ONE LISTEN VERDICT: I think we're probably all tired of the "old guy doing ironic covers of popular songs" shtick, which is why I'm pleasantly surprised that Meet Glen Campbell isn't a joke record in the Paul Anka/Pat Boone vein but an enjoyable listening experience. The tracklisting gives some indication that Campbell isn't intending to make a fool of himself here, and a band featuring former Jellyfish cohorts Roger Manning Jr. and Jason Falkner probably helps as well. While Travis' "Sing" and Green Day's "Good Riddance" might be dubious choices, the middle of the album features well-picked songs performed as closely to the sound of Campbell's Jimmy Webb glory days as possible. The album's two Tom Petty tracks ("Walls" and "Angel Dream") sound like classic Campbell, solidly played and well sung, and the Replacements' "Sadly Beautiful" might be better in Glen's hands than it was in Paul's, as ridiculous as that sounds. Even a Foo Fighters track that didn't mean much to me in the past ("Times Like These") ends up sounding like a companion piece to "Wichita Lineman." The album isn't great all the way through, but overall, it's certainly good.

The Glen Campbell Show [homepage]

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: In theory, I'm fine with the idea of Timbaland producing Chris Cornell's forthcoming solo album. Timbaland has said that he wants to make Cornell "the first rock star in the club," while Cornell called their collaborations "natural, not self-conscious ... open." I mean, sure, both parties have been pretty stagnant creatively as of late, what with Cornell strenuously pissing away any Soundgarden-garnered goodwill he may still have and Timbaland ripping himself off while crawling up his own behind. But maybe the lack of self-consciousness Cornell mentioned would serve as a galvanizing force, and result in something exciting being committed to tape! Unfortunately, my optimism was torpedoed by one spin of Cornell's "comeback" single "Long Gone," which pretty much sounds like "Apologize," only without Timbo's here-and-there "ays" and with Cornell's rapidly deteriorating voice in place of Ryan Tedder's whine. Anyone want to take bets on how this is going to play with the Linkin Park fans this summer?

WHERE TO FIND IT: Music Is The Heart Of Our Soul. If you dare.

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: LL Cool J is all about you, girl. The beats may get tiresome, the language less memorable, but he's still going to be the kind of man you need, girl. "If you feel it in your heart, it gets you much wetter," girl. "Live my life and go to sleep for you," girl. His upcoming album is named Exit 13, girl, because it's his thirteenth album, girl! What do you really expect, girl? Seeing as how the last album's best track aped the vocal patterns of "Goin' Back To Cali," it's no surprise he'd return to the earnestness of "I Need Love," girl. If you can think of anything that rhymes with "girl," girl, let him know, girl.

WHERE TO HEAR IT: MissInfo is hosting the track as an exclusive, but it went up on YouTube last night.

ONE-LISTEN VERDICT: It's a six-minute song that opens with a cheering crowd and a piano plonking out the old Shaker hymn "Simple Gifts"—and as the title suggests, the rest of the song is sort of based on that melody, although along the way it incorporates a Fred Durst imitation, a military drum-beat, some falsetto (actually, this part is pretty good, and would probably sound great as its own song), and a spoken-word break. Did I mention that it's six minutes long? This is really not shaking my feeling that their forthcoming red album is just going to be a great big Harvard semantics project/giant middle finger to the world.

WHERE TO HEAR IT: The Hype Machine. Please, someone, click over there and explain to me what's happening before I dare click the other Weezer song that's made its way to the Hype servers.