The double-wides are rocking in Trailercana, a boogie-down ruckus from Antsy McClain & the Trailer Park Troubadours due next week on DPR Records. Growing up in a Kentucky trailer park named Pine View Heights, McClain knows his propane tanks, weeds, cinder blocks, and plastic fruit on the kitchen table, wrapping his kitschy wit around fun songs including "Living in Aluminum," "Joan of Arkansas," "Prozac Made Me Stay," and "KOA Refugee." A handful of friends attempt to class up the joint - from Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac to Bobby Cochran of Steppenwolf to Tommy Smothers - but there's no stopping the down-home wisdom of "I Was Just Flipped Off by a Silver Haired Old Lady With a 'Honk If You Love Jesus' Bumper Sticker on the Bumper of Her Car." Part Arlo Guthrie, part Jimmy Buffett, part Ray Stevens, and part Timbuk 3's Pat McDonald, McClain's humorous skew on the tornado-prone continues in his third book, It Takes a Trailer Park.
More weird scenes from south of the Mason-Dixon Line are due next week from Hayseed Dixie and the new Weapons of Grass Destruction CD. Originally cutting their teeth on AC/DC classics in bluegrass baroque, the boys from Deer Lick Hollow take aim at a strange set list, including their take on the Sex Pistols' "Holidays in the Sun," the Scissor Sisters' "I Don't Feel Like Dancing," Judas Priest's "Breaking the Law," the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever," and Status Quo's "Down Down."
Black Rain, Ozzy Osbourne's first all-new album in six years, hits store shelves this coming Tuesday with two nifty twists. Specially marked copies of the CD contain a secret code inside to put you at the front of the line for tickets to this summer's Ozzfest. And budding directors are encouraged to log onto (http://www.ozzy.com/idontwannastop) to download "green screen" video footage of Ozzy and his band performing "I Don't Want to Stop" from seven different camera angles, ready to manipulate into your own entry to become the fan-created clip that will serve as the single's official video.
Television Alert:
The Late Show with David Letterman hosts Rufus Wainwright on Thursday, Elvis Costello on Friday, and The Jesus & Mary Chain on Monday; Late Night with Conan O'Brien presents Silversun Pickups this evening, M. Ward on Thursday, Blonde Redhead on Friday, and Rickie Lee Jones on Monday overnight; The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson boasts Modest Mouse this evening and Tori Amos on Thursday overnight; Jimmy Kimmel Live shines up The Used on Thursday, Linkin Park on Friday, and Ozzy Osbourne on Monday and Tuesday overnights; and The Henry Rollins Show on IFC features musical guest Billy Bragg. Look for Maroon 5 to pop up all over the boob tube this coming week with the release of its new album, It Won't Be Soon Long, performing live on Saturday Night Live this weekend, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Tuesday.
New Releases Coming Tuesday, May 22:
... and like the winds, young grasshopper, are subject to change.
Tim Armstrong - A Poet's Life (Hellcat/Epitaph) new from the Rancid co-founder, featuring guests The Aggrolites on "Hold on" and a bonus DVD of videos
Meg Baird - Dear Companion (Drag City) fragile, pining folk from the Espers vocalist, featuring two originals and covers of Jimmy Webb's "Do What You Gotta Do" and the haunting traditional "The Cruelty of Barbary Allen"
Beardfish - Sleeping in Traffic: Part One (Inside Out) mighty Swedish prog rock bowing down at the alter of Gentle Giant, Paatos, and Yes
Ben + Vesper - All This Could Kill You (Sounds Familyre) family affair from the husband-and-wife duo with guests Sufjan Stevens and David Smith
Birds of Avalon - Bazaar, Bazaar (Volcom) new from the ashes of The Cherry Valence; produced by Mitch Easter
Bluebeard - Deluxe with Reverb (Shelter from the Storm) 30 years since their days playing LA's Sunset Strip, this new CD features a cover of the Rolling Stone's "Paint It Black"
The Bravery - The Sun & the Moon (Island)
Jeff Buckley - So Real: Songs from Jeff Buckley (Columbia Legacy) marking the 10th anniversary of his death this month, this 14-song anthology features a rare live cover of The Smiths' "I Know It's Over" from 1995
The Cursed - Room Full of Sinners (Screaming Ferret) new from Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of Overkill and Mike Cristi of Non-Fiction
The Damned - Damned, Damned, Damned (Castle/Sanctuary) 30th-anniversary edition, expanded to three CDs packed with demos, John Peel BBC sessions, and a concert at the 100 Club in 1976
Epo-555 - Mafia (Crunchy Frog) jangle-pop electronic from Denmark
Danny Flowers - Tools for the Soul (Brash Music) pensive, soul-stirring acoustic storytelling and electric blues from the 58-year-old, in beautiful harmony with Emmylou Harris on "Tools for the Soul"
The Billy Gibson Band - Live at Rum Boogie Café (Daddy-O Records) the Beale Street blues star and harmonica wailer captured live
Framing Hanley - The Moment (Silent Majority) young, hook-heavy rockers from Nashville
Benni Hemm Hemm - Kajak (Morr Music) recorded in Sigur Ros' personal studio, this heavenly sophomore album by the Icelandic guitarist swells with kettledrums and a multitude of horns
Miracle Fortress - Five Roses (Secret City) debut from Montreal's Graham Van Pelt
The National - Boxer (Beggars Banquet) with guest pianist Sufjan Stevens on "Ada" and "Racing Like a Pro"
Neurosis - Given to the Risen (Neurot) also available in a limited edition with special gatefold packaging or an audiophile two-LP set
Joan Osborne - Breakfast in Bed (Time Life) all new, featuring smoky, cool covers of Hall & Oates' "Sara Smile" and Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine"
Andrew Parker - Cue (Kranky) junkyard samples and satellite-dish snatches twinkle and flare up in this magical, minimalist, transitory collection of icy, fluttering sound poems
Part Chimp - Cup (Monitor) featuring a cover of the Beatles' "Wild Honey Pie"
Planet X - Quantum (Inside Out) heavy interplanetary prog jams from monster keyboardist Derek Sherinian, formerly of Dream Theater
Prince Jammy - Destroys the Invaders (Greensleeves) dub reissue from 1982, also available on vinyl LP
The Rondo Brothers - Seven Minutes to Midnight (Citrus To Citrus) wicked, grinding, and funky sidewalk-strolling hip-hop from these Handsome Boy Modeling School tour mates and collaborators, featuring cool cover art by Sam Flores, rapper Poach Stevens, and guest vocalist Kelly Atkins of 20 Minute Loop
Nina Simone - Just Like a Woman: Nina Simone Sings Classic Songs of the '60s (RCA Legacy) spinning her web on the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun," Jerry Jeff Walker's "Mr. Bojangles," and Leonard Cohen's immortal "Suzanne"
Strategy - Future Rock (Kranky) warm-bath tape-loop tumbles from Paul Dickow of Nudge
Uncle Monk - Uncle Monk (Airday) Tommy Ramone, co-founder of The Ramones and the man who penned "Blitzkrieg Bop,"is here found deep in the woods, plunking away on Dobro, fiddle, mandolin, and banjo in this all-original back-porch bluegrass duo with Claudia Tienan
White Rabbits - Fort Nightly (Say Hey) chipper, theatric, and sinewy, this Brooklyn-based six-piece bucket get my sacroiliac hunching like vintage Oingo Boingo and Wall of Voodoo
Adrienne Young - Room to Grow (Addie Belle) lovely third CD from the community garden activist and singer/songwriter, featuring a nice cover of Joni Mitchell's "Free Man in Paris"
