Method Man
Friday, Sept. 29, Barrymore Theatre, 9 p.m.
Is pot still illegal? I'm curious because I just saw the new ad from the Partnership for a Drug-Free America ' you know, the folks who were behind the frying-egg 'this is your brain on drugs' commercials, and who frequently imply that weed leads to homicide and terrorism.
Except now. Its new ad has a teen admitting: 'I smoked weed and nobody died' and 'I didn't OD,' leaving only the cautionary threat that, if high, you might forget to go skateboarding or paragliding as often.
As far as I'm concerned, this is an ad for marijuana.
I mention this in light of Method Man's brand new album: 4:21...The Day After. The title refers to April 20, a day on which everyone supposedly smokes pot. The disc undermines the government's new campaign by showing that even if you spend the 20th smiling goofily at old episodes of 'Kim Possible,' on the 21st you'll be fine enough to go out and record your best album yet.
The former Wu-Tang Clansman had us worried for a while. Meth's early solo work was great, but his last album was so suburban-radio-friendly, many feared he'd become more Tang than Wu.
4:21 is back-to-basics hip hop: Strong beats, great flow and deft lyrics that are, dare I say it? Banging. With fellow Wu-Tanger Masta Killa opening, it promises to be a night to remember.
Or, if high, to try to remember. Any questions?
Everclear
Monday, Oct. 2, Club Majestic, 8 p.m.
Embarrassed at my balding father's pathetic comb-over, teenage me once contemptuously inquired: 'Why keep doing it?'
He replied, sadly: 'It's the way I've always combed my hair.'
Now that I, too, am uncool and bald, I think of that moment as Everclear trundles into town: 'Why keep doing it, thinning-haired lead singer Art Alexakis?'
It can be hard keeping track of your '90s-era Nirvana soundalikes. Portland's Everclear had that hit song 'Heroin Girl,' and for at least one album seemed destined for greatnessishness.
Most of the band is gone now, but Alexakis keeps the zombie-band lurching forward. They even have a new album out and, yes, a second greatest hits album due next month.
With Veruca Salt in town last week, and the Gin Blossoms due the week after next, maybe there is a newfound love for the ghosts of grunge. Maybe comb-overs will be cool again, too.
