotte Gainsbourg | IRM

Before we start, here's a quick look at the rating system that we use here at The Dirtywhirl:

100 - Classic Album; One Of The Best Of All Time
99-90 - Exceptional Work; Rush Out And Get This
89-80 - Very, Very Good; You Should Still Go Out And Get This
79-70 - Not Bad At All; Might Actually Be Worth Your Time
69-60 - Has Its Moments But On The Whole... Meh
59-50 - Won't Make Your Ears Bleed; Won't Make You Dance, Either
49-0 - Don't Waste Your Time; You're Smarter Than This (Probably) 

Now... onto the review:

Charlotte Gainsbourg | IRM
When it was announced that Charlotte Gainsbourg, sometime actress and daughter of notorious French freak Serge Gainsbourg, was going to be releasing a record it was natural to be skeptical about whether or not this was a wise idea. Although Charlotte Gainsbourg had released two other records prior to this year's IRM, it's fair to say that this is her highest profile release (and by extension her introduction to a wide audience) and the odds are stacked against her. Plenty of non-musicians have released records and 98% of them are garbage. Remember Kevin Federline's Playing With Fire or Paris Hilton's imaginatively titled Paris? No? You're better off for it. Gainsbourg could have fallen into a similar trap (OK... somewhat similar because, let's face it, Federline and Hilton's combined IQs equal a negative 34) if not for the news that Beck would be writing and producing IRM. This welcome bit of information went a long way towards soothing any anxiety about the record's potential. Does the pairing work? Surprisingly... yes, very well. Speaking as someone who had all but written Beck off following the lackluster The Information, it was very encouraging to see him rebound so strongly with 2008's Modern Guilt and whatever magic was left over from that collection seems to have made its way onto IRM. Perhaps his best move as producer was to take what could have been the album's greatest weakness - Gainsbourg's breathy and fragile voice - and structure the record's production to support the vocals almost to a point where they're an integral part of every track, instead of being the swollen sore thumb that they could have been. After the skeletal opener, "Master's Hands," an example of Gainsbourg's thin vocals working well while paired with a finger-picked guitar line, the title track announces strongly that this is a record that's to be taken seriously. Tribal tom-toms and an eerie electronic pulse give the track an almost M.I.A.-like feel and fashion it into the album's standout. M.I.A. proves to be a touchstone of sorts as the upbeat "Greenwich Mean Time" and the acoustic "Me And Jane Doe" also bear the Maya Arulpragasm stamp. Not surprisingly, Beck's own voice is heard both figuratively on "Les Chat Du Cafe Des Artistes" which sounds like it could have fit nicely on Sea Change, and literally on "Heaven Can Wait," a duet which melds Gainsbourg's and Beck's voices over a refrain of, "Heaven can wait/ And Hell's too far to go/ Somewhere between/ What you need and what you know." It's surely no accident that "Heaven Can Wait" was chosen as IRM's lead single and, in fact, it serves as almost a microcosm of the record as a whole. IRM is probably better than it has any right to be, largely due to Beck's efforts. Therein lies the rub - on future records will Gainsbourg need someone like Beck at the controls or will she be able to stand behind her own voice? Time will tell.


RIYL (Recommended If You Like): Beck; M.I.A.; Azure Ray; French chicks; Actors with actual musical talent
Standout Tracks: "IRM;" "Heaven Can Wait;" "Greenwich Mean Time;" "Trick Pony"


Dirty Rating: 80/100

IRM - Charlotte Gainsbourg

Cover Hog

We're suckers for a good cover at The Dirtywhirl so the news that The Onion's AV Club was starting a project called Undercover piqued our interest. As one of our favorite sites (seriously -- their TV recappers are great), we didn't doubt that Undercover would come off well. In a nutshell, The AV Club made a list of 25 songs that they'd like to see covered. As bands make their way through Chicago on tour or on vacation or whatever, they stop by The AV Club's offices and get their pick of which song on the list they'd like to cover. The earlier a band comes in, the more choices they have. The series kicked off last week with Ted Leo & The Pharmacists' top-notch cover of the Tears For Fears classic "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and continues this week with The Fruit Bats' great take on Hall & Oates's "One On One." Video below:


Ted Leo & The Pharmacists, "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" (Tears For Fears Cover)


The Fruit Bats, "One On One" (Hall & Oates Cover)