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Why it’s significant: Not only is Boy the first album that launched U2's prolific career which spans decades, but this month's anticipated remastered re-release edition includes b-sides, live tracks and rarities as well as a 32 page booklet with previously unseen photos, full lyrics, and explanatory notes by The Edge. While many a critic and fan alike adore their mid-career anthems like Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby as well as other great releases in recent twilight years, only a cursory listen to Boy is needed to understand why U2's strident trajectory into rock stardom began here in both attitude and spirit for the Dublin lads.

Starting off both the original album and this month's special edition is one of U2's all-time greatest tracks, "I Will Follow," which repeats a ringing chord and slides into themes of adolescent angst and evolution echoed throughout the track as clearly as Edge's trademark delay on the six string. Other elements of his guitar style started to develop here and can be heard on tracks like "Twilight," "A Day Without Me," and "The Electric Co" where his signature sound pans left to right and ricochets beneath Bono's vox with an edgy mix of chorus, delay, and reverb.

There were few if any other albums in 1980 that carried the musical technique and lyrical bombast offered on Boy. With innocent perspective and callow creeds, U2 stepped into the limelight unaware of the accolades to come as well as the journey ahead.  The band now celebrate the beginning of it all on this special reissue with new media to add perspective to the roots of their legacy.

I bet you are wrapping up your work day, getting ready for your days off.  If you are not one of the 44 million people who have already seen this little angel sing, usher in the holiday weekend by taking a peek. She'll kick-start your 4th with a smile. Have a good one!

--Renata Sadunas

I like oral as much as the next guy, but most a cappella acts are notoriously hard to stomach in all but the smallest doses. Increasingly, though, all-vocal groups are taking the art to new heights primarily on the strength of their ability to reproduce the sounds of instruments (including turntables). My favorite is Kenny Muhammad the Human Orchestra, not least because of his penchant for great song selection (Kraftwerk) and his knack for securing incredible collaborators (New York Symphony Orchestra), besides which, he's also a really, really nice guy. I'm also partial to Blake Lewis, for the first and third reasons above as well our history sharing stages in Seattle before his American Idol days.

Which brings me to Naturally 7. While this Brooklyn septet doesn't break my "small doses" sieve, for sheer virtuosity, I'd put my money on these guys in a vocal battle anytime. Check out their "Wall of Sound" performance for a taste of their skyscraping skills. As well, in the interview below, Naturally 7 demonstrates a charismatic capacity for improvisation.

Whether or not it counts as "art" in your book, a Naturally 7 performance amounts to a memorable spectacle, and in an industry where spectacle is so often the name of the game, I'll take mine with a heavy helping of skills, thank you very much.

     --Jason Kirk

While John Mayer's sensitive-dude Abercrombie-jamz have never been my cup o' tea*, he has done a handful of things that your pal Jeff finds impressive. There is, of course, the legendary trail of famous ladies he's managed to trick into dating him, there is his willingness to treat the paparazzi with the seriousness they deserve and there is his ability to be a more entertaining blogger than I am (surprisingly not difficult).

When I saw his latest live album pop up in this week's new releases, though, I was reminded of what is easily the greatest thing he's ever done: the short-lived (and by short-lived, I mean one episode) VH1 program, John Mayer Has a TV Show.

It's more or less 20 minutes of John Mayer poking fun at himself, which in itself would be endearing enough to forgive him for "Your Body is a Wonderland," but he also has the nards to bite the hand that feeds, mocking his own fans and crew for our LOLs. There is also an interview with Trick Daddy.

On the show, he's charming and genuinely funny. While that would normally make me loathe him out of jealousy, I'm able to get past that enough to wish for more than just the one episode of this hilarious lost show:

-- Jeff Reguilon

* Okay, I admit that the melody to "Waiting On the World to Change" is pretty nice in that it sounds like something Dan Penn would have written back in the day. Also there was one time when I had consumed enough malt liquor to paralyze an elephant and was moments away from passing out on a friend's couch while an older John Mayer live album played, at which point a moment came when I felt like I could maybe understand the appeal. That's it, though. Honest.

For the most part, Vice Magazine aims to uncover the world's more troubling aspects in an equally troubling light, but their documentary about Baghdad metal band Acrassicauda's aspiration to simply remain intact amid the bedlam of war is one of the authentic documentaries I've ever seen.

To find out what happened to "Iraq's only metal band" after the fall of Saddam Hussein, two filmmakers travel from NYC to Baghdad, get outfitted with heavy artillery and a security detail and witness how the band copes with a reality most metal bands only write about--in Baghdad there is actual carnage and hell is quite possibly right here on Earth. It's Acrassicuada's simple love of music alone that guides them through a downright ridiculously dangerous, depressing reality. Seeing what they go through to play a show or record their first demo puts into perspective how criminally easy up-and-coming bands and anyone not living with with war have it. 

--Gabi Knight

In the age of digital downloads, the process of experiencing music has shifted - some say adversely so - to focus squarely on the music itself while other accoutrements that traditionally shadow a release fall by the wayside. CD and Vinyl are still the only formats that offer a full palette for the senses including not only the music, but also art, mixed media, lyrical writing, and production info all in one package.

With that in mind, Chordstrike is launching a new blog category, Lyrics & Liner Notes, to recognize and pay tribute to our favorite lyrics, the unique packaging that they come in, and the venerable tradition of cracking open that new CD or record to behold the complete artistry and background information that goes into a new release.

To launch the new category, I went through my collection and found a few CDs that appealed to me strictly from the perspective of either the lyrics, the studio story, or the graphic design. This list would be radically different if I included special package releases and box sets for all the value-added content that comes with each. For now I'm starting with a few humble releases that are appealing mostly from a lyrical and information design perspective:

1) Neutral Milk Hotel: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Why: One must be committed to read the lyrics since each song is jumbled into one massive paragraph of 6 point font. Serious time and energy is needed to scroll through at least 50 lines or follow the lyrics in real-time as the album plays in order to find the lyrics for a certain song. There aren't even any song breaks in this tome, emphasizing the album as a whole collective piece of work.

Favorite lyric from Track 9, The Ghost:  "She was born in a bottle-rocket, 1929 / With wings that ringed around a socket right between her spine / All drenched in milk in holy water pouring from the sky / I know that she will live forever, she won't ever die"

2) 16 Horsepower: Secret South

Why: Although they took an approach similar to the one described with Neutral Milk Hotel, the band decided to print the lyrics for each song separately and on their own page. However, they are still jumbled in a text block format with each word appearing in all caps and without any space breaks between each word. The effect is not only to challenge the listener to follow and find the lyrics, but also to give added consideration to the album title, Secret South, since each song looks like a cross word puzzle formed by lyrics in hiding waiting to be revealed like some secret.

Favorite Lyric from Track 7, Praying Arm Lane:  "Well I told it fast and glad / the color of a slow drink / or so they say / so they say by the light of day / hidden beneath their wings of black, brown and gray / the boughs they all will bend for us / and all the earth awaits thee / all the stones they will cry out / and every tongue confess thee"

3) Scarlett Johansson: Anywhere I Lay My Head

Why: Even though this is a cover album of Tom Waits songs, the Liner Notes are worth the scrutiny based on their own merits since the packaging includes rich and interesting fairy tale artwork to accompany a fairy tale-esque story about the making of the album. In addition, Scarlett and primary musician David Sitek (TV on the Radio) wrote a short paragraph about each track and the writing/recording process behind it.

Lyrics are not included (see Tom Waits' catalog instead), but one thing I learned from the Liner Notes: David Bowie sang on two tracks. His voice is subtle and not immediately apparent within the mix, so I wouldn't have known this without the liner notes.

Other contenders for this list:

Radiohead, both OK Computer and In Rainbows: for their progressive graphic design and full lyrics transcribed and organized on the page in a unique way.
Eminem, The Eminem Show: with a wordsmith like Marshall on the mic, it helps to have the full lyrics in front of you to see and appreciate the range of his lyrical abilities. The photo montage is also intimate (with pictures of Em at work and playing in the pool with Hallie), but also a bit creepy with photos of undercover surveillance footage throughout the package.
Hayes Carll, Trouble in Mind: the CD package is pretty cool and offers complete lyrics, but the Vinyl version cannot be beat with a full-sized comic book story to accompany the album.
Band of Horses, Cease to Begin: no lyrics - just 8 polaroid-sized images of kitschy nature scenes. Okay, it wouldn't be fair not to recognize Pearl Jam as well here for taking the same approach on their No Code release which included polaroid pictures. I just happen to like Band of Horses more, so they get the call out.

There are obviously a ton of other releases out there that could fit the bill here. What albums are in your collection that stand out for their Lyrics or Liner Notes and why?

I've always been a fan of the odd, offbeat, and slightly warped. Hence, my discovery of song-poems felt like finding a long-lost cousin in a random crowd. For those of you who aren't familiar, song-poems come from small ads placed in the back of magazines soliciting "poems" (and a few hundred dollars) to be turned into songs--because, you know, there's big bucks to be made in the music industry, and your poem could be turned into the next big Billboard chart-topper! For your words and money, you'd typically receive a 7" record (or these days, a CD) and maybe even the opportunity to appear on a compilation. Many of these records ended up in dusty thrift store record bins where they sat for years. These days, they're nearly impossible to find and are considered very collectible.

Song-poems are essentially a scam. No song-poem has ever topped the charts, or even come close to entering them. The people who make the music and sing the songs are in it simply for the paycheck. However, what we are left with is essentially comedy gold, and the results range from completely insane to passable. Many songs are political or patriotic in nature, there are, of course, love songs, and some are kinda dirty. There's even a collection of holiday themed song-poems available. What all these songs have in common is a distinct "huh?!?" factor that is virtually unmatched in music. It feels like these songs could really only come from the anonymous collaboration of amateur writers and hack musicians. Try throwing one of these into the mix at your next party and watch the looks on people's faces and you'll see what I mean.

There's a great film covering the subject, Off The Charts: The Song-Poem Story, which not only takes a look at the history of the art, but gives us a peek at what the industry looks like today. In the film you can actually witness the recording sessions for such future hits as "I'm A Ginseng Digger," "Be My Shark," and my personal favorite: "Non-Violent Taekwondo Troopers," who's author states "The subjects I write about are: martial arts, the ladies, and religion, and science fiction too." It can sometimes be hard to find, but the soundtrack is an essential post-viewing purchase.

All in all, I have to admit that I really, truly love these recordings. They're always the perfect bit of spice for a mix CD or playlist, and when one comes on in shuffle mode, it almost always elicits a smile. As ridiculous and fun as they are, most of the words come from the heart, and though the vast majority of them are extremely bizarre, they mean something to someone. In a world full of jaded and often pretentious music, that's gotta count for something.

Recommended listening:

• The American Song-Poem Anthology: Do You Know The Difference Between Big Wood And Brush
• The American Song-Poem Christmas: Daddy, Is Santa Really Six Foot Four?
• Off The Charts Companion CD Soundtrack
• Anything by prolific song-poem composer Rodd Keith

--Alan Wiley

Now, I don't speak/read French, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying the hell out of Les Concerts a Porter (or "Takeaway Concerts") at La Blogotheque. The folks behind the site invite talented artists to leave the comfort of the stage and perform in atypical situations, every week posting video from these bands playing in locations like the back of a car, on a ferry or at a dinner table. I got hipped to the site about a year ago when someone linked me to this video of an intimate gig by the National. Since then, the site's hosted music by the Shins, Vampire Weekend and R.E.M. While those are all definitely worth a listen, here are a handful of my personal favorites:

Throw Me the Statue performing "About to Walk" on the ferry to Bainbridge Island, Washington:

St. Vincent playing "Marry Me," one of my favorite 2007 songs, in bed:

Elvis Perkins performing "While You Were Sleeping" while walking down a street, making like a one-man marching band designed to make you cry:

Bon Iver performing "Skinny Love" by candlelight to a handful of lucky, adoring onlookers:

Guillemots playing "Made Up Love Song #43" on an outdoor staircase:

-- Jeff Reguilon

For this year’s BET Awards, I assembled my dream team:

1. Lashanna, 28, mother of two
1. Trina (not to be confused with the "Best Female Hip-Hop Artist" nominee of the same name), 31, mother of…
2. Imphamous a.k.a. Imp the Pimp, 14
3. Nastalja, 10

This literally mixed bunch is a perfect pack of purebred mongrels, as willing and able to hold forth on the suspicious enterprise of race-based marketing as they are to clear the couches for a communal limbo at the least hint of Flo Rida’s ubiquitous “Low.” On the home front, plenty of what transpired would be inappropriate to repeat here, but a few highlights from the show merit mention.

Usher opened the show. He hardly sang, though, apparently too busy prancing the stage and only occasionally planting his feet to gesture as if jack-hammering his own pelvis.

D.L. Hughley took less than 30 seconds to drop his first white joke, an occasionally repeating ruse that only once aroused laughter among our party, when Niecy Nash (of Reno 911) cited Madonna and Angelina Jolie/Brad Pitt’s well-publicized and mutually congratulatory adoptions as a call for the audience to start adopting more white kids. To avoid any confusion, Nash brought a few out on stage with her, names of Marquis, Clidell, and “Little Raineesha.”

“These kids are great for my credit score!” she exclaimed.

For the night’s second performance, Keyshia Cole waltzed straight out of a  pseudo-Herb Alpert album cover and into a serviceable song that sadly devolved into a duet with Lil’ Kim, signaling a tailspin that lasted half an hour, punctuated only by the conclusion of Ne-Yo’s performance when a pack of dancing masked mimes popped onstage like the Phantoms of the Hip-Hopera.

By way of passing irony, Flo Rida’s “Low” was choreographed for the most fabulously costumed awards-show performers in living memory, female dancers on stilts with long, flowing, puffed white pants that were a whipped-cream reprise of Keyshia’s Cole confectionary ensemble.

Gospel heavyweight Marvin Sapp sang amidst a surreally conceived staging that might quietly go down in history as the first mash-up of Mandela, Jesus, Obama, and spandex.

Chris Brown almost put on the performance of the night, helped along by a gorgeously cascading waterworks show, but the evening's apex came with the presentation of the BET Lifetime Achievement Award to Al Green.

“I am so honored and humbled by the Academy… of the BET Awards,” Green began. Nervous chuckles begat uncomfortable laughter from both the audience in Los Angeles' Shrine Auditorium and the peanut gallery in my living room, but the immediate impression of late-stage senility vanished when Green sang, a doting but nevertheless inspired rendition of his famous "Let's Stay Together."

Like most such big-budget industry circle jerks, the BET Awards were largely predictable and 50% too long, and I ran out of professional interest before the show ended. Without further ado, then, the winners:

• Best Female R&B Artist: Alicia Keys 
• Best Male R&B Artist: Chris Brown
• Best Group: UGK ... Highly recommended!
• Best Gospel Artist: Marvin Sapp
• Best Female Hip-Hop Artist: Missy Elliott
• Best Male Hip-Hop Artist: Kanye West
• Best New Artist: The-Dream
• Video of the Year: UGK featuring Outkast, "International Player's Anthem (I Choose You)"
• Best Collaboration: Kanye West featuring T-Pain, "Good Life"
• Best Video Director: Erykah Badu and Mr. Roboto
• Viewers' Choice Award: Lil Wayne featuring Static, "Lollipop"
• BET J Award: Raheem DeVaughn
• Best Actress: Halle Berry
• Best Actor: Denzel Washington ... What is this, the 2002 Oscars?
• Female Athlete of the Year: Candace Parker
• Male Athlete of the Year: Kobe Bryant

For a comprehensive spread of the nominees, performers, honorees, and related artists, click this red carpet. 

Until next year,
Your ChordStrike BET Awards Correspondent… 

     --Jason Kirk

NPR wants to know (and I'm curious, too): What are your favorite albums of 2008 so far? They've posted this nifty poll and want you to vote. Are your top picks even on the list? A few of mine are definitely missing. Though my taste changes hourly (it's my prerogative), right now my Top 3 would include: Santogold, Flight of the Conchords, Esperanza Spalding, and Robyn. Damn, that's four. Well, that's ok. I'm in charge here today.

--Renata Sadunas