Remote Hog

Soundstage
10 tonight
KCET/Channel 28

Alphabetizing my CDs the other day—what, you don't do that? Then how the hell can you find Innervisions in a pinch, Mr. Randomly Assorted Music Keeper? Has everyone gone nuts?—I came across a copy someone had burned of something by the All-American Rejects. This did not belong to me so, taking a wild guess, I tossed it onto the bedspread of the nearest 17-year-old. That upset me when I realized I could not tell Remote Hoggians whether to tune in for the All-American Rejects' section of this program tonight. Fortunately, George Paul—whose opinions on music I value deeply—has a pick-of-the-week on an upcoming A-AR Orange County Fair show in the Weekly that hits the streets today, and in it he writes of the band's new CD, Move Along:

The Stillwater, Oklahoma, rock band (best known for the 2003 hit “Swing Swing”) still excels at crafting propulsive power-pop tunes filled with youthful exuberance. Yet it's also a more mature effort, with more expansive arrangements that alternately feature a children's choir, theremin, banjo, sitar and string section.

That sounds promising. But that 17-year-old, to whom that burned CD belonged to, had  this to say the previous morning:

“On their new album, they try to look all hardcore, but they don't sound anything like hardcore, and they sound different than they did on their first album, and they kind of suck now…”

Hmmmm . . . who to believe? Lemme try a sampling off the Amazon.com site. Hold on a second . . . Okay, all I could stomach was the first 7 seconds of “Dirty Little Secret” off the new album (available used through Amazon for only $8) and I am here to report that I no longer hold George Paul's music opinions as highly as I used to. However, I'm still recommending Soundstage tonight because of the other band on the bill, Fountains of Wayne, who are the power poppiest rock nerds around. Jim Washburn—whose opinions on music I value deeply—got me hooked years ago, and despite the opinion of the nearest 20-year-old (“I liked them better before, when they were called WEEZER!”), I've been a loyal FoW fan ever since. I even caught my graying self in the embarrassing predicament of standing in front of the Mouse House of Blues stage a few years ago, surrounded by teeny boppers, joining them in singing back to these lads their lyrics to “Radiation Vibe,” “Leave the Biker,” “Red Dragon Tattoo,” “Laser Show” and so many more. They even introduced a new song that night, “Stacy's Mom”; perhaps you've heard of it?

So, yeah, I'll be there in front of the TV, in my nightie, wearing the retainer, sucking down Mountain Dews, rocking on. And during the Rejects' bits? I'll do something more masculine like painting my nails.