When I look at many of this week's most intriguing new releases, I notice an interesting trend!

There are new albums by '70s stars the New York Dolls and Cat Stevens, a great reissue by late-'80s influential Scottish post-punk band the Vaselines, and a tribute album to iconic singer Scott Walker, who rose to fame in the mid-'60s as part of his group the Walker Brothers!

And then a bit of duller new stuff!

Far be it from me to beat a dead horse, or make portentous pronouncements about the current state of the music business, but truly, this needs to be said!

All of the above artists--that's right, every single one of them--sing in English!

It's enough to give one pause!

Ciara: Fantasy Ride (Jive)  Three things of interest occurred when I played the new Ciara album! First, I found myself liking that "Love Sex Magic" track--which wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that I later found out it features Justin Timberlake, who I don't like, so I decided it was no good! Secondly, I was

Sometimes when I get out of bed I wonder if the world has passed me by!

First, I look at the Billboard charts and realize that it's very likely I've never even heard the No. 1 song in the nation!

Then I open up my mail and get advanced copies of albums with the words "Kiki Kaiku" on them! And when I put them in my computer I soon learn--thanks to the magic of today's technology--that "Kiki" is the name of the artist, and "Kaiku" is the name of the album! Heck, that explains everything!

Is it any wonder I feel completely out of it?

Luckily, however, I can get back on track for the simplest of reasons!

And as I sit here holding the latest album by Styx's Dennis DeYoung, I feel all warm and tingly inside!

Silversun Pickups: Swoon (Dangerbird)  I'm always happy when a talented new band seems on an upward career path, and that's exactly how I felt in 1984, when Prefab Sprout released their first album, Swoon!  Coincidentally, this great LA band named their new album the same thing! It's

There's something to be said for being a creature of habit! Every week when I write this award-winning blog, I'm usually perched atop my favorite chair, sitting in my garage and surrounded by billions of CDs, LPs, and unlabeled videocassettes of questionable origin, drinking gallons of Diet Coke and worse!

This week, however, in a stunning turn of events, I am seated at a gawdawful Starbucks on Biscayne Boulevard in North Miami, Florida, desperately trying to focus on the week's latest releases--and find myself being distracted by a nonstop, in-house playlist featuring old jazz ladies from the '40s, Nat "King" Cole, and hundreds of other artists who have probably never even heard of Mastodon!

Well, to quote the old lady now chirping over the Starbucks sound system, guess it's "just one of those things"!

Heck! I want to be an actual coffeehouse!

The Decemberists: The Hazards Of Love (Capitol) Having just seen these lovable Portlanders performing this brand new album in its entirety at

For every week that brings exciting new releases--albums you know you'd just like to rush out and buy, if in fact you had any money--there are weeks like this one!

Indeed, while many of this week's newest recordings are excellent, and in some cases quite fine, still--there is nothing here that reaches out, grabs your nose and commands: BUY ME!

Well, except for maybe one!

Can you guess which one I mean?

White Lies: How To Lose My Life (Geffen)  While I have my qualms about starting this week's blog with the debut album by a British band you may have never heard of, I'm heeding the words of the distinguished ARTROCKER magazine--surely you've heard of it--which has ominously warned "Bypass this band at your peril"! Heck, sounds like they know what they're talking about! Since this album debuted at #1 in the UK, you can bet your boots it'll do the same here, since as a rule America is just like England! And just like those British kooks, we're all enraptured by bands whose sound oddly